Breathe

Please take a moment to close your eyes and take three deep nostril breaths. No cheating. 

Welcome back. Thanks for participating. For me, deep breaths remind me that I have the ability to be present with the current circumstances and I how I choose to react. What words, tone, non-verbal language and emotion will I choose to use. Will the ego win over the heart or will the heart and gut lead the way? Many times we will resort to our ingrained patterns of living and reacting. We find ourselves simply going through the motions of our lives without being fully present to many things that have become daily habits. Or we are aware of it and choose not to change it? As Einstein says, If you keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results, that is the definition of insanity. When we refuse to change something that we are aware is not producing an ideal outcome and continuously shows up for us, than does that mean we are insane? How do we break the cycle or the pattern? Start by taking deep breaths throughout the day when you find yourself in a moment of stress, anger, hate, resentment, jealously, hurt, and pain. I also suggest just paying attention to your breath throughout the day. If the breath is low and shallow, then many times you are in high stress and when it is deep and relaxed then you are in low stress. Experimenting with your breath will allow for you to decide where you would like to be on the pendulum at any moment.

Breath is a gift of life and our greatest companion. It is always with us and can be used to calm our nervous system and link our mind to our body. The breath can also be considered the spirit or the spiritual thread that links us all together. Many people don’t become aware of the useful benefits of the breath until they decide to become involved in a pregnancy where Lamaze classes are recommended. These classes focus a lot on the breath and how to use it to your advantage during childbirth. I don’t know about you but since giving birth to my daughter (sorry dudes), I now compare my pain tolerance to that experience and it sits close to the threshold.

Breath also brought on new meaning to me not long ago when I fully experienced the last breath of my daughter’s guinea pig, Whiskers. She was the smallest pet I ever had but the most expensive one since a C-section was needed to save her life and babies. Long story. Anyways, the gift she gave me in return was priceless. Being with her in that moment of transition made me realize on a much deeper level how important the breath is.  Life is given to us when we take our first breath and it is the last thing we leave behind when we die. The beauty in that moment was a reminder to really nurture my best friend, my breath.

Namaste!