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Just Breathe
Recently, I was at the Mammoth Life & Wellness Conference in Mammoth, California. I love Mammoth – the clear mountain lakes, fir tree covered mountains and fresh air. It’s a perfect place for enjoying the great outdoors and thinking about all the natural things we can do to make us healthy…like breathing.
It may not seem like such a big deal. We breathe in we breathe out, right? Well what if we think about it as inhaling and exhaling. Even thinking about the words makes us take a deeper breath. Now go ahead, right now. Take a moment to breathe with purpose. Take a slow deep breath in and let a slow deep breath out. You notice a change right away. Your neck and shoulders relax. Ancient yogis understood that the breath is the link between our inner and outer lives they called it our “life force.” If you change your breath you will change your life.When we take the time to pay attention to our breathing we can see some amazing results. How? Let me tell you about Marilyn. She is the mother of three kids and works as a guidance counselor. Here’s what she told me. “Kathy, I just love it when some “well meaning” friend sees how stressed out I am and says, ‘Just relax, chill, take a deep breath.’ I feel like taking a yoga mat, hitting her over the head, and stuffing a candy bar into my mouth.” I understood completely what she was saying.
The thing about relaxing or “chilling” or stressing less is that it can be as hard to manage in your day as everything else. You may not be able to fit a brisk walk or a trip to the gym or a yoga class into your crowded schedule when you need it the most.
That’s why I want you to know about the best way to stress less. You can “chill” no matter what time of day it is, no matter where you are. Because the last think you need to stress out about is not being able to relax. Just breathe.
Breathing is the ultimate de-stressor. It reduces the stress hormones and causes what’s known as the relaxation response. Breathing bathes your brain in rich, energizing oxygen. It decreases your blood pressure, your heart rate goes down and it can make you feel better emotionally and physically. It also clears away the cobwebs and can take you to a calm place within your self. Another bonus is that it can even help distract your attention. So if you have a craving for something ( say a candy bar), chances are with a few deep breaths, it will pass.
How can you bring a breathing practice into your life? Right now, I invite you to share what I call “Stress Free.” It’s my breathing meditation. Sometimes the most powerful techniques are also the simplest. Just try it for several minutes each day or when you are feeling really stressed. Here’s how it’s done:
Stress Free:
- Relax your body. Find a comfortable place to sit. Close your eyes. Relax your neck and shoulders as best you can. These are the places you hold your stress.
- Inhale through your nose. On the inhale, fill your lungs so your diaphragm expands completely. Think of your belly as a balloon you’re trying to inflate. The air should feel as it it’s filling your entire body. If you aren’t sure you’re doing it right, place your hand gently on your belly and when you feel your belly pressing against your hand, you will know you are breathing correctly.
- Exhale through your nose. It should feel like you’re slowly releasing the air form a balloon.
- Keep it slow. Match the speed of the inhale with the speed of the exhale. Don’t breathe in fast and out slow or vice versa. Easy and steady both in and out.
- Expand the breath. When you get conformable with breathing this way, try and lengthen both parts of your breath. Keep your eyes closed and relax.
Kathy
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