Don't forget to Breathe

Breathe.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

The simplest and most available way to be Present.

Breathe when you are feeling tired, and it will re-energize you.
Breathe when you are feeling stressed, and it will calm you.
Breathe when the speed of your life feels out of sync with your natural body rhythms, and it will slow you down.

I mindfully breathe every day, and often. When sitting in traffic, noticing a pain in my right shoulder, reading a book, whenever I can remember. Just a few deep, long breaths. Centered again. Breathing is not just for meditation, yoga or calming down. We must also remember to use breathing just for ourselves, a few here, a few there...centered.

My children, like most, can have very strong emotional reactions when something does not turn out as they expected. (read: throw a tantrum when they don’t get their own way). I have started, in small steps, to get them aware of their breath when they feel angry or upset. I touch them on the belly, and ask for one big breath in and a slow breath out, then get them to do it a couple of more times. Filling their bellies when breathing in, and taking twice as long to breathe out.
I know it is having an effect and they are paying attention, as now when I am feeling irritated, one of them will say, “take a big breath mummy”.

Breathing is something we do naturally, but if you do it mindfully it changes your reality, makes you present, in the Now. You become aware of the space you are in.

Breathe when you spend time with those you love, it will keep you focused, instead of your mind wandering off to your work, or the grocery list.
Breathe when you are alone, to remind yourself what a gift each moment is.

Breath awareness brings us back to our senses- what we are hearing, what we are seeing, what we are tasting, touching and smelling. It creates a sense of home in our body, where we can process the thoughts passing through our mind, where we can feel alive in our bodies, and at home in our lives.

By the way, the breath technique I am trying really hard to master is the breath I need to take when someone is speaking to me. Breathe; they may have more to say. Breathe; I will listen better (rather than looking for a pause to say what I want!) Breathe; and consider my reply...
I am still practicing!

Stick the word Breathe on your fridge, write it in white board pen on your mirror, put it up as your screensaver, or a Post It note in your wallet!

Breathe, mindfully, for you.

suzy xx

Here is a great Breath Technique which is especially useful when we are busy, worrying about the past or future, feeling anxious or angry:

Begin by stopping what you are doing – take a few deep breaths –
and then ask yourself one of the following questions:

What is going on for me right now?
What sensations am I aware of in my body?
How am I feeling right now?

It works really well when you are feeling speedy, stressed or irritable.
Developing the habit of stopping and pausing is helpful in enabling us to interrupt automatic habits and coming back to the present moment.

Another great technique, but takes a bit longer;

Deliberately stop and stand tall and straight, then ask yourself “What is going on with me at the moment?” Notice whatever feelings and thoughts you have at that very moment.

Then begin paying full attention to each in-breath and each out-breath, the sensations in your body as they follow one another, in and out.

Expand the field of your awareness around your breathing so that it includes a sense of your body as a whole, your posture and facial expression. Now you are sensing the body from head to toe, allowing the breath to breathe alongside and within the body.