When Life Happens

When You're Stressed, Stop And Take A Breath

Life happens.

And often with life comes stress or fatigue of the body, mind, or spirit.

Did you know that when it comes to coping with stress overload and fatigue your breath is one of the best remedies there is?… and it’s free! It is the safest, most effective, and inexpensive remedy and it is right at hand whenever you find yourself in either if these conditions.

And Breathing Meditation is one of the most important practices of Yoga. As yogis have known for centuries – and as medical science is discovering – the breath has amazing recuperative powers. By controlling the breath (a practice called pranayama), the yogis found, they could alter their state of mind and the state of their bodies. These effects were created primarily by slowing and regularizing the breath.

This engages what scientists call the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of your body that is responsible for calming and soothing you.

So, you may be asking "How does slower breathing help?" In stressful times, we typically breathe too rapidly or we hold our breath. Oxygen then builds up in the bloodstream and the relative amount of carbon dioxide decreases. This condition can result in muscle twitching, nausea, irritability, lightheadedness, confusion, and anxiety.

Just paying attention to and watching the breath immediately initiates the chain of changes in it. First, it slows down. As it slows, its’ ragged movements smooth out. As the breath smoothes out, the space it occupies in the body increases.

As you practice paying attention to the breath, let it be deep and full, so each breath cycle expands and contracts the height, width, and depth of the whole torso.

So remember, Inhale fully, Exhale fully, and the body, mind, and spirit will Relax. Or as one of my mentors, Dov Baron, says, “Exhale Fully First”. Completely empty the lungs and the diaphragm out. This then allows you to truly and completely be able to take in the desired full inhale and to then be able to fully exhale and start the cycle again, getting connected to this present moment and what is happening now.

This can be a really powerful reminder if you let it. When we recognize our breath, we recognize that we are human. We become connected to the moment, and we allow ourselves to create a closer connection to ourselves, which opens up the doorway for deeper healing in all areas of our life. 

I want to know… What helps you slow down, take a breath and get connected? For me one of the most powerful things is Yoga. When I asked my assistant, she actually told me she has a specific song, so I thought you may enjoy so here's the link (it's appropriately called "Just Breathe": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyut3GyQtn0