Do you own a reusable water bottle? When you drink from it, is it very heavy? Probably not. What if you held that water bottle up for 5 minutes? How heavy would it be? How heavy would it be if you held it up for 30 minutes or an hour?
When you hold onto stress and other things that don’t serve you, it’s a heavy burden to bear. The longer you hold onto these things, the heavier it feels, and the more damage it can do to you physically and emotionally.
To manage the stress of everyday life, give yourself a break on a regular basis. Put down your burdens for a while and take some time to breathe.
We live in stressful, uncertain times. The one thing you can depend on is your breath. It’s always there for you. When you can change your breath, you can change your emotions. Anytime you need to calm down and refocus, you can use mindful breathing to help you feel better.
Mindful breathing shuts down the “fight or flight” response and balances your nervous system, restores your energy, and instills a sense of calm and well-being. A regular practice of mindful breathing can help you build resilience, boost your life force energy, relieve depression and PTSD, cultivate balance, slow the heart rate, build capillaries to deliver more oxygen to the organs, reduce stress hormones and inflammation, and improve digestion and immune function.
Take some time on a regular basis to do nothing else but sit comfortably and breathe. Allow for space between your in-breath and your out-breath. When a thought comes, notice it, allow it, but don’t judge it. Then let the thought go. Release your breath, let your body soften on each exhalation and feel your arms and body grow heavy. Surrender to gravity.
As you breathe, become aware of a wave of relaxation moving down your spine to your lumbar and sacrum. Allow your hips to open and relax. Let your thoughts come as they may and enjoy the stillness. Enjoy being relaxed. Enjoy being. Be present in the moment.
Put down the water bottle, set your worries aside, and let go of resistance. It’s not an action, but an allowing. After you have rested, you can take up your life again, refreshed and better able to meet your busy life.
