Breathing to live, Breathing to love By Ashley
Let’s face it; if you are not breathing, you are not living, literally not living.
We breathe about 22,000 times a day and probably don’t even think about it unless we are exercising, something startles us, or we are anxious about something. And even then, we may not even think about it. So, I am asking you to think about your breath for just a second cause while we may not be aware of it, there is a right and wrong way to do this very simple, very natural vital function of living.
Sit up straight and inhale and exhale. Do your shoulders go up and then come back down? If so, then you are not getting the full benefit of your breath. If your shoulders did go up, don’t worry! I’m guilty of this sometimes, and I am trained on teaching people how to breathe! To get the most from your breath, you should breathe into your belly, it should puff out, and then when you exhale, your belly should come back in. Think of a baby or your furbaby breathing while they sleep; they do this naturally. No instructions needed! If you are interested in reading more about the breath, here is an article I found.
Proper Breathing: How You Might Be Doing It Wrong
I also love the description of diaphragmatic breathing in the MD Anderson article below. As a whole, we forget that our breath can and does calm us. We just gotta remember to breathe correctly on a regular basis! 😀
7 anxiety hacks: How to manage stress and worry in the moment
Now that I have you thinking about it and maybe breathing a little better (hopefully not hyperventilating), I’d like you to take everything you’ve learned today one step further.
As you inhale, think of one thing you love about yourself, and as you exhale, do the same thing.
And then, on your next inhale, think of someone you love, and on your exhale, think of something about them you love and send them some love.
I am a huge fan of Yoga with Adrienne, and one of her mantras is Inhale - love in. Exhale - love out.
In the coming days, I encourage you to take note of how you are breathing. How does it affect how you feel? Are you calmer? Do you have more energy? Are you breathing love in? Exhaling love out? Let me know how it goes!
Until next time, keep breathing, keep living, and keep loving!
