Just Breathe

Sometimes the best place to begin is to breathe.

So I invite you to take a few deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth and I want you to gently notice how you and your body react.

Notice your belly filling, as if it were a balloon being filled, and the gentle pause between inhalation and exhalation.

Are you feeling a little calmer, as if things slowed down a little bit? Is your heart perhaps beating a little bit softer and at a slower rate? Maybe your limbs are feeling lighter or heavier. Is your posture less rigid and more relaxed?

Take one more deep breath and take notice of your body.

Perhaps by this point you've arrived at a more natural breathing pattern and I want you to try to keep with that as you read this post.

We just took a few seconds, maybe 30 max, to pause and just focus on our breath. Breathing can be a valuable tool to not only calm anxiety, but also to invite yourself to connect with your body, even if it is just for a moment. Taking a few deep breaths allows for the opportunity to clear your mind because you're feeling overwhelmed, or possibly giving yourself the space to sit with an emotion for a few moments before you choose to react. We all use it in different ways, but regardless breathing is a very powerful tool and something that can be done anywhere, at virtually anytime.

So maybe the next time you have a few moments to yourself, you can take a few breaths and focus on your breathing and give yourself the opportunity to reconnect with your body, even for just that moment. You can always find time to breathe. In fact you do it everyday! So what better way to develop the skill, than through practice.


-Jessica Huerta is a Clinical Mental Health Intern at The Awakening Center. Jessica is currently pursuing her Masters of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Roosevelt University.