There have been times in your life that someone has told you to just breathe. This normally comes when you are stressed or being unreasonable with your thoughts. Although many people dismiss this advice because whatever has upset them is consuming them. In actuality, they should hear these words. You can get the quickest relief from an anxious or stressful situation if you just breathe. Breathe in deeply right now. Feel your lungs expand as the clean air moves in. Exhale slowly removing the toxins (stress or anxiety) from your body. Be conscious as you take five long deep breathes. You have taken your first breath now let’s do it again. This breath should be a bit deeper as you become aware again of fresh air entering your body and stale breath leaving your body. Do a few more and become more aware of your breath as you inhale and exhale. Once you have taken your five breaths I want you to notice how much more relaxed you are. It has been proven that if you take five deep breaths your mind moves to positivity away from negativity. Also breathing is directly related to anger. If you breathe faster, your blood pressure increases resulting in anger. If you breathe deeply, the body temperature becomes neutral and you are able to control yourself in that situation. Negativity cannot reside where posivity lives. If I find myself getting overwhelmed or anxious I return to a few moments of deep breathing. This can be done anywhere at anytime without anyone knowing. I have found myself in line with someone ahead of me that wants to price match every stores’ weekly ad. When I am in this situation, I find a nice focal point (mine is usually a Snickers bar on the candy shelf) and start breathing deep. I block out what is happening at the checkout and just breathe in and out deeply. I begin feeling my intolerance slip away. I have also had someone say a cutting remark to me and instead of taking it personally I take one super long deep breath and release the hurt on the exhale. This works for me every time. Deep breathing is a tool you can carry with you anywhere. I will tell you though, this didn’t happen overnight. It took time for me to learn how to remember to just breathe when I needed to. I was reading several books by Jack Canfield and Bob Proctor when I began to hear them repeatedly say that meditation was the key to a calm life. I always thought to meditate I had to sit on a mat with my legs crossed chanting “OM” over and over. Little did I realize that meditation is just quiet time releasing your mind of thoughts. You sit how ever you feel is most comforting and quiet your mind. I didn’t know how to meditate effectively so I downloaded the Calm app. It gives you a 7 day free trial and you can try several different meditation or sleep sessions. I learned how to do a body scan which is just becoming aware of how your body feels. Another one I tried was 7 days of gratitude. This session began with a few deep breaths and a guided session on discovering how to be more grateful. There are sessions on cravings, anxiety, self awareness and on and on. Most of the topics have a 7 day block so you can practice one discipline weekly. The sessions are usually 10-12 minutes long. That was another misconception I had. I thought you meditated for an hour. I found after meditating for about 2 weeks that a new calm came over me. I felt more like I was floating through life instead of letting the little things get me upset. I even felt healthier since I was more calm and smiled more often. I am actually more productive and it seems my days go by more slowly allowing more time to enjoy my day. I think most people can find 10-12 minutes a day to feel this way too. I choose to meditate every morning in my bath. I decided to get up 10 minutes earlier to practice meditation before my husband gets up and our house is quiet. If you go a day without meditation maybe because you are on vacation or overslept simply find a quiet spot to sit and just breathe. Once you train your mind how to meditate you can do it anywhere and it will come naturally. Do not meditate in your car since you need to close your eyes. I assumed everyone would know this but…….. Please consider taking the time to explore meditation for your mind, body and soul. One small step and 10 minutes can lead to a beautiful calm.
The purpose of meditation is to make our mind calm and peaceful. If our mind is peaceful, we will be free from worries and mental discomfort, and so we will experience true happiness. But if our mind is not peaceful, we will find it very difficult to be happy, even if we are living in the very best conditions.
Kelsang Gyatso
gratefulgratitude.net 