I know that breathing is the most normal thing in the world. You’ve got to do it to live, if that ever stops then you can pretty much rule yourself out of being alive.
My Problem
For the longest time I had no consciousness of my breath. I just took it for granted that it was happening. However, also over time I was getting more stressed out and pretty tense. It got to a point where I could barely move my shoulders and I was in so much pain across the top of my back and down my spine. I wasn’t functioning properly.
When I knew I wasn’t breathing
At some point along the way someone asked me ‘have you ever felt your breath?’. I was a bit taken aback, ‘yea of course I had, I know I can breathe’. I’d completely mis-understood the question. They were asking me if I had ever paid attention to it, but I ignored it.
This question came up again when I had to go to the doctors. It was routine stuff, but as the doctor was listening to my heart she asked me to breath and I continued to do what I did on a daily basis. Again she asked me to breathe. I said ‘I am’ and she replied ‘well I can’t feel it’.
The Realisation
My eyes opened in realisation at the same time she said ‘your breath is so so shallow’. I breathed small tiny breaths that only partially filled the top of my lungs.
For the first time I consciously took a massive breath, like gulped in the air and then breathed it all out. It was like a tiny bit of that stress was leaving with it. I’m going to say it ‘it was revolutionary!’. A small little tool that took nothing out of my day or time but made me feel 100% better.
Taking that one long breath
I’ve ran with this ever since. When I’m in a difficult position, sat feeling hunched at work, I pull in one big deep long breath and let it go. It may not change everything, but it gives me that second to get rid of something that isn’t work for me and changing it.
This has helped me so so much in setting up my own business. I have a thing where if something has potential to stress me out, I breathe in and on the out breathe I let it go and do something else until I have a solution. It keeps my head in the right place.
However, funnily enough, the reason I thought about this little thing I do was because I was actively using in in pump class this morning. Every time it felt too difficult I would breathe in and out and try and let it go – I got through without giving up, which I class a victory!
Give it a go yourself!
Go on give it a go, consciously I mean, know you are doing it and see how it goes. Breathe in and think about all the things you are letting go of when you breathe out.
Sometimes all I think of is letting go of my shoulders when they are feeling tight!
NC
