Hi Reader,
You know when someone jumps out at you and startles you (actually one of our favorite things to do in our family because it makes for some pretty stellar stories), what’s your response?
Your body likely reacts by putting your hands up, even if just for a second, and the whole front side of your body contracts as a way of trying to protect itself. You might get butterflies in your stomach, your heart might race and you might scream out of fear.
Now actually think back to a time when this has happened to you or imagine it happening right now…what automatically happened or happens to your breath?
My guess is you responded with a short, quick gasp in your chest. Or you might have even screamed. It all happens so quickly it’s hard to tell if it’s your body or your mind responding first. And that’s because your body-mind is so intricately woven together that the way they actually engage with the world is as one whole unit rather than two separate parts.
But no matter if it’s the thoughts or the body’s response that happens first, your breath ties them together. When you are startled, your breath is shallow and hyper-stimulated so that your body can escape whatever is attacking it (even if it is just a kid jumping out at you from behind a corner😄).
What if that same fear response were happening all the time…day in and day out? For many it actually is on a smaller scale.
It’s all the little worries or stresses or perceived threats we have just grown accustomed to living with that are constantly creating this low-level startled response all. the. time….especially with our breath.
And that greatly impacts how we show up in this world and how we breathe.
The quality of your breath mirrors the quality of your life. So if you really want more control in your life, it begins with learning to control your breath.
When we learn to control breath, we train our body-mind to show up differently and see things through a different lens so that when threats, stresses or challenges do happen. They impact us far less than if we are unaware of our breath and we let stress dictate how we breathe.
Now that’s certainly not always possible (like when a real person is jumping out at you with the intent to startle you), but when the day-in and day-out stresses happen, you can indeed be better prepared.
And that’s what I’m talking about this week on the podcast…creating that harmony within that comes from using your breath to tune into your body-mind.
=>Check out the episode here. (Or wherever your catch your podcasts)
You body and mind are one, not separate; and your breath is the channel that brings you to fully connect with and understand yourself as this one whole, complete being.
When you focus on breath, you step away from the thoughts and the chaos around you into the present moment, and by doing so, you create a different way of being in this world. A different way of perceiving this world.
If the rhythm of your breath aligns with the rhythm of the life, then choose to use your breath to create the rhythm you want to be living and you indeed will have that life.
Cheers,
Cathy
P.S. Intentional Breathwork Simplified is coming up–it’s free and will teach you some quick techniques you can use to change how you feel in an instant. If you’re not yet registered, check it out here.
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