Hey there Reader,
I’ve always moved through life at a fast pace, using the phrase, “Why walk when you can run and just get there faster?” for most of my life.
Back in high school my body would try to bring me into a calm and relaxed state by yawning excessively before I competed or performed in any sort of event that put individual pressure on me…running track (this was the thing it was first brought to my attention in), serving in volleyball, giving a talk or presentation, and the list goes on.
My body was trying to get more oxygen in and activate my parasympathetic nervous system instead of being in the fight, flight, or, in this case, literal flee mode I was anticipating. It’s actually a really intelligent thing the body does when it needs to move into a state of calm.
But the problem is, it’s caused by overbreathing, AKA hyperventilating, in a sense.
I wasn’t actually giving my body more useful oxygen, I was decreasing it…by mouth breathing, by yawning and by taking big “deep” breaths. These breaths were increasing my oxygen, but they were decreasing my carbon dioxide, which is essential in actually allowing the body to use the oxygen it’s taking in.
When I started practicing yoga, it wasn’t just the way I was slowing down and moving my body that made me feel so good, it was the intentional awareness of my breath. And once I started posturing my breath to create a specific outcome… game changer.
I had had a breathing dysfunction for most, if not all, of my life. My body had just adapted to that as its normal baseline.
But when I started to incorporate breathwork into the rhythm of my day, which began at first with just yoga, then integrated effortlessly into other parts of my day as I realized the breath I had been taking in yoga even began to become dysfunctional over time, I started to notice vast changes in my perception of life and challenges, and even in the look of my skin and quality of sleep.
Breath can change how you feel in an instant, whether it’s giving you more energy, calming you down, or doing both at the same time. But it doesn’t have to be just another thing to add to your to-do list for the day. It’s a tool you can use throughout your day to create a new rhythm of intentionality in your life.
And that’s why I’m offering a FREE 5-day challenge to give you simple techniques to help you re-gain focus and calm your overactive mind at any moment without adding to your to-do list.
It all starts in a little over a week, and I’d love for you to be a part of it and invite your friends to join you. It’s all virtual and will be recorded so if you can’t make it one day, you’re covered.😉 And it will only be 15-20 minutes each day.
=>Check it out & get registered here.
I hope you’ll join us…the way you breathe literally can change you life. And it absolutely doesn’t have to be just one more thing to add to your to-do list. I’d rather you be able to integrate it into your life than interrupt your life.
Cheers,
Cathy
P.S. And just for kicks, I’m including a throwback pic of me in my sweet track uniform showing off my mad yawning skills before competing. Photo cred to my awesome mom–thanks, Mom, for capturing this moment so I could share 23 years later😘.
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