Your Breath Reveals Your State of Mind.

Your breath gives away how relaxed you are moment by moment.

A few weeks ago, as I sat guiding my students in class, someone’s Apple watch rang with an incoming phone call.  In the quiet room, the sound was very loud, very clear and very sharp on the senses.  Part of my guidance is to allow distractions, internal or external, to draw you deeper into a state of relaxation. It doesn’t matter what type of distraction, always come back to your breath (or your intention), so without a doubt, this was the PERFECT thing to happen. Right. Smack. Dab … in the middle of a meditation class.  As the teacher, I immediately tuned into my students’ breath and notice the majority of them follow my cue … their breath began to deepen.

But how often do we notice our own breath? It's something we take for granted … breath in and breath out, right? Along the same lines as the assumption of our heartbeat. Pretty simple, right? WRONG! The amount of breath we take in provides life-giving oxygen to our bloodstream and in addition, when we take the time to NOTICE it, we can tell what kind of state we are in.  Plus when we check in with someone’s body language, we can tell what kind of state they are in when we notice how THEY are breathing. 

Back in the days when I was a Sales Performance Trainer, I was frequently reminded of this as I listened to the trainees homework assignments and even with the pro’s I was coaching. What I take for granted as an understanding of a most valuable tool, I carved out the time to explain and teach. But this is what I continue to notice ... people do NOT fully breathe, taking in life in perfect balance!

When we breathe in shallow, upper lung breaths, very little oxygen is getting into our blood … and that same shallow breath what feeds the "fight or flight" sensations of the Sympathetic Nervous system, that sends us back to neanderthal days when we had to run or be eaten. And these days, it's also reflected in a lighter, panic-stricken tonality to our voices. 

When we breathe deeply, that full belly breath that starts in the belly and fills the lungs from bottom to top with the inhale and then the exhale is from top to bottom, how soothing that is. A rhythm as old as time. A rhythm we are born with … it’s what mothers watch for after their babies are born. I have come to feel that it's something we do that tunes us into the Earth's pulse. Filling the lungs soothes the Soul. In those moments when we are nervous or feel panic, to breathe these deep, long, full breaths, it calms us down versus the shallow breath that increases the pulse rate.

So the next time you are called into a meeting at the last minute or your boss calls and says he wants to talk to you or you find yourself rising into a reaction against a loved one … and your imagination starts running wild with "why" … turn your attention away from what is directly in front of you and focus on your breath. It will ground you and focus you in ways that you could never have imagined before. It takes away the "jitters" and centers you, keeping your imagination in check.

Plus in those early hours when you wake up long before the alarm is due to go off … worried about the deadlines you must meet, or the things you have to get done before family arrives - the long list of "to dos", come back to your breath and begin to deepen your inhalations and exhalations. Deep breath in, deep breath out … it will soothe you like nothing else.

And if you need to give your mind a job to do while you are focused on your breath, use the counted breath …

Five ... I'm breathing in. Five ... I'm breathing out.

Four ... I'm breathing in. Four ... I'm breathing out.

Three … I’m breathing in. Three … I’m breathing out.

Two … I’m breathing in. Two … I’m breathing out.

One … I’m breathing in. One … I’m breathing out.

Keep going and when you get to One, repeat as needed. The proverbial "counting sheep" (without starting at 100) in a way that serves the body. All of the oxygen that you are feeding your bloodstream will help you in your healing process - mental, physical, psychological.

As a kickback to my days working on ships … after a night of partying until the break of dawn, our nurses would sit in the infirmary and "suck oxygen" which would cure the hangover. For those of you who have been to Vegas, you know what I am talking about as they have these in the airport. So you see, nurses understand the benefit of oxygen in the healing process and so should we.

Since I don’t have oxygen machines at home … I make time and space for breath work.  

Deep breath in. Deep breath out.  
Inhale peace. Exhale tension. 
Inhale tranquility. Exhale worries.