Breathe Baby!  What Your Infant Self Can Teach You

I ask you to do one thing for yourself today.  Give yourself one minute – just one is fine! If you have more, use it.  You are worth every moment – just as you are.  Turn off the TV, put away your phone, and remove all distractions as much as possible – just for a minute.  Sit or lie down or stand if you must but don’t lock your knees.  Keep them soft and relaxed.  Now, for one minute, at the minimum, take a deep breath.  Really be aware of the breath – feel it travel into your lungs, down your belly – and breathe it in slowly.  Hold that breath for a count of 3-5 seconds, if you can, then slowly let it flow out of your mouth.  Really focus on just the breath – try not to think of anything else – just the slow breathing in and out.  You may feel some tension in your body.  Take another deep breath and when you release it, let the tension flow out.

Breathing?  It sounds so simple, right?  But it isn’t always easy to do.  We are born knowing how to breathe!  Have you ever watched an infant sleeping?  We know the air goes into our lungs, but the diaphragm, the muscle that really helps to get the air fully into the lungs, is in our belly.  When babies breathe, their bellies rise and fall easily with the breathing.  They don’t have tension in their shoulders, so their shoulders aren’t rising up and down and restricting the airflow.  They aren’t worried about how it looks when their belly moves when it breathes – no fear of judgment.  They just breathe.  It was easy then – and you can relearn how to breathe if you practice.  I promise your body will remember how – it’s in your memory.  Whenever you need to relax or re-focus, just take some time out to breathe consciously.  Just a minute a day – more if you wish.

Simple, I said, right?  Ha!   I’ll admit when I first started trying to breathe consciously, I really struggled!  I was holding so much tension in my body, I was so uptight and worried about my belly going out, so needing to do it “right.”  I got all wrapped up and ended up getting all flustered and out of breath.  It took practice.  It took feeling comfortable with setting aside a moment to do such an “unproductive” thing.  But I kept at it, and eventually, I could do it.  From there, I learned many ways to use my breath naturally to help me feel better physically and mentally.  I have to admit, though, I still have to remind myself sometimes to think about how I’m breathing and start by just taking one minute to get it back.  Breathing is essential, mind and body – and is your first step toward caring for yourself, for your inner core, helping her to settle in so everything else can start to fall in place as well. 

Now thank your inner baby self for re-teaching you, and think how amazing you were at that tender age, knowing just how to care for and calm yourself.  You were a relaxation professional! Reclaim that skill and love yourself the way you were born to.