It seems like something so simple, but sometimes I forget. It might seem silly to think that I forget to breathe. I mean, you can’t last very long without taking a breath, right? Yet sometimes I find myself so caught up in something that I catch myself holding my breath.
In the craziness of dealing with renovations on a new place, moving and now fixing up where I’ve moved from, it seems never ending. There are boxes everywhere and I’m still trying to figure out where everything is in the new place! Now, more than ever, I am relying on my mindfulness practices.
It can be easy to think that there’s no time for meditation or even simple breathing practices with so much going on, but I know that now’s the time that I need these things the most! Stress can creep up on us slowly. Before we know it, we can make ourselves sick because we’ve allowed temporary setbacks or distractions to get to us. We all need coping techniques to deal with the sources of stress we can encounter in our daily lives.
You might not have the time for 20 or 30 minutes of mediation first thing in the morning and that’s okay. 5 to 10 minutes of mediation can do wonders. Sometimes even taking 10 deep in and out breaths is all it takes to calm the mind and reset ourselves for the rest of the day. You can deep breathing exercise at any point in the day where you feel like you just need a moment to just be.
Meditation doesn’t have to be sitting cross legged with your hands on your knees. It could be a walk in nature, listening to a song that uplifts you or reading an inspirational passage from a book. It’s whatever it takes to help you get back to your centre and feel balanced again. You just have to find what works for you!
I know it might seem like obvious advice, but don’t forget to breathe. If your feeling anxious, stressed out or overwhelmed, take some time to do whatever you need to do to feel better. Don’t force yourself to push through it. Take 5 minutes and focus on your breathing. Trust me; you’ll be glad you did! ♥