Today’s focus sounds simple, doesn’t it? Breathing in and breathing out – we do it every second, but do we ever do it mindfully?
I don’t. At least I haven’t done it 99% of my life. I just breathed. I mean, I had to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here anymore, right?
However, when I began to tap into conscious and mindful breathing, I began to change. I began to feel better. I began to heal. It sounds simple, woo woo, silly, but it’s what happened.
Breathing mindfully is powerful.
So, don’t underestimate today’s seemingly simple exercise.
This morning or whenever you have time, take at least 10 minutes to breathe in self-love and breath out self-criticism and denial. This exercise will empower you and surely help you to love yourself up.
When I got into the concept of breathing mindfully, I began with 3 deep breaths before I allowed myself to have my first cup of coffee in the morning. Now, my coffee is sacred to me, so I made sure to “get the breaths out of the way” to indulge in my favorite treat.
Over time, I was able to slow down more, really focus on the breathing, take in the smell of my coffee, the way the air was flowing into my nose and out of my mouth and it helped me to ground myself in this very moment.
Then, after a while, I ramped my breathing exercise up to 5 breaths, then 10, then 15 and now I’m up to several minutes of conscious breathing in the morning (on top of my meditation routine).
Now that I have a 3-month old son, I am so happy that I’ve began to focus on my breathing a long time ago as it really helps me ot stay calm and relaxed.
Last week, I felt quite depleted. My mind was buzzing, my eyes were red, I was so tired. Thank God for my mom who offered to take care of Johann for an hour, so that I could lie down and focus on my breath. It was incredible. Afterwards, I felt refreshed, rejuvenated, clear and full of energy again.
There’s all kinds of scientific evidance for the power of mindful breathing, but I won’t bore you with it.
I trust you’ll experience how powerful the breathing in and breathing out is and that it’ll help you to reconnect with your body, pause and then continue with your day in a more balance, healthful, relaxed manner.
Share your experience with deep and conscious breathing with us over on the FB page and/or the Instagram feed.
Search for #loveyourselfup to join the conversation.
Much love,
Anne-Sophie
