Have you ever found yourself feeling like you “can’t catch your breath” in life? Chances are, that is not only a figure of speech, but a way of life for your body. It’s funny how our emotions tell all in our physical symptoms.

If you find yourself saying this or feeling this way, take a moment to catch your breath. There is nothing lost to take this time and everything to gain.

To begin, put one of your hands on your sternum (pictured). With your shoulder vertical over your hip bone, relax your ribcage down until the hand on your sternum goes vertical as well. If you cannot get your sternum vertical without force, don’t force it, stay only where you can go through relaxation.

From here, close your eyes, and imagine a giant rubber band is higher up around your stomach, at the base of your ribcage. Breathe deeply through your nose, and pull the breath gently through your chest and down into your stomach, making the rubber band stretch.

Then, slowly release the breath out of your mouth, sensing if you tensed your shoulders, your jaw, or any other part of your body. If you tensed any part of your body, relax it on the out breath, then do another set of breaths without tensing.

Giving your body a full breath more frequently will aid you in getting more normalized sleep, a healthier mood, and can help you be mindful that very few things in life are so urgent that you cannot breathe a full breath.

Intentionally,

Jess