“Just Breathe and Everything Changes” -Sean Corn
Breathing, it sounds so simple. Sometimes it is an easy task and sometimes it is not. I have asthma so there are times that all I can focus on is breathing and not panicking. I think about Sean’s words, “just breathe and everything changes” and it is true. A full breath changes you physiologically, psychologically, and emotionally. It changes you spiritually and provides you a new perspective. Breathing is the basic building block of life that can change even the most difficult moment into something that feels endurable. It can change your brain from feeling out of control to fully in control. It can change your choices from haphazard to linear and goal-oriented. It sounds so simple and it can be but simple does not mean easy.
The physiological constriction of asthma is not the only instance that breathing feels impossible. At the times of your life that you have felt the most vulnerable or traumatized or even surprised, it can feel like too much to even breathe. Losing a parent, family member, or friend, your child in trouble or hurt, or losing a job can cause the feeling of breathlessness and the perspective of feeling out of control. Daily struggles or transitions in your life all can make life so difficult that it seems we have no options.
Sometimes the simplest actions are the most effective and the most grounding. We can breathe and exist in only our most basic space for a moment, reset and enable ourselves to move forward.
I never thought the most basic element of life, breathing, would mean so much and be the cornerstone to effective living.
Breathe, so simple, vital, and life-sustaining. If you only do one thing today, stop, focus on the breath. Be thankful and see how everything changes.