Breathe, breathe, breathe

A Year of Mindfulness: 52 Weeks of Focus – Week 26

This week’s topic is FLOW. Life inherently has its own rhythm and flow. Think of the ocean, the balance of the seasons, the constancy of day and night. We as humans attempt to control so much of our lives when truthfully, “going with the flow” is the best way to carry on and CARRY OM! … As always, use this week to be mindful of easy flow in your life – and lack thereof! Physically notice in quiet moments those places that feel constricted and stuck – where the breath won’t flow freely as it should.

This is a hard one for me. I struggle constantly to control the flow of my life, and grow anxious when I feel that I can’t. I get frustrated when things happen too fast, or too slow, or in the “wrong” order. And I really have a hard time breathing. What I mean by this is that I often find myself holding my breath—for instance, hunched over the laptop, while driving, or while eating—I have to remind myself all of the time to take deeper breaths. And sometimes I can’t.

This makes me feel like I’m not relaxed—as if I’m in a constant state of unrest. And I can get by with it now. But once asthma hits in the winter, it will be seriously detrimental. I’d like to somehow get into a better habit. Breathe, breathe, breathe.