Remember to Breathe

Here’s a mini-Replenisher you can do any time, anywhere, in any position — sitting at a desk, standing in line — and no one else will even know you’re doing it!

During the course of a busy day, take a few minutes to go on “purposeful pilot.” Stop. Look inside with your mind’s eye. Listen to yourself. Pay attention to how you feel at that very moment. Notice your breath. In fact, notice if you are breathing. So often when either zooming around on automatic pilot, or “vegging out” and ruminating on frustrations, we hold our breath without even realizing it. Or we hyperventilate, leading to runaway thoughts and bodily tensions we aren’t even aware of until we stop and pay attention to ourselves.

Attend to your breath. Notice its tempo, exhale, and allow it to slow down. Notice where your breath is going in your torso, and gently guide it lower down, till you are having low, slow, deep breaths into your diaphragm or abdomen. Imagine each in-breath is breathing in relaxation and encouragement, and each exhalation is breathing out tension and discouragement.

Conclude with noticing the positive effect this has on your body and your mental outlook.