Caroline takes us through how we can feel after taking a deep breath, and has included a video on how we can fully do this and feel grounded.
To pause
To notice
To collect your thoughts
To make space
To listen in
To connect with yourself
To face the next moment
To find choice
The tiny amount of time it takes us to stop and breathe can create a vastness of opportunity.
In the pause for breath we come back to ourself to check in with the moment. In that pause we can make a different choice that comes from our own knowing. It is the pause that can help us to break destructive habits, or put our own oxygen mask on first, or gather strength for the big grown up pants moments that we all inevitably have.
It is the pause that allows us to make decisions from our internal barometer.
It can be the pause that calms us enough to wait or step back or that gives us the energy to step forward.
The infinitely vast yet microscopically small moment of taking a breath can change everything. You don’t have to know how to breathe ‘right’, your body knows.
You ALREADY know.
So stop for that breath.
That tiny moment might feel like forever if you’re used to reacting immediately.
Actually, no one notices. But you will.
If I could only ever offer one piece of advice it would be this: stop for a breathe. And if you still don’t know what to do, then stay for another…. the answers are in there. For those of you who find it challenging to focus on your breath, if it’s triggering in any way, then you can stop and notice the feel of the ground underneath you. Trust yourself, when the time is right, you’ll find your breath.
The breathing practice below takes you through a layering of techniques that can help to calm and steady you.
When we’re more used to feeling ungrounded, unsteady or ungathered, taking a moment to ‘just breath’ can be seen a less accessible option. Instead we might react habitually and continue to reinforce behaviour patterns that aren’t necessarily the best ones for us.
BUT if we practice breathing techniques at times when we are feeling more resourced (at times when we already feel more stable and able), THEN these resources become more readily available to us at the time when we need them most. They’re in the tool kit for the moments when we don’t want to practice them, but we want to implement them.
Go easy on yourself, working through the layers as you are able to today.
Author: Caroline Toshack
Movement Therapist & Eating Disorder / Body Image Specialist BSc
