Breathe in, Breathe out

The one thing that comes automatically to most of us is breathing. Yet the rhythm of our breathing is both a cause as well as a diagnosis tool of psychological and physical disorders.

From yoga practice I have developed a raised awareness of my own breathing rhythm but I'm increasingly aware of the breathing patterns of people around me.
I know that when I'm under stress I'm breathing in is less deep and the breathing out too short which, as a side effect, serves to poison the blood and raises the stress even more.

The most important effort that I have to consciously make is when I'm in a certain routine. Getting up, making breakfast, shower, dress, catch the bus, get to work and let the day be run by the calendar and the processes at work. That is when I almost always start to lose track of time and when this happens, I also lose track of breathing, forget to drink water, in short, I am certainly not mindful, although my mind is full of things to do, I forget about anything else. In such a state it is easy to be triggered, to get annoyed, even going as far as having a headache coming up.

What triggers the internal alarm bells to ring is not completely clear, but often I can literally hear a bell ringing. That is the sign to start breathing consciously, just breathing in and out and re-align.

To consciously breathe has also saved me from making a fool of myself more than I already do naturally, saved me from hurting people by judging and acting too quickly, and above all has saved me from depression.

Consciously breathing in and out may well be our secret weapon. For what, it is up to each of us to experience. All I know is that I'm not taking any more chances and apply the conscious breathing each time when I find myself out of balance.

Highly recommended :-)