How to Make Stillness and Deep Breathing a Habit

Have you ever said, or heard someone say, "Deep breathing doesn't work"?

This got me thinking about habits like say, brushing your teeth. If you only do it occasionally you could say that it doesn’t really work either.
 
Why is it so hard to develop a new habit?
 
There’s a lot of information about how to change a BAD habit but what about building a new one from scratch?
 
Let’s face it, we already know what’s good for us.
 
Try this:

Think about a new habit that you’ve been trying to add to your repertoire.
Got it?
Now see if the journey below sounds familiar.
 
We know how to do the thing.
We can even figure out when.
We sort of know why.
 
But still we don’t do it, at least not regularly.
 
Here come the excuses…
No time.
Too tired.
Forget.
Too hard.
Not urgent enough.
 
Then…
We feel guilty.
We feel defeated.
We’re okay without it.
We forget about it all together.
 
Until…
We realized we need it.
Something’s got to change.
 
AND WE START AGAIN!
 
YAY! WE START AGAIN!
 
This is so important that you need to say it out loud, tweet it, Instagram it or throw it up on Facebook, but share the message loud and proud:

“It’s okay to start again!”

Life’s a journey, you’re on your path, enjoy each day as it comes, try and try again…I know, you’ve heard it all before.
 
My all-time favourite way to fire up a new habit is to anchor it to something I’m already doing.
Let’s say you want to remember to practise your deep breathing. Maybe anchor it to when you get into bed, or just before you brush your teeth, or when you park car, or just before the first sip of your morning coffee?
 
Stress is going to wear you out!

Deep, diaphragmatic breathing triggers the parasympathetic nervous system which boosts the immune system, digestion, your pre-frontal cortex, where you have access to deep thinking, new ideas and more compassion. Click here for my infographic on the benefits.

Now back to the quote at the top of the page, “Deep breathing doesn’t work for me.”

 If we only try to breathe deeply during a crisis of anxiety or extreme stress, there’s a chance deep breathing won’t help. The calm deep breath we’re talking about here, is best used as a preventative tool.

We want to build up our emotional resilience and actually change our brain so that the challenges of our life don’t overwhelm us and set us up for stress, illness, worry and suffering.

The more you use this calming tool, the more you and your body will benefit!

Helping you smooth out your day!

Michele

Get back on that horse...

How's everyone doing with the "I'm going to get healthy in 2018" resolution?

[crickets]

Don't worry if you've wandered off track, or completely fallen off. You can just get back on that horse. No, it doesn't have to be the SAME horse but just 'get back at it' and 'give it another try'. We all know that any kind of EXERCISE and movement is better than total inaction, but goal setting can be super stressful. I've found that it's best to keep RE-CALIBRATE and try again, over and over, to gain the MOMENTUM we need to move forward in life.

Still with me?

Okay, so now consider this question: How's your INNER-CISING going?

Got any limiting mental stories about yourself that might need the boot? Just like your muscles, your invisible inner self needs balance, calm and harmony so it can 'get in shape' too.

Try this QUICK-START INNERcise.

Workout # 1: (1 rep, 3-5 minutes, 1-3 x/day)

1. Sit or stand very still while breathing calmly.
2. Take notice of a belief about yourself that you want to change.(eg. I'm really disorganized.)
3. Ask if it's REALLY true? (eg. Yes, most of the time, maybe.)
4. Send it some love so you can let it go--How?--Be kind and don't judge yourself. (eg.  I remember birthdays.)
5. Think of the possibility of more positive aspect of yourself. (eg. I don't have to be disorganized. I can practise planning. I can write lists or update my calendar and follow it.)
6. See it as being true. (eg. I'm actually pretty organized.)
7. Now relax. Breath. Relax some more. Keep breathing.
8. Feel your heart soften and send YOURSELF some love. Let your busy mind float your thoughts past you. Breath. Smile to yourself.

For a DEEPER WORKOUT, Repeat steps 6-8 or stay with step 8.
POST WORKOUT-take the action related to step 5.

Meditation Innercise helps to release stress by moving your energy from chaos to calm, and in the calm you can open up to yourself. 

Teach Children How To Manage Stress

Calling all teachers, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, friends and adults who spend time with children, including when you're out in public and are around children you don't know...

Do a quick check of your stress energy and notice how you manage it. Children and babies are very observant.  They keenly sense energy, even if they can't verbalize or process the thoughts around it.  

Give Children Tools
Let children see, and model, your DE-stressing techniques. Allow them to see the balanced version of you-how you get to your calm place. Maybe you take a deep breath, move more slowly, sit quietly, breathe calmly, write a list, walk in nature, listen to music, sing, dance, meditate, play and instrument, or even stretch out on the floor. 

Life will happen and those young eyes notice everything, so the next time you're running late and you've spilled something on yourself as you head out the door, bring your re-actions down a notch and let your cooler head prevail. Let's offer up a mindful approach to life so we can build up a resilient next generation.

One Simple Step to Find Balance in Life

Try standing on one leg. Go ahead and hold on to the wall for support. Tune in to the tiny, subtle adjustments that work automatically to maintain your upright posture. Concentrate and you'll feel the aliveness of the continuous adjustments, the wobble.  (Eckhart Tolle would call this, non-judgmental feeling of aliveness, your presence.)

Strive to find your balance: work/play, thinking/feeling, laughing/crying, action/stillness...Check in daily, weekly or annually to see if you're striving for balancing experiences. Is there too much of one thing and not enough of something else?

Wobbling is part of the journey that reminds us to continue to aim for balance. By paying attention, and accepting life's wobbles and adjustments, we can notice when we get stuck in one place for too long and then we can begin to make changes.  

                                    
Having fun with my wobble, hope you are too!