Take a moment, my friends, and just breathe.
That’s right. You heard me. Breathe. Go ahead. Here’s some space:
How did that feel? No different, you say? Well, that’s because you breathed, but you didn’t breathe properly. Go ahead and try it again. This time, actually breathe. Here’s some more space:
Now how did that feel? Still the same? Well, that’s because you didn’t breathe properly. Actually, I need to take some blame for that one. I didn’t teach you how. In fact, no one taught you how. That’s the problem. People don’t know how to breathe properly.
Maybe that’s why there’s so much pain, anxiety, suffering, and disease in the world. Well, it’s not the only reason. But its definitely a contributing factor. We don’t know how to breathe properly.
That’s why you’re so lucky. Because I’m go to teach you how to breathe properly.
First, let me clarify. By breathe properly, what I really mean is “breath deeply.” Not shallowly like 99% of us do 99% of the time. No, not shallow breathing.
It’s time to learn deep breathing.
First step: Sit up straight. Or stand up straight. Posture is key.
Then, put your dominant hand on your belly. You’re going to actually feel the difference.
Notice now how your hand barely moves. That’s because you’re breathing is so shallow that your body barely fills up with air.
Let’s change that.
Take a deep breathe. Inhale until your entire belly fills up with air and your hand actually moves significantly. Here’s some white space:
Once your body is full of air, hold for a brief second or two. Here’s some more white space:
Now exhale. Let it all out. I’ll give you some more white space:
Congratulations. You just took the first of many deep breaths. Now repeat. For five minutes. Go ahead, I’ll give you space:
Now how do you feel? More calm, more peaceful, more relaxed? How about all of the above. That’s the power of deep breathing.
And it only took 5 minutes. Do at least three of these sessions in a day—morning, afternoon, and evening. That’s just 15 minutes. Out of the 16-18 hours you are awake. You can shallow breath the rest of the time.
A little deep breathing makes a huge difference.