Breathe!

I am a person who has a tendency to stress.  Those who know me will agree with this statement.

 But I have learned one thing. Someone said once that when you get stressed just take a deep breath and just breathe. Sounds too simple? Breathing can be used as a source of stress relief. It is simple and effective.  It works quickly, you can do it anywhere, it's free, it doesn't take much practice, you can use it in the middle of something stressful to stay calm and it can reverse the stress response and avoid negative side effects. When you slow down your breathing and take deep breaths it can bring on some powerful states of relaxation.

Do you ever feel like this?

Below are some situations you can use deep, slow breathing to calm you down:

• You’re stressed and you want to think more clearly.
• You want to release tension in your body.
• You’re feeling frustrated and want to ‘slow things down.’
• You’re in the middle of an altercation and you want to feel more centered.

I've had a chance to do this plenty of times and sometimes I forget.  But it really does work. Just this morning I had a stressful situation that I was proud of myself to be able to breathe and relax.  This situation may not be stressful or as stressful to some but when you are awakened out of a deep sleep to a situation, it has a tendency to be stressful.  But all turned out well and just like the frog below, I was able to relax.

So for those few of you that read this blog, have a very relaxing day and be thankful to the person who said to just BREATHE!