Tag: breathe

Let Go, Slow Down, Reach Out
Life

Let Go, Slow Down, Reach Out

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

Plan for tomorrow but don’t lose today. Learn from yesterday but don’t lose today. We are so often caught up in our schedules that we forget to breathe in and be in today. If your days are full of have to be there or have to do this and you feel frazzled by things that happened or even didn’t happen yesterday, you miss what is happening right now.

Past experiences can hurt us but they also teach us. If you’re continuously on a slow simmer about what did happen or what might happen, you don’t see what is happening. If someone caused you harm in the past, it doesn’t affect them if you’re holding on to anger, fear, hurt and self-doubt; it only affects you, today – don’t miss out on your life.

At the same token, don’t be so busy planning or dreaming about tomorrow that you miss what is today because one day you’ll look back and find that so many years have passed in a whoosh. I talk to so many folks who don’t take a moment to just breathe and be in today. I realize that it is the norm for this day and age of hurry up. For many, myself included, we expect immediate gratification and if we don’t get it, we feel irritated, depressed, hurt or angry.

Make it a point, a plan, to step back each day and decompress. Take time to be in the moment and feel what the day has brought you. Take a moment to reach out to a friend or relative that you haven’t talked to instead of waiting for them to call you – you might make their day. Take time to appreciate what is instead of filling the moment with what was or what might be. Be here now, for yourself, for a friend, for a relative.

Breathe in the very moment. Exhale the anxiety and stress.

If you would like to have your very own personal coach to guide you away from habits you wish to swap for new and good habits, reach out to me and let’s get started!

Initiate Wellness
Mind, Body, Spirit Pause
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Mind, Body, Spirit Pause

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellnessLeave a comment

Which of these words or phrases apply to you?

Full mind, off-track, focus issues, multi-tasking, not finishing things, loss of interest, loss of motivation, easily distracted, feeling flighty, unsatisfied, going through the motions, auto-pilot, not remembering how you did something or got someplace…and there are probably a large number of other descriptions of feeling disconnected between your head and body.

When you feel this way, it’s necessary to take a mental break. Sometimes an hour is all you need to feel reconnected and with it but other times you may need a day, a weekend or a week. Vacations are given for a reason, so take your seriously. We all need to exhale from time-to-time. Taking a much-needed break is healthy for your body, your mind and your spirit. When you get yourself back in touch with feeling and being, remember to keep your peace by taking time out weekly; even daily to keep yourself grounded. Daily moments can release anxiety and toxins. Plan your week with a few minutes each day to reconnect with your body; know what your hands, legs, feet and the rest of you is doing…feel it. As often as you can, touch the earth with your feet and hands. Breathe the air, feel the sunshine, rain and breeze.

To get your daily dose, try this simple yoga pose called mountain pose. By doing this you allow your mind and body to become aware as one whole unit. Always remember to breathe consciously, inhaling, holding and exhaling…do it often throughout every day, it’s cleansing and releasing.

Here is a simple instruction on how to properly do “Mountain Pose” found at https://www.doyouyoga.com/mountain-pose/

Mountain Pose Step-By-Step

  1. Come to stand with your big toes touching and your heels slightly apart. Lift and spread your toes wide, releasing them down to the ground, and root down through all four corners of your feet — the big toe mound, pinky toe mound, and the two outer edges of your heels.
  2. Engage your thighs to lift your kneecaps slightly (without hyper extending your knees). Gently draw your energy in toward the mid-line of your body.
  3. Lengthen your tailbone down toward the floor and find a neutral pelvis.
  4. Draw your low ribs in to your body and press your shoulder blades into your back, lifting your sternum. Move your shoulders away from your ears, and broaden your collarbones.
  5. Relax your arms by your sides, turn your palms to face forward to open up through your chest.
  6. Bring your chin parallel to the floor and soften your face and jaw. Get tall from the soles of your feet up and out through the crown of your head.
  7. Remain in the pose anywhere from 5 to 10 breaths.

Take time to breathe. Take time to just be. ❤

Taking Time to Breathe
Healthy Inside/Healthy Outside

Taking Time to Breathe

Dawn Silva/InitiateWellness1 Comment

Having been exposed to poor breathing issues both personally and secondary to family members since childhood, I’ve come to appreciate the art of breathing more than ever. As a young child I was hospitalized for 21 days with pneumonia and my lungs haven’t been the same since. My younger brother has suffered from severe asthma since infancy and as an adult I was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma. Illness can affect the nature of your lungs greatly.

Smoking. Those who smoke never want to hear the words, “you should quit” and most often they already know they should but as I’ve been told many times over, quitting isn’t easy. I’ve never smoked so I cannot and will not judge; I will only urge and offer my best support.

Most recently I’ve experienced close up the effects that a long term smoker is suffering; this makes me want to be able to wave a wand over those I know and love who smoke causing them to quit cold-turkey without cravings or urges to ever smoke again. In order to help you imagine what I saw/see and experienced this person dealing with, name & character withheld for privacy reasons, I’ll mention that this person has been in and out of the hospital often for the past year and a half, they suffer from severe COPD and without going into details, they are suffering greatly. COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a combination of chronic bronchial infections and emphysema. COPD affects your breathing through the breakdown of lung tissue and as it advances it causes breakdown of the capillaries in the lungs. Oxygen going to the heart decreases causing the body to make more red blood cells that the heart has to pump at a higher rate which often leads to heart conditions and failure.

If your resolution for the year or the month or even for the day is to quit smoking, take it seriously. Do anything you can that will help you quit and learn and practice ways to increase and deepen your every breath. Even if you don’t smoke begin a practice as well. Meditation and yoga practices are great ways to learn to breathe.

When you learn to breathe fully and practice doing it on a daily basis you can experience, less fatigue, less fogginess, you’ll feel less tired and less depressed. Proper breathing helps you center yourself, detoxify your body and become one with your thoughts. Breathing affects every aspect of your life because life is breath; it sounds crazy maybe but we need to remember to just breathe.