Tag: take time to 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
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.