Though breathing is natural, sometimes we have to take minute to really think about it and focus on bringing oxygen into our lungs.
A few years ago, two of my friends and I all had break-ups within a week or two of each other, and our mantra at that time was, “Breathe…” and we would say it to each other all the time and it helped get us through.
After a while, we started to say it any time one of us was stressed out about anything or having a bad day.
I almost got it tattooed on my wrist, but kept chickening out, but that’s how much of a mantra it was to me then.
I moved away a while later and we became more distant, so we didn’t talk as much and thus didn’t remind each other to breathe through the tough times.
I should have kept it as my mantra through the years, but I left it behind and slowly I stopped taking the time to really just breathe.
Life really has a way of kicking you in the gut and taking your breath away, causing you to gasp for air and forget how to bring it back into your lungs.
You realize that life is harder than you thought it would be.
Relationships are harder. Parenting is harder. Being an adult is harder that you ever expected it to be.
I think it gets some people down enough that they never learn to breathe again.
That’s why it’s so important to come back to your center.
I used to be a massage therapist, and I loved feeling like I was really helping people, especially when they had a problem and I was able to fix it, like this lady that had frozen shoulder and came back to me for a few months until she was able to lift her arm again.
I also liked the quiet time that I was able to have during the massage, unless my client wanted to talk, of course. But most of the time people were quiet and relaxing.
During that quiet hour, I was able to think and work through any problem I was facing. It was almost like a meditation time.
If I was having a bad day, I would feel better after giving a quiet massage, listening to the instrumental music playing through the speakers.
I really miss that.
I definitely do not take enough time for myself, and when I try to, my mind is thinking about what else I should be doing. Sound familiar to anyone else?
So I want to work some meditation back into my life, since I don’t have my massage therapy sessions, anymore.
I will set aside ten minutes each night to just take deep breaths and sit still.
I’ve heard that it takes a while to get to the point of really meditating, and to just let the thoughts come and go freely, but I definitely want to be able to get to the point of being able to silence my mind, or even just have a quiet mind that is able to think clearly on one thing at a time, instead of everything at once.
Just thinking about committing to just ten minutes is making me feel stressed.
How is it that wanting to take a few silent minutes makes me feel stressed?!
True proof that I need this.
Anyone have a meditation or relaxation technique that you use?