...And Breathe.

The power of breath work. You hear it all the time these days, it seems. Too good to be true, too simple to work? I beg to differ. Like I tell my teenagers ad nauseum, just "putting a comma in your day" and pausing for 2 minutes to take a few deep breaths in a row can do wonders to help you reset, detox, de-stress and move on with your day. And the science behind it is real.

Stress Reduction: Controlled breathing can help lower cortisol levels and activate the parasympathetic nervous system which is your relaxation response.

Improved Clarity and Focus: Proper breathing techniques increase oxygen flow to the brain, which can enhance mental acuteness, concentration and cognitive function.

Enhanced Physical Performance: Efficient breathing improves oxygen delivery to muscles, which can boost endurance and physicality.

Emotional Regulation: Breath work can help manage overwhelming feelings by stabilizing the nervous system - i.e. subduing the stress response and activating the relaxation response - thereby promoting a sense of calm.

Better Sleep: Regular breath work can improve the quality of those zzz's by relaxing the body and mind, which helps with both falling and staying asleep.

Real Health benefits: Building breath work into your routine can improve cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure and support overall well-being by promoting better oxygenation and reducing tension.

Simple? Yes. Powerful? Also yes. And don't worry if you have trouble, as I often do, making it a consistent habit. Just take a moment in your busy day whenever you remenber to and slowly try to incorporate it more regularly. Set an alarm for, say, 8am or 2pm every day - whenever is typically not a frenetic time for you. If there are days or even weeks when it just doesn't work, give yourself some grace and let it go. No biggie. It doesn't have a to be a ten minute guided meditation video, though a quick Google search will turn up gazillions of those and many of them are fantastic for all levels. If you like apps, I use a free one called Smiliing Minds, which suffices just fine. There are so many to choose from. But you can also just find a quiet corner, close your eyes and take some deep measured breaths on your own. I like the 4-7-8 method but it really doesn't matter. Just BREATHE.