“Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.”
• You can release tension and stress through your breath. When you take a deep breath in through your nose, filling your belly (not your chest), you can imagine that your breath is like a sponge soaking up tiny particles of tension that sit within you. When you are ready, release all of that tension you’ve gathered through an audible, outward sigh.
• Sighing is an easy way to release or let go of something you are holding onto. We are, in a way, accepting that there is something burdensome present in us and that we have the capacity to move it from the inside to the outside.
• For some, sighing is like a form of prayer more powerful than words. In the Bible, Romans 8 describes that when there are not words for our prayer, the spirits intervene and pray for us. Their prayer comes in the forms of sighs, sighs deeper than anything that can be expressed in words.
• Allow your body to sigh. Sigh deeply. Sigh whenever you are in a space where you feel comfortable sighing. With each sigh you are acknowledging through a conscious action that while you have the ability to control your breath, you are not in total control of your life.
CARPE DIEM
Right now, take a deep breath in and hold your breath for a count of five. Then with an open mouth (jaw dropped slightly), sigh, pushing that breath outward as loudly and deeply as you can. Do this slowly five times in a row. Do you feel as if you have emptied something from yourself?