Focus. . . Your breathing

Oh, my dear Blog Positive, how I have missed you. My computer has beckoned me day after day to come to you, but time would not permit.

Good things have happened: things which prove the importance of being positive, but also the importance of action steps. One cannot wish and hope for anything without simultaneously taking action. Stay tuned to hear more about this . . . next post, I promise.

Right now, I want to discuss the importance of breathing. Not normal, breathe in and out, do-it-just-to-stay-alive breathing, but deep, belly, yoga breaths.  This kind of breathing is calming, cleansing, heart rate lowering, relaxing, energizing and essential.

It's the sort of thing everyone reads about and instantly dismisses because they know it already. Studies have been done and published, I'm sure of it. Articles have been written.  Magazines have put side bars devoted to it.  It seems so simple, and yes, sometimes it's just a little too much work.

Yet, when I make myself, or when necessity leaves me no other option, the results are phenomenal. I urge you to try it. If you haven't been blessed with an amazing yoga teacher, here is how to do it:

• Start by breathing in deeply through your nose, filling your belly -- not lungs -- with as much air as possible. 
• Feel your stomach expand, and when it is completely full, hold for a few seconds
• Start to exhale S-L-O-W-L-Y through your nose. Feel and hear the air pass through your throat.      
• The full exhale should last a minimum of ten seconds -- but fifteen or more is optimal. Count in your head as you breathe out. Your stomach should contract. Try to focus on squeezing all of the air out of it, and bringing your belly button in towards your spine.
• After one breath, you should instantly feel calmer.  Do a few at a time whenever needed. 

Try it in times of stress --while driving or working-- on a bad hair day, when feeling grumpy, hungry, moody, unhappy, tired.

It works wonders when falling asleep seems impossible.

When about to engage in something not conducive to Megan Fox hotness, a few deep breaths will instantly bring the truly important into focus (Megan Fox hotness, and not cookies).