Don't Forget to Breathe

I stumbled across an amazing quotation by Andrea Gibson:

"I open my palm and my lifelines look like branches from an Aspen tree, and there are songbirds perched on the tips of my fingers, and I wonder if Beethoven held his breath the first time his fingers touched the keys the same way a soldier holds his breath the first time his finger clicks the trigger.   We all have different reasons for forgetting to breathe.  But please let my lungs remember."

When I read this, I thought about the first time that I was told to "breathe".   I'm pretty sure it was in yoga class and I remember thinking to myself, "Is this woman crazy?   Of course I'm going to breathe.   I have to in order to survive.".   It was after the instructor talked to us about awareness and that we do indeed hold our breath when under pressure that I began to revise my thinking.   I've become much more aware of how I breathe and when I hold my breath and how mindfully breathing can calm me.   Every morning I have established a bit of a ritual.    As you likely all can imagine, I find mornings stressful after the exercise and the breakfast are over.   They seem to be filled with a multitude of details that need attending to before I can get to work.   Pack my lunch, brush  my teeth, choose my outfit and accessories, find my mittens, charge my blackberry....and on it goes.   As I'm putting on my watch, I always stop and take a deep breath and tell myself that I can face the day no matter what it brings.   I'm not sure when I started this ritual but I find it helps center me and brings me a feeling of calmness even if that calmness only lasts for a few seconds.

Don't forget to breathe.