Do you sometimes get the feeling that life is running away with you?

Feel like you have no time to stop and think and even when you do you don't know what to 'do' to relax?

Are feelings of overwhelm part of your everyday?

If you answer yes to any of the above I would like you to do something right now...

- breathe out through your mouth making a small noise and empty your lungs completely

- take a deep inhale through your nostrils (3 seconds), hold your breath (2 seconds), and a long exhale through your mouth (4 seconds)

- close your eyes now and repeat this 5-10 times - when you feel your heart beat has slowed down and you feel your body more relaxed open your eyes and notice for a moment how you are feeling before you get on with your day

How easy was that? How did it make you feel?

Your breath is the most portable stress reliever ever and its power is truly amazing. It slows down the heart rate, helps us to shift to the para-sympathetic mode of our autonomic nervous system which allows us to rest and digest, tend and befriend... and even feed and breed (as opposed the the sympathetic mode which leads to fright, flight or freeze).

So when a meeting is becoming too stressful, when you feel annoyed or upset, before you eat, before you sleep, when you get up in the morning, before you react impulsively to something or someone.... use the powers you have been given. Let your breath really help you...

Maybe give yourself a little reminder a few times a day to consciously breathe...

I would love to know how this simple technique makes you feel - why not leave a quick comment below?