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Word Wednesday--Breathe

My official word for today, Word Wednesday, is BREATHE.

Definition: to take air, oxygen, etc., into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale; respire

 In Layman's Terms: to open your mouth, suck in lots of air, and then let it all out.

 Part of Speech: Verb (because it's an action, your stomach/chest should be moving while you're doing it-duh)

 Use it in a sentence: Sure!

  • I was feeling very stressed out during the test and had to remind myself to breathe.
  • It feels amazing to go outside and breathe in the nice, fresh air as winter rolls in. 
Synonym: inhale, exhale
Antonym: quit, stop 

     Now, to explain my reasoning for choosing this word this week. I feel like when we're stressed out or overworked, we tell ourselves and others "just breathe" or "just relax." However, when we have a list of a million things to do, how many of us actually stop and JUST BREATHE? It's like an actual homework assignment or chore! We all say we should do it, we all say we should relax more, but then something else pops up on our to-do list and relaxing gets put off again.
     So, I've been trying really hard to remind myself lately to actually breeeeathe (Yes, I know, I'm doing it already. Ha-ha) But I don't mean the average every day run of the mill breathing. I mean the deep, close my eyes, count my inhale, count my exhale, clear my head, yoga breathing. The real meditative breathing. The kind we're always saying we need to do. Well, I'm officially trying to do it! When I find myself feeling overwhelmed or stressed or upset...or even just wanting a few minutes to clear my head: I breathe. I'm not saying I've mastered it...or even really covered the amateur part yet. Most days I'm telling myself to breathe while going through a checklist of ten other things I could currently be doing, but at least I've remembered to breathe instead of going into full meltdown mode.

Current Results: I feel better! I'm not saying it's a perfect solution, but I'm definitely finding when I remember to do it, it's a good stress reducer! Plus, it relaxes me at night and clears my head...instead of thinking over my to-do list, I think of my breathing and counting. Definitely works. Try it! 😁

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