"JUST BREATHE!"

“Megan why is the title in all caps? Stop yelling at me over the internet!! It’s not nice!!!” Bet you didn’t know that I was a mind reader, did you? Well a very sticky (literally) situation taught me a new life lesson, which was shouted at me by a doctor. Literally shouted, because I couldn’t hear. So don’t shoot the messenger for the yelling.

Some Background: My ear had become completely sealed off by blockage, leaving me temporarily deaf while causing ripping headaches and pains. Moral of the story, take good care of your ears. Just kidding (but you really should), the moral of the story is to just breathe. Why?

Life- Without breathing, you would be dead; so I suppose that’s as good of a place to start off as any.

Calmness- Many meditations utilize breathing to calm the body and focus the mind, making it useful during stressful situations...and again, the whole dead thing won’t help you much.

It solves everything- In the words of the doctor who was basically ripping apart the inside of my ear, “As a man who has been in three foreign conflicts, I can confidently say that the key to anything in life is JUST BREATHE.” The shade of purple I was turning from forgetting to breathe was not very flattering. I guess he noticed.

Do you ever notice that the moments in which you are preparing for something, you hold your breath? Like for getting shots, having plastic tubes put deep into your ears (welcome to my life), the dentist’s extremely pointy tool, or that last goal to swish against the net in the final seconds? Despite all of this stress and suspense, you’re still alive aren’t you?

Coming from me, this is huge (ask anyone who knows me personally) sometimes a deep breath is all that you need.

Before your big presentation next week, breathe.

Before you take on a jam packed day full of all of the stressful adult things that you don’t want to do, breathe.

When all you want to do is scream, breathe.

You know how when someone is giving birth, the deliverer instructs, no, screams for them to breathe? I think they just might be on to something. 

For the Benefits of Mindful breathing visit http://www.yogajournal.com/article/yoga-101/4-reasons-breathe-right/

Follow me on Twitter @TheDayILived and let me know how mindful breathing changes your life!