OK, so I have realized that I am not breathing. Obviously not in the general sense of the term with the whole "air in, air out" thing. I am referring to the fact that I do not take deep breaths...almost never. I am a shallow breather (not to be confused with a prank caller just known as a "breather"). Have I really been spending my entire life holding my breath? Not breathing how I should...just enough to keep the ol' ticker pumping? The only time I seem to take a deep breath is if I am about to cough or I'm exercising - even then I am always reminded by the instructor that I need to breathe. I also find that most people do not take full breaths, you know the kind that when you inhale the air fulls your lungs and your belly rises too. Why is this such a hard concept to grasp?
I don't exactly know why I don't belly breathe. I know that when I am conscious of it and try to do this I feel better, happier and calmer. My shoulders drop and any tension slowly slips away. Why is it that my body will not do this on it's own? I shouldn't have to remind my body to breathe properly, right? It's not like I have to stick to an air budget so I don't go over my allotted amount of air. Why is my body rebelling against air? Or is it rebelling against me? What did I ever do to it? Well, there was the time when I was a kid and fell on the playground and split my chin open. There was also the time I gave myself a spiral fracture in my toe (turning it around 45 degrees, mind you) when I was chasing Sherman around the house, then there was the time I....OK, well maybe I did a few things to make my body angry. Maybe body is trying to suffocate the MS? Oooh...I got it! Maybe my body is slowly training so I can become a free diver! Hmm...maybe not.
The fact of the matter is that none of us breathe properly. We all need to get the oxygen in our systems to help our bodies function like well-oiled machines. We need to also metaphorically breathe by pushing out the stagnant things in our lives that are slowly strangling us and bring in freshness, clarity and perspective. We need to take deep breaths to clear our hearts, minds and bodies. Air is free and we need to take advantage of the benefits..before they starting taxing that too. I am making a pledge to myself that I will fervorously attempt to breathe deep at all times and, if not...there's always free diving.
