Breathe poster

BREATHE.

Of my many mantras, “BREATHE” is primary, priority – and for me, pivotal. My friends can attest to that – I will break into the middle of their run-on sentence about the issue du jour with a calm and strategically timed “BREATHE” in a heartbeat. WITH the accompanying motions of pressing the fingers of my right hand together, bowing my head, closing my eyes, and moving my hand from forehead to heart. Mmm hmmm. EVEN in public.

BREATHE.

It does wonders in helping to get/keep you focused, helping you gain clarity, helping you stay centered…helping you stay in the moment.

BREATHE.

Sounds simple enough but you’d be surprised by how shallowly many of us tend to breathe. It should come as no surprise then to know just how shallowly many of us live. *smh* How deeply can you truly expect to live, to experience life, to grow your greatness if you are wily-nily about taking in the life force that will keep you connected to all of that?

Someone once told me that breathing is a form of prayer. “MINDFUL BREATHING”. Conscious breathing. Deep breathing. I believe it, that it’s a form of prayer.

Today I’m consciously practicing “MINDFUL BREATHING”. Started the day sitting in stillness, candles lit, eyes closed, regulating my breathing…breathing DEEP, feeling my body fill with a sense of calm and peace, connecting my heart and my mind. For a person who tends to live in her own head too much (classic “over-thinker) combined with having a VERY vivid imagination and VERY strong intuition, being MINDFUL is a must for me. It gives me a chance to check in with my feelings, to not get caught up in knowing (or needing to know) and to let myself truly FEEL and then honor what I feel.

Breathing helps me ensure that my soul is intact. It helps me ensure that my heart is open. It reminds me that in my life, my first and foremost “board of directors” is heart, spirit, and mind and that I must keep them aligned and on one accord in order to live this life forward.

And so, I sat in silence. Breathing. Repeating the word “Grace” in my mind as I shook my “To Do list” free. The call to the plumber, the dorm fees, the hospital bill that remains uncovered even though I’m insured, home repairs, traffic, bills to be paid, articles to be written, trip to be planned, unanswered emails, unreturned phone calls, etc.

I let my breathing slowly erase those things from my mind and gave myself space and permission to simply BREATHE. To BE.

BE…connected with my heart, my soul.
BE…grateful for it ALL.
BE…present in this moment.
BE…centered.
BE…uninhibited.
BE…sure.
BE…joyFULL.
BE…authentically, organically, intrinsically, beautifully humanly ME.

BREATHE.

I pray you BREATHE deeply in the space that life gifts to you today.

Live, Breathe, Laugh, Love Deeply,
*~* MsJayy *~*

breathe-eyes closed

*~* QUOTABLE *~*

“Breathe yourself into the NOW.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

“You know that our breathing is the inhaling and exhaling of air. The organ that serves for this is the lungs that lie round the heart, so that the air passing through them thereby envelops the heart. Thus breathing is a natural way to the heart. And so, having collected your mind within you, lead it into the channel of breathing through which air reaches the heart and, together with this inhaled air, force your mind to descend into the heart and to remain there.” ~Nicephorus the Solitary

“Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God.” ~Krishnamacharya

“When the breath wanders the mind also is unsteady. But when the breath is calmed the mind too will be still, and the yogi achieves long life. Therefore, one should learn to control the breath.” ~Svatmarama

“I am worthy because I breathe” ~ Iyanla Vanzant