Have you ever noticed that you were holding your breath for no reason? Maybe you were in discomfort and you noticed, “Oh, it’s because I’m not breathing, duh!”. I notice this happens to me in moments of stress (both physical and psychological).

Sometimes when I’m doing a strenuous yoga pose, the teacher will remind me to focus on my breathing. “Deep inhales and exhales”. And that’s when I notice I’m holding my breath! I’m accidentally suffocating myself!

Other times, I’ll be in deep emotional stress. Perhaps I’m on the verge of panic. Or maybe I’m getting lost in my racing thoughts. I’ll try to cope through deep breathing exercises. And it’s then that I notice, once again, that I was holding my breath. This seems so silly AND it is so common and so not helpful for our physical and emotional wellness.

Here’s another anecdote from my childhood (I notice I use these a lot in my blogs). My Mom has coined the phrase, “Just breathe”. I can hear her voice in my ear, “Just breathe”. She has even gifted me with jewelry with “just breath” engraved on it! As an adult in pursuit of my emotional wellness and self-improvement, I value this phrase today. I love this reminder! Breathing is involuntary AND voluntary; breathing is a coping skill; breathing is meditation; breathing is yoga; breathing is life.

And now for a teaching moment to make sense of all of this. Humans are hard wired for primitive defense mechanisms. How else would we have escaped wild animals back in the cave man era? Anxiety makes humans do three things as a form of protection: fight, flight, freeze. If we consider what is happening when I notice I’m holding my breath, it seems to me that I am freezing. My anxiety is present and my body is involuntarily making me stop breathing in a freeze response. The problem with this is that racing thoughts and yoga poses are not as life-threatening as wild animals. And so, it is my job to recognize these defense mechanisms and replace them with healthy coping skills.

Awareness is the first step toward change and healing. If I notice I’m holding my breath, I’m aware. And then I can begin the healing and change process. And then I can, “just breath”. We all know how to breathe. Breathing keeps us alive every day!

Check-out the Emotional Wellness Tab for a tutorial on a breathing exercise. Check-out the Self-Affirmations Tab for more inspiration on breathing as a coping skill.