How can we get the most out of the awesome part of summer and still feel like we have enough energy to do well and enjoy it?
Summer is amazing – we have so much sun, more daylight hours, more energy – and we can also get to the place of over-extending ourselves.
We still have work obligations, and now we have a jam-packed social calendar. How can we balance the fun with the rushing around and still have time for self-care?
Here is a simple way to help manage the intensity of summer – a gentle breathing exercise. All you need is yourself, a few minutes, and a semi-quiet place like your (parked & stopped!) car or even a park bench! If you do this outside, make sure that you feel safe enough in your surroundings to close your eyes for a bit.
While seated, close your eyes and gently feel the air around you. Feel how your body is right now, and notice if there are any places that could be more relaxed.
For this breath, try to breathe deep into the belly, and then on the exhale really breathe out all of your air. Do this ten times, really taking your breath in as far as you can, and then pushing the air out on the exhale. After you have completed ten breaths, notice how you feel.
A really cool thing about breath: research has been done to find out how to support caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s. The best support they found was doing a breath exercise five (5) times a day – three cleansing breaths five times a day (at waking, at each meal time, and at bedtime) – actually helped lower blood pressure for the caregivers!
I hope that the reminder to breathe has helped you have a more relaxed day.
-Karla
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