What Do You Do To Find Your Breathing Space?
I’ve had a constant stream of people in and out of my home since Christmas Eve and yes, I’m peopled out. Two words that showed up in my journal last night were Breathing Space. Here I am a certified yoga teacher and I was feeling suffocated in my own home.
It happens to the best of us.
And so I started thinking. How do I create room to breathe? How do I create the space to step back and take a deep breath?
The last time I felt overwhelmed in my own home I noticed the feeling first. I allowed awareness of the feeling to push back the ego who wanted to say nothing and keep plodding along. With awareness comes my ability to speak up. So I did. But this time, it was my husband who noticed and asked if I was “feeling lost in my house.”
At first I brushed it off with a laugh. Who me? No way. I’m not lost. I’m just irritable, crabby, moody, and distracted. I hate when he’s right.
Sometimes even I don’t pick up on my own feelings. After an hour or so with my journal, I realized I was in much need of Breathing Space. The constant stream of people in and out, not to mention three generations living under one roof, coupled with an out of town house guest, finally got to me.
The guest left today and there’s one more large family gathering tomorrow night. Well, it’s technically the start of Family Dinner night, but this time, there will be a lot more people showing up for beef stroganoff and sour dough bread. I’m armed with awareness that I am peopled out but I also know that I can breathe anywhere. Not autonomic breathing, but conscious breathing, or pranyama. My breath is my life force and with it I can control stress and reduce tension.
To help myself find my own breathing space, I cleaned my room and rolled out my yoga mat. My intention is simple: to reignite my morning yoga practice with lots of sun salutations and breath work.
I’d love to hear from you. What are you doing to create Breathing Space for you? Leave a comment and you may be quoted in my upcoming article for StepMom Magazine!
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Hi Peggy! Breathing room. Funny enough, as my kids are getting older, I am finding that the dog is becoming needier than the tiny humans I live with, so I am actually able to escape more and have some time to myself. Lately, due to a chronic 4 month migraine, I have found that if I don’t have my breathing room then I feel like my head will explode and then who will clean up the mess? So, I go outside on the back porch and sit in one of the lounge chairs and close my eyes and meditate, try to center the pain and take it out of my head and move it through my fingers and out of my body. The cold air feels good and I like the sounds of just the outside, helps me ground myself.
Lee Block´s last [type] ..The Five Keys To Unlocking Your Best Life After Divorce
Hi Lee,
I can’t imagine having a migraine let alone a 4 month chronic one. I hope you get as much cool air and are outside as much as you need to be and more! Thanks for sharing how you get your breathing space!
I always try to wake up early and soak in the quiet of the house. It is my meditation. It doesn’t always work work out, but I certainly get it when I need it. Your Beef Stroganoff dinner sounds WONDERFUL!
Angelia Sims´s last [type] ..Weekly Photo Challenge: Winter
Crazy, but I find breathing space in cleaning and organizing. Sad, right? However, there is something incredibly fulfilling in bringing order to chaos.(for me) I spent the free time I had over the holiday cleaning and ridding myself of clutter and things we never use. I feel like I can exhale with the lack of stuff.
Hi Angelia! There’s a lot to be said for early morning solitude. I love it and have reordered my own life to practice 30-40 minutes of yoga while the rest of the house sleeps. Love it!!
Hi Talia – There’s nothing sad about cleaning and organizing! Hubs and I did a lot of that right before Christmas and now we have one last sweep of decluttering to do in our office. I always find I have more breathing room after a good de-clutter!
Peggy Nolan´s last [type] ..What Do You Do To Find Your Breathing Space?
I have been fighting for Breathing Space and time! I just quit smoking so I can afford to get a gym membership! I can drop the skids off at the day care in the gym and be Free for 2 hours! I feel like I am suffocating many days I do not get a break from them. Not getting away from the skids can make me resentful to them and their father at times. The gym helps me have alone time! Even if I just want to go sit in the Sauna I can leave the kids with the trained people!
Love the article Peggy… For me breathing space is still a work in progress. I’m not always aware of when I need it (oh except the 1st 10 minutes I get home from work). Overall, my breathing space is laying on the floor with the puppies. It centers me to just hang out with them. I’m looking for other ways to get the breathing space I need and more importantly, recognize beforehand when I will need it.
Awww…Nic! Breathing Space with the puppies – I love it! I find when I spend time with Edgar the Wonder Dog, I don’t feel like the walls are closing in on me. Yesterday I took him for a 20 minute walk but this morning is was near zero degrees. Neither one of us would have liked me if we went for an early morning walk
Peggy Nolan´s last [type] ..What Do You Do To Find Your Breathing Space?
Congratulations on quitting smoking Erin! That’s HUGE! And so nice that you have day care available at the gym so you get you time, breathing space, and a whole lot more!!