Sometimes, even though we know the basic techniques for better living, we set them aside and often forget about them. We have a tendency to qualify something as simple, so much that we get to the point of disregarding them. Last week, I had the opportunity to go to a meeting about stress management. During the meeting, the small group who was seeing the presentation was required to put in practice relaxation techniques; among them were breathing and visualization. The main goal was to learn to relax with minimal effort and without any investment.
The visualization exercise we did was about transporting ourselves in our minds to the beach in a warm and nice windy day, enjoying the sound of the waves coming and going under a beautiful blue sky, while I was resting under a palm tree sitting comfortable and happy.
The second exercise was similar to the first one, but in this case, enjoying a walking to the forest, while practicing abdominal breathing technique instead of chest breathing. It is so easy to switch from chest breathing to abdominal breathing. The easiest way is to exhale twice trying to push out all the air in our lungs in order to open the diaphragm.
Sometimes we take elemental things in our lives for granted. In this case breathing; while we do not even have time to stop for a couple of minutes to enjoy a moment closing our eyes and concentrating our minds taking a deep breath, and by the way, giving thanks to the One who gives us the gift of breath, health, and life.