One of the most beneficial practices I have taken away from yoga instruction and use daily is the yoga deep breathing technique…I think it may be called diaphragmatic breathing(who knows if that is spelled correctly).  Inhale slowly to a count of whatever is comfortable, ballooning out the diaphragm, pulling the air into the lungs, holding the breath for just a couple of seconds, then exhaling twice as long as the inhale.  A slow count to four on my inhale and a count of eight on my exhale works for me.

I find this breathing technique useful in several different ways; and, I don’t even have to be reclined on a yoga mat – while walking, sitting or standing anywhere works just fine…

• enjoying the delightful fragrances I encounter on a morning walk outside – the smell of newly mown grass, flowering crabapple trees or lilac bushes, or the moist smell of the earth after a rain;
• relieving stress when I find myself overwhelmed by a difficult project at work with a deadline, or the many tasks I perceive I should complete in a day that doesn’t have enough hours (I know, this last one is a self-imposed stress – a whole other topic to discuss at some point);
• gaining the strength to finish the last few minutes of my workout on the elliptical machine when I think I just can’t do it…breathing in strength, exhaling tiredness;
• finding the courage to do anything daunting – like making known to the public that this blog exists!
• easing pain – I love the technique a yoga instructor once taught me, to concentrate on the pain and to think about expelling it from my body with each exhale.  Try it – it works to relieve any tension in the painful area, if nothing else.
• bringing myself to the present moment to alleviate sleep issues (trying to solve the world’s problems in the middle of the night when I would like to be sleeping – another blog topic for the future).  Yogis preach being in the present moment – deep breathing centers me so I can experience that phenomenon.  (Yes, it is a phenomenon to me to be able to eliminate concern about how I handled something in my past, or worry about something that hasn’t happened yet – and may not!)  I’ll admit the deep breathing doesn’t always work in this case, but I keep practicing, hoping to master it someday.  Practice makes perfect, right??

There are probably other situations where deep breathing could be used, but these are the ones I practice regularly to help me “ignore the wind”!  Happy breathing.