“I’ve started my breathing journey!”

It’s not working, my mom complained.

She came to me a few months ago saying, “I realized I’m just holding my breath all the time, and when I do breathe, it’s really fast and shallow. I think it’s making me more anxious. Would yoga help with that?”

Yes, mom, that’s exactly what yoga helps with.

I showed her some basic stretches and breath work right there in my dining room. And then I promptly started Yoga Teacher Training.

People need this, I realized.

A couple months into her practice, she has come such a long way! From wanting to stay in comforting Child’s Pose for most of the class, to now sticking it out in through fiery Chair, and even leaning into challenging balance poses like Half Moon, she is feeling stronger and more balanced, and I am seriously struck by her progress.

But she came to me frustrated, saying the breathing thing wasn’t working: “I still find myself noticing all the time that I’m holding my breath.”

She said it in a “beating herself up” sort of way. She mentioned being in her garden, in the store, driving, and just feeling exasperated as she realizes she’s holding her breath, again.

She is used to being hard on herself. It’s a very old and ingrained thought pattern for a lot of us.

However, I saw progress. “You mean you are now noticing your breath and mental state at all these points during the day? Without even having to try?”

She saw it immediately.

If this is you, here’s what I told her:

That’s the first step to any change, awareness. Whenever you become aware that you’re holding your breath, instead of getting annoyed at yourself, let that be a reminder to take a few deep breaths. Before you know it, you’ll be lost in thought, letting anxieties brew, and holding your breath again.

Because that’s what it is to be a human.

And you’re just beginning this journey.

As you continue to practice slowing down and breathing at these junctures, it will start to become second nature to take a breath when your nervous system activates. You’ll eventually start to spend more of your time in a calm and relaxed state, without even having to try. For now, appreciate these moments of awareness.

She relaxed and said, “I see. I can be gentle with myself. I’m just beginning my breathing journey.”

My teacher says you can think of yoga as a breath class with a side of movement. We usually end up working our bodies quite a bit, but the breath is where it begins.

Ready to start your breathing journey?

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