A couple of days ago, I watched in wonder as a friend used the simplest, yet most ingenious technique to disrupt her daughter’s mounting tantrum. It was about 5PM. The kid was tired and hungry and just as she started to lose it, the mom said, “Yoga breath!”

All of the sudden, her preschooler let out what sounded like a giant joyful sigh.  And when I looked over, she was smiling.  She and her mom inhaled and exhaled together about three or four times and this formerly grouchy child transformed before my eyes to serene and happy.  I’m not saying this is a panacea for everyone.  But I was amazed and it got me thinking about how often I’m about to lose my cool and forget to just breathe (like the time my little darlings decided to decorate their faces when I turned my back to check my email for like 5 seconds. See photo below)

Physical therapist Christina Attiken says moms often hold their breath and don’t even realize it.

“When you work out, trainers will remind you to breathe when you lift heavy weights or are pushing hard in a cardio class.  When you’re doing yoga, the instructor will make sure that you’re breathing well.  But, no one reminds you to breathe going through your typical day as a mom,”  the owner of Momeez PT in Orange County, CA explains.

“Being a mom is a lot of physical work. By remembering to breathe, you can take tension off your muscles and get stronger instead of feeling strained.  You can move through your day feeling more centered and balanced when you become aware of your breath,” she says.

Here are Attiken’s 3 tips to relax your body and your mind in less than ten seconds:

1. Stick out your tongue for 2 seconds. This will help relax your jaw.

2. Relax your shoulders: Think of carrying a lot of weight on your shoulders and then, let everything go.  You should feel weightless and light.

3. Allow a gentle inhale starting from your belly and then slowly exhale.

All together now….Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Doesn’t that feel better?

How do you let go? Do you have any quick fixes? Tell us!

Mom, look what we did! The perfect time for a deep breath.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 5:20 pm and is filed under well-centered. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.