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#62 Breathe

Often. You know—that whole oxygen and carbon dioxide moving through your body thing. It’s a good thing.

Seriously.

Stressed? Slow down. Take a deep breath in. Exhale. Ahhhh.

Shoulders up! Shoulders down. Breathe in. Breathe out.

Now isn’t that nice? I think so, too. So does every cell in your body that you just nourished.

Tip: Ever watch a baby breathe? Notice how the baby’s belly just goes up and down? Up and down…now that’s a nice, deep breath—that’s how you want to breathe. It’s called breathing into your diaphragm. Babies get it. Somewhere along the line, stress moved our breath up and up until we were taking shallow breaths and barely getting any air. Eek.

Try this: Put your hand on your belly. Try to keep your chest still while you make your hand on your belly move in and out. Why should you care? Because right there at the bottom of your lungs is where all the real friendly little lung guys hang out waiting to collect the most oxygen for you! (That’s the scientific description.)

Seriously, breathe deeply.

Increase oxygen. Reduce stress.