Congratulations! You did it. You’re here. Right now, you are in this very moment, reading these words, which means you made it to 2019!  Whether making it for you equates to surviving the holidays with less glee than expected, existing within the context of the “current political climate,” going about today while mid-fight with a partner, feeling generally exhausted or any and all things in between, you made it. Welcome.

Take a breath, you deserve it.

Inhale deeply through your nose, allowing your belly to fill with air.

Exhale through your mouth, expelling the negative and allowing your shoulders to relax.

The moment we start breathing differently, our bodies start behaving differently. We help to soothe our limbic system. We turn down the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, turning off the fight, flight or freeze response. At the same time, we increase the release of endorphins, the feel good chemicals that help to decrease pain. Deep breathing begins to slow down our heart rate to sync with our breathing and supply more oxygen to our brains, allowing us to be more focused.  When we are focused on our breath, we are in the moment and nowhere else.

We trick our bodies into believing we’re calm, cool, and collected, which allows us to actually become calm, cool and collected.

Regardless of your goals for the new year, remember to take a beat. Inhale. Exhale. Give yourself time to:

Respond instead of react.

Turn toward someone when your instinct is to turn away.

Be gentle with yourself when you don’t do those things as well as you’d like.

2019? We got this.