I will share one simple yet powerful practice called “Allowing Your Body to Breathe You.” What does that mean? As Victor Frankel says, “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” I am inviting you to make a simple but powerful choice to embark on a truly empowering journey by cultivating the frequent practice to pause and remind yourself to “Allow Your Body to Breathe You.” The emphasis is “Allow Your Body to Breathe You” versus “Taking a Breath” — this distinction is paramount, as it encourages reconnecting to your authenticity, the present moment and your body’s intuitive intelligence.

Instead of controlling breath with the intellectual mind, we release control to open up to a receptive side of our being. We listen, therefore reawakening curiosity, one of our keys to a truly fulfilling, creative and empowered life. No more holding onto the past or fear of the future, but true presence responding accurately to the moment.

Everyday activities come with both major and micro stress which accumulates in the body in the form of muscular tension and blocked breath. When we bring awareness as an objective witness to the ocean-like wave quality of breath, watching as we’d watch the sea, the mind’s focus is redirected, organically giving the clinging mental stress habit a chance to break rhythm. This gives your body/nervous system a natural reset from fight or flight to return to a more easeful homeostasis space.

Please pause now, even for a minute — disconnect from the phone, email, social media, even this article. Give yourself this gift to do nothing, receive a recuperative moment as you bear witness to “Your Body Breathing You.” No judgments, no changing or fixing anything — simply observe the sensations and feelings present in your body in this moment and “Allow Your Body to Breathe You.” Congratulations! Your participation is the most valuable commodity you possess in this exploration, as exhibiting your willingness is another powerful key to personal empowerment, growth and transformation. All too often we abandon the “self” in service of a task.

Our modern world has us so zoomed out or zoomed in, consumed with good or bad, that we are missing what is right in front of us. Furthermore, social conditioning rewards this imbalanced use of the self. We are encouraged to disconnect from the sensorial and feeling aspects of our body, over- inhabiting the intellectual/analytical part of our brain. It is a false perception that this makes us more productive. Again, Victor Frankel reminds us that we do have a choice. With patience and compassionate repeated practice, habits evolve organically. With this newfound awareness your body will naturally gravitate toward ease, authentic productivity and most important, grounded well being.

Now, let us conclude by revisiting this awareness/ balancing practice. Let the next few moments be all about observing and “Allow Your Body to Breathe You.” Consciously choose to invite your awareness into the sensations and feelings present in your body right now. There is nothing that needs to be fixed or changed. Simply be here now with your body and breath. Present, aware, accepting.