Hello beautiful! I hope your day is going well, and that it has been filled with love and positivity!

Whether it is or not, let’s use these next few minutes to just be present. Don’t click on any new notifications that may pop up. Don’t worry about what you have to do next. Resist the urge to replay that awkward encounter you had earlier in your head. Just close your eyes and focus on what’s happening around you now, as we go through this breathing exercise together.

What are three things you hear? Do you smell anything? What are five things you see? Notice the texture of those things. What are you sitting on, and how does that feel against your legs? Notice how your clothes hang on your body, and how that feels on your skin. Is your jaw clenched, is your chest tight, are your legs bouncing? Just take in your environment, and breathe deeply.

Now take a big, deep breath, inhaling for five long seconds. Fill up your lungs to their full capacity, as if you couldn’t possibly hold any more air. Hold it all in for two seconds, and then slowly let it all go for five seconds. Feel free to sigh out loud – let everything out! Empty your lungs completely, and hold that for two seconds. Then repeat – slowly fill all the way up with air in five slow seconds, hold it, and slowly exhale for five seconds.

As you breathe slowly and deeply, take notice of how it feels within your body to breathe like this. How does the air feel on your nostrils and your throat as it goes in and out of your body? While you inhale, feel your ribs expanding and your belly button pull into your spine. As you exhale, let go of all of the negative emotions you’re holding onto, along with your breath. Is your jaw now unclenched, and maybe your chest feels lighter?

Thank you for sharing this mindful moment with me! I hope you’re feeling more grounded and ready to take on the rest of your day.  You can always come back to this technique as you take on the rest of your week – remember when things get tough and stressful, you can focus on your breathing like this to relax and slow down a bit.

Just breathe and you’ll get through it!

xo, Lauren

@its_gonna_be_okayy