If I just...breathe!

For no apparent reason, as I was sitting in a panel session today, I stopped and noticed that my entire body was tensed up. In a funny way, I think this full-body tension has been 24x7 since mid-way through our vacation in Rajasthan... funny, because it was happening not because I was stressed, but because I was so COLD (in the frigid 50-60 degrees!). They say it takes 28 days to form a habit, but in this case, seems like it was just a few days. Even back in warmer Hyderabad, my body wasn't sure how to relax.

I started breathing deeper, which prompted me to remember the abdominal breathing that my yoga teacher here in India taught me. As I started to breathe deeply and abdominally, all the tension in my body started to fade. And it occurred to me that never, outside of yoga, do I breathe this way!

Later at night, I started googling "proper way to breathe." All the articles say the same thing: human adults are the only animal species that generally do not breathe properly. Babies and animals all breathe with their tummies, their stomach puffing up during inhalations and dropping down during exhalations, with their chest staying still. Pretty interesting. Most adults breathe exactly opposite: with their chest moving up and down -- at least, I certainly do.

When I went on a yoga retreat to the Himalayas last spring, our instructor kept honing the importance of the breath as the single most powerful tool to achieve presence, clarity, and calm.

Feels odd to make a mental note of the process of breathing "correctly", but here it is:

1) Please your left hand on your abdomen and your right had on your lower chest.

2) Breathe in by inhaling through your nose: your left hand should move up, while your right hand stays the same.

3) Exhale fully through your mouth, like you are blowing on hot soup.

Et voila!