Breathe For Change

For the past few years, I have been on a journey to be more intentional and aware of my health and well-being. So much of my time had been spent focusing on others. With no regrets or complaints, for years my focus was on raising my son. The fact that it took me fourteen years to earn my first degree says it all. I really wanted to be a good mom. Every decision I thought I was making at that time, was in the best interest of my son and his future.

When I met my love, my focus grew to include an even larger family. My life continued to evolve around my family and meeting their needs. As my kiddos began to need me less and less, I realized that my life was also changing in a way I had not expected. I came to understand that more time wasn’t on my side. There were many dreams I had that I was not able to attend to because my family needed me to be mom and partner. Even with all we had going on, I tried to squeeze out time just for me. That was always a challenge because it usually meant that I was up late into the night working on a website, writing a blog, or editing my book. During those times, sleep was not my best friend. There was simply not enough hours in the day. Often, I was in bed at midnight and my alarm was going off at 5 am. From the moment my feet hit the floor in the morning, they did not rest again until I was back in bed at night.

Our lives are a bit quieter now. The kids have all graduated and are either in college or working and in their own homes. I quickly came to realize that I had an overabundance of time! To fill that time, I made a list of things I have wanted to do but did not have the opportunity to with kids at home. As I begin to check off items on my list, I started by enrolling in a Women’s Ministry course at Moody Bible Institute. This course has been remarkable! I have truly enjoyed every minute of it! Although this course is still ongoing, an opportunity came for me to take a yoga training, which was also on my list.

The yoga training, Breathe for Change, has been a breath of fresh air for me. I had not realized just how chaotic my life was until this training. Learning how to simply stop and take a few deep breaths throughout the day helps me to not feel so frazzled and overwhelmed. As an educator, we are literally on a ten from the moment we get on campus until the moment we leave. Being in this intense state of mind for much of the day is taxing on the mind and body.

Through my training, I have learned to stop myself during the day when I am feeling as if my world is spinning out of control and just breathe. The best part of this training is that I am also learning child-friendly techniques to teach my students as well. When I purchased a sound bowl to use during the day as a reminder to my students to stop and breathe, I had no idea what affect it would have on them. There is not a day that goes by now that I do not have a student asking me, around midday, to sound the bowl so that they can take a break to breathe!

This leg of my journey is only beginning. I have about six more months of yoga training before I am certified as a 200-hour yoga instructor. This is one ride I am most definitely enjoying!

Just breathe…