30 days of happiness: In, Out, Repeat

I spend a fair amount of time thinking about breath.  It is an occupational hazard for a personal trainer and Pilates instructor.  I have even written about it here and here.  Thinking about breath was also included with my $19.95 plus shipping and handling double offer of depression with anxiety attacks, although I think it ended up costing a lot more and I didn’t really want it in the first place.

Today I rode my bike, which involves several of the different kinds of breath listed in the happiness challenge.  There is the rhythmic breath that takes on the cadence of my pedals, shifting slightly as the terrain shifts uphill or downhill.  Perhaps due to good old Joe (Pilates, that is), I have acquired the habit of breathing out forcefully and allowing my inhalation to be more gradual.

I also have to use a deliberately slow breath from time to time.  If my heart rate goes up too fast when I exercise, I can trigger my own panic attack.  Because panic attacks are slightly less fun than most things, I have learned to recognize the point at which I need to slow my breath to ensure I don’t go into full meltdown.  Full meltdown means I actually have to get off my bike, breathe for a long time, and then talk myself back on the bike, which is bad.  I did my longest ride in months today, so it was more difficult than usual and I needed to stay tuned in.

At the end of my ride, all of my muscles were screaming at me.  I used my breath to bring attention and love to each one, working my way up my body.  And then I counted breaths to fall asleep for a refreshing nap.

Sometimes I remind myself that breathing isn’t really that complicated.  In. Out. Repeat.