You have heard it before, take a breath, breathe. I don’t know about you, but I was always a tad annoyed that after taking a few breaths, I was still upset and went right ahead and made a poor decision.
The Story Behind The Acronyms
So, how did I learn to B.R.E.A.T.H.E. for clarity and my health? By now you have gathered that I love acronyms. They helped me during my years of studies to remember important facts. Well, I rediscovered their value during my recent weight loss journey and used them to keep me focused or help regain my focus.
You know what you need to do. Living a healthy life is the desire of everyone; yet, for numerous reasons, many have lost their focus. Your desire is still there to lose the weight, change the bad habits, and regain your “joie de vivre”. However, you find yourself still making choices that do not align with your desires.
You Are Not Alone In Your Struggle
I was there. For years I struggled to keep the weight off until I realized my lack of clarity was hindering my focus. I gained the clarity when my mind was no longer clouded by my emotional fog, shifted my focus, made healthier choices, and lost the weight. It is ONE YEAR later, and I have kept the weight off. One year may seem insignificant, but for me that is tremendous. In all my previous efforts I would gain the weight back in less than two months.
Acronyms are posted all around my apartment because I realized it is easy to go with the flow on automatic and make unhealthy choices. They serve as gentle reminders and help me to be mindful. You do not have to post them all around your home; however, put one or two in strategic places (your refrigerator door, your bathroom mirror, or the door you walk through every day).
Breathe For Clarity & Your Health
BELIEVE- choose a belief that is positive and touches you on an emotional or spiritual level.
RELAX- as you recite the belief out loud or in your mind, relax in the knowledge that God has your back.
EXAMINE- your BETS (beliefs, emotions, and thoughts) as they pertain to the situation or moment.
ACCEPT-gracefully the truth and reality that you are upset, sad, ticked off, bored, lonely, etc. Often you shy away from examining the emotion and think that it is so much easier to just reach for a quick fix.
TRUST-that God will give you the strength to make decisions from a place of clarity and compassion.
HONOR -your values with healthy actions as you are no longer blinded by the fog of your BETS.
EMPOWERED-by His love, you are set free from the momentary confusion designed to tempt or entice you into making unhealthy choices.
Breathing Is Not Only For Oxygen
So the next time you feel overwhelmed, annoyed, or find yourself running on automatic and decide to just chuck it all and reach for that cookie or fall back into the bad habit that you wanted to change, B<>R<>E<>A<>T<>H<>E! It is a scientific fact that taking a deep breath makes a difference in your health.
When you take a deep breath, expanding your lungs, you provide your cells with vital oxygen necessary for your organs to function optimally. However, there is more, you change your posture and activate your parasympathetic nervous system.
You have heard of the fight or flight response; well, the opposite of that is the responsibility of your parasympathetic nervous system and you can tap into that relaxation response and gain clarity when you learn to breathe.