Parenting Blog

"Make a habit of bringing your awareness to your breathing frequently throughout your day. Our breath connects us to feelings of peace and contentment. Take a minute to deepen your breath from shallow, tense chest breathing to relaxed, deep belly breathing. When you feel totally overwhelmed, stop whatever you're doing, close your eyes if possible, take three deep breaths, and let your body and mind relax." -- Jan Marie Dore

It's impossible to be a relaxed, loving parent when you're tense.  But life with children is full of triggers that make us tense.

Of course, those triggers, be they tantrums or traffic jams, don't actually make us tense. We make ourselves tense in response to them. It's a choice.  Believe it or not, it's entirely possible to breathe deeply and feel relaxed during a traffic jam -- or even a tantrum.

The easiest way to remind yourself to let go of tension is to breathe.  Just breathe.  It brings us back into our body, back into the present moment, back into balance.  Back into a choice about how we respond.

Today, stop and breathe throughout your day.  Every time you're upset. When you find yourself in traffic.  When anyone in your house begins a meltdown. (Especially you.)

Breathing seems so simple you may find it hard to believe its power.  But as Sam I Am said about Green Eggs and Ham, "Try it, try it, and you may!"