Breathe.
It’s kind-of my thing.
Yup. Breathing. I’m a fan. (0;
If you are familiar with me, you’re probably used to me repeatedly telling you to “breathe” which I know sounds cloyingly trite and obvious.
But I say it anyway because that one simple word has changed my life.
I’ve known the importance of the breath, of course, for ages. Yoga and meditation practice instilled it in my soul. But what I’m referring to is not the deep, ujjayi, inhale-exhale, greenteacandleommm type of breathing.
It’s just being aware that you are, or should be, breathing all the time. The simple yet profound act of directing my attention to my breath at any given moment brings me instantly into the present.
The here and now.
Being present changes…oh, just about everything. I value it so much because (here’s where it does get kind-of deep) God meets us in the present moment.
So when I am fully in the present, I am in His Presence.
To me, God’s Presence is the Presence.
The Presence, the moment, the breeze through the trees, the sunlight sparkles on the water, the sound of a child’s sneakers as they skip across the ground, even the silent tears shed hot against your cheek.
Breathe.
My best friend gave me this beautiful necklace for my birthday. It is truly one of the most magical gifts I’ve ever been given. Nestled right between my third and fourth chakras, it not only reminds me of the beauty of breathing but hopefully might move others to breathe when they see it.
It’s perfect.
Thank you.
- How’s your breathing? Yes, you. Yes, right now. Right. Here. And. Now. Breathe. Be here. Enjoy.
Deep inhale.
Exhale.
Right now.
Yes me.
Admiring your necklace.
It fits you.
Beautifully.
So thoughtful of someone.
So you.
You glow.
Today you look special.
xoxo
That was like poetry! Thank you
All of your posts are like poetry.
I’m just keeping up.
Lovely necklace Missy Beautiful
Breath has helped me a LOT however it has also brought up things for me too. During my course I’ve found myself getting so overwhelmed during meditation that I’ve stopped mid way through. It was a v. strange experience! Anyway yes I totally agree with you angel.
Hope you are having a good week
xxx
Deep breathing and meditation CAN bring up “things” and it is kind of neat because often we are more in the right headspace to entertain them.
But just try breathing like normalsauce most of the time…doing everyday things just remember to add &breathing.
I am watching tv & breathing, I am making my bed & breathing.
Being mindful of breathing really is powerful.
Yesterday I went to a yoga class and to my surprise it was a kundalini class. And not the fire-y kind. The slooooww breath focused kind. It was hard to adapt to (I was expecting a powerful vinyasa flow!), but it reminded me how important the breath is. Breathing has really helped me with anxiety.
Random/weird thought: One day I want to be able to do nauli.
Oh goh I think everyone needs a taken by surprise unexpected Kundalini class. I found myself in one — a course that lasted weeks, and the first session? OMG. Chanting and like weird had gestures…..and my ego would NOT go away. It was so annoying to have that background vibe of “thisiscrazyifeelweirdtoocoolforthis” that you can’t lose. By the end of the course (6 weeks?) I was into it.
Yet– haven’t taken one sine and that was way back when.
I swear, the universe anded me this gift. I so needed this reminder. Presence and breath are two super important tools for grounding, and two ways to appreciate the Now. I love your necklace, and you look gorgeous in it!
Yes presence and breath ALWAYS. During like…gosh everything. Showering. unlading groceries. Mundane stuff. We have SOSOSOSOSO much stuff in our minds — (FOOD&CO) that especially during recovery we need to get out of our heads!!
beautiful post! love your words. focusing on breathing, and therefore being present, really helps me in this life!
I know you of ALL people get this you lululemonyogibirdgoddessyou.
You got your center even in the heart of NYC and I am like amazed….I was wondering if the lifestyle would change and yes there has been incidents (ouch) you two are still you two.
And You are probably never gonna read this lol. I need an email replyer backer.
I just wanted to tell you how amazingly gorgeous your hair is
Thanks! God and I grew it all ourselves!
I like the necklace
. Breathing is definitely important- everything is so fast paced in life that meditation, yoga, deep breathing, is so great to calm me down and bring me back to reality 
And the excellent thing is that it doesnt have to be the ommmmgreenteacandledeep breathing time. Just ANY moment – notice your breath. Don’t try and altar it. Though what tends to happen is the second you do that you’ll be automatically wanted to take a deep breath and that is when you realize that most of the time we “hold it” kind of.
I am such a weirdo but I swear by this.
This week, at yoga, we talked about just breathing on a daily basis. How nothing is possible without it, we then had a 90 minute class with no music just listening to ourselves breathe – it was… Freeing and hard!
Breathing…..everyone’s a fan! I couldn’t live without it. Hahah
Lovely necklace
And also ‘greenteacandleommm type of breathing’ made me laugh! I’ve realised in the past couple of months that breathing deeply really does help anxiety. Lovely post 
xx
And just like…just breathe all the time. Not deeply. There is a time and place for that but like…when you are in the grocery store or having a conversation or like peeing even. Just keep noticing how your breath is. It changed my life.
“God meets us in the present moment.” Such wisdom. Thank you for this insight and gentle reminder. You always come through in times when I need a bit of a nudge.
Breathing is essential for me just to manage my sometimes, moment to moment. It helps me stay as focused and center to the core of my soul. It allows me to come back when I panic or have anxiety.
Just as this post emanates the depth of goodness that you are, so does the light and joy in the pictures you’ve shared. You look absolutely radiant.
That friend of yours though should have gotten you a “PB&J” necklace made, right?!
God’s PRESENCE.
It’s the present. I know you get this.
The PBJ necklace would be awesome but this is just pure perfection. I love it sososososososososososososososososososososososososo much.
I wish she wore necklaces because I really want to turn around and get her one.
Twinsies! lol.
Everything about this post is beautiful – thank you Missy. Truly precious.
Breathing IS so important. I find it brings me back to earth. Calms me. Helps me think clearly. Helps me just to BE.
Thank you for sharing.
My breathing sucks! It’s the hardest thing about my yoga practice. My sister attended a class with me once, and she said, in her high-pitched fairy-like style, “Nikki, you sound like an astronaut.”
Hahaha! I’m so self conscious! … about fat, breathing, and blowing my nose!
And your necklace looks like the Carrie necklace. Pretty!
It does look like a nameplate.
One of my best friend still rocks her Gold one from — well…you rememember when they were like the “it thing” right?
BUT – But — But!!!! Your breathing is supposed to sound like an astronaut. Or Dark Vadar during yoga. It sounds like you have perfect pranayama.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful thoughts with us, Missy.
We are both fans of breathing. Mindful breathing. There can be such a transformative power in breathing – from chaos to calmness. Confusion to determination. I usually take a deep breathe and hold it. That moment – when I hold my breath – my heart speaks to me. Gently guiding me, telling me what thoughts to act on.
Love you. Breathe. All will be well with time.
There is certainly magic in that deep breathing especially the spaces between.
But what I am talking about is more on an “everyday basis is what I mean” like when your driving in your car…just make sure you are breathing. Humans have a tendency to forget to breathe really. Hard to explain
Awesome post! I love how God meets us in the present so we can be in His presence aka the best place to be
Missy, you’re awesome, I love the idea of noticing our breathing in the just “normal sauce” moments, to remember that it is a gift that we are breathing and alive. I am so often caught up in my own crazy mind soundtrack, that I forget to notice the beauty of a glowing crescent moon in the dark sky, a twinkling star to wish upon, and the gorgeous scent of raindrops. I sound sappy and romantic, but I do feel so much more alive when my scences are taking in the world around me and not just superfocused on the size of my thighs. I also love the tapestry of cities, the scents of fresh pretzels, people painting portraits on the street corner, and the amazing uniqueness of so many people bustling off to their various jobs and families. xo
Exactly Erin! You get it. It’s like as soon as I am like. I am here breathing all of the present opens up and it is the ONLY way to get out of the crazy-mind soundtrack.
[...] If you know me well, you know I’m all about breathing. (You too? lol.) But I’ve already written about that here. [...]
[...] Breathe and God’s Presence takes me to that place every.single.time. [...]