Variance: Release

Exhale.

If that one-word instruction succeeded in getting you to release breath, you are in good company. On the best of days, most of us can be caught holding our breath. These are not our best days so we must be more intentional about breath. Especially, the release.

At the base of it, breathing is as easy as well, breathing. You inhale air and use air which causes you to inhale again. The issue is that most of us aren't using enough air. But, we are inhaling as if we did and then sitting on the air until it gets stale. That is oxygen-depleted air just sitting in our lungs. If we do this long enough, we can start to feel terrible and anxious. It can be hard to breathe because the lungs have air, so you are trying to fill a space with no capacity. You must exhale to release this air as you cannot use it while your brain is on high alert.

I'm not expecting that this news will turn you into a moving, singing, air-using machine (though I'd be thrilled). I do hope that it encourages you to remember to exhale.

ps: If this is really hard for you, there is an app for that.