Just breathe…

I’m a big foodie! I eat, like, three times a day… but most of all, I’m a breathie. Breathing air? That’s the best thing in the world! I couldn’t go two minutes without breathing.~Joe Mande

I am not a fan of yoga. The poses get me all discombobulated. I am not a very coordinated person and attempting to do yoga proves more than I can handle.

But breathing (another part of yoga), now that’s another thing.

Breathing is something I am fond of. I spent part of the day in the emergency room not that long ago because I was having problems doing it.

As a bit of background, a little over a year ago I had the left half of my thyroid along with a large mass removed. The reason for the removal was because the mass, or goiter, was putting significant pressure on my windpipe. It was enough pressure that it was putting an unusual kink into it. This may have been causing some previous breathing and swallowing problems I was experiencing.

Anyway, the surgery went well. I was sent home that day and left to begin the healing process.

I won’t lie to you, I was in a lot of pain and thankful that I had some good painkillers to take.

Fast forward to today. My breathing difficulties have magnified and I’m getting nervous.

Long story short, everyone was very nice to me. They sent me home with a clean bill of health—no blood clots or blockages—and a new prescription for something to relax me. Since there was no “physical” cause for the breathing issues then it had to be “mental.”

I thought, “Sure, they all think I’m a paranoid old lady in here having a panic attack.”

My other thought was, “I wonder if they think I’m a drug addict looking for a fix?”

I probably shouldn’t have made the comments about heroin! Well, all I told the nurses was that I hated needles so much that I couldn’t be a heroin user because I would never be able to “shoot up.”

But I digress.

So what does any of this have to do with happiness or yoga for that matter?

I’m glad you asked.

When you are doing yoga, you have to breathe. All the beautiful poses mean nothing if you fall out of balance because you didn’t match your breathing to the moves. Yoga is harmonious—it all works together. Just breathe…

Happiness also requires the ability to just breathe… to relax, to contemplate, to revel in the moment and say… “you know, that Ativan is very relaxing!”

#5minutestohappiness