Just breathing can be such a luxury sometimes—by Walter Kirn

Susan Hannifin-MacNab found me at my desk this morning, buried under a long to-do list, fully captured by the computer work I was lost in, and in my imagination she whispered….Kathie! It’s blog day and you’re late!

Holy Moly!

“Take a breath,” I heard her whisper.

So I pulled out her A to Z Healing Toolbox for this tiny, late blog this morning.

In her gentle way, on page 45, Susan tells of the moment when she realized that she wasn’t breathing. She was in a grief healing retreat co-facilitated by a yoga instructor and a meditation facilitator and discovered that at best, she was rocking a “short, labored, tight, erratic” breathing that was high in her chest.

As a childbirth doula and educator, I often explain to pregnant people that when we are in anxiety, fear, or panic, it is common to forget to breathe. It can also happen when you are at your laptop and asleep to a deadline!

As the story continued, Susan was not breathing, then chest breathing, then working with wonderful determination toward belly breathing. After utilizing drinking straws, yoga classes, and free breathing apps, she landed at bio-feedback sessions.

Are you, like me, saying hmmmm–sounds interesting!

You’ll have to buy the book for the WHOLE story, but I’ll just say she trusted the doc, she gave it a go, she learned about her body, and, in her words . . .

I have slowly learned how to breathe again…any time of the day or night, breath is a natural healing tool accessible to all.

So refreshing to my mind, body, and spirit to take a deep, belly breath in middle of this busy morning.

It may just make my entire day.

Thank you, Susan!

*Taking a breath thanks to Susan Hannifin-MacNab’s A to Z Healing Toolbox. Just the medicine I need this morning! Used with permission. 

To check out the book: https://www.powells.com/book/a-to-z-healing-toolbox-a-practical-guide-for-navigating-grief-trauma-with-intention-9781634890847