If you’ve been visiting Rewire Me regularly, you know we’ve been focusing on stress this month. As it happens, I’ve had a very busy month, filled with hosting a dinner party for 30 people and a workshop for 15, along with the responsibilities of my job, being a mom, and the usual household upkeep.

Drawing from the articles we’ve been featuring on the site about handling stress and staying productive, I came up with a plan to survive this busy month. Here’s what happened:

I committed to taking ten complete breaths two times a day, preferably when I was really busy. Each day I set a timer to go off twice, at times that I predicted would be hectic. The first time the alarm rang, my instinct was to hit the snooze button. But I held back and kept my commitment to breathe. I closed my eyes, inhaled, and thought, “Oh, boy, this is going to take a really long time!” I began to lose my patience, thinking how inconvenient this was, how I had too much to do and didn’t have time for this, especially NOW!

Then I slowly exhaled and inhaled again.

Every time my thoughts wandered, I kept coming back to my breath. By the third breath, I felt my heart begin to slow, stillness calming it to a sweet comfort level. I let go of the craziness of the day with each inhalation and exhalation. After the tenth breath I opened my eyes, and it was as if the day had just begun. What seemed like hours had passed, but I’m embarrassed to say that the whole process took about four minutes!

Imagine what a difference four minutes two times a day can make, just by breathing. Simple, yet simply amazing! Try it and let me know what happens for you.

Rose Caiola
Inspired. Rewired.