Scientifically this is how it works.  We cannot live without our breath, and we cannot move without our breath.  In exercise and in life breath keeps us cool, calm, collected, focused, and mind/body connected.  For some reason we start thinking, and we stop breathing. Things take our breath away and leave us breathless.  I suppose the beauty of this is when it is something positive, but when it is something shocking, scary, sad, or negative, we have to find our breath again, we have to find a way back to our breath.

When I am supporting a laboring mother as a Doula, I guide her to keep finding and connecting to her breath.  It actually makes more effective contractions, and is not as painful because you are not fighting, resisting, or fearfully stopping the process.  Our body either produces oxytocin when we let it progress naturally, and it is actually natural pain relief that gradually increases as the contractions get closer and more intense closer to birth.  If there is fear, escape, or just not wanting to feel, blocking yourself from being present, the body goes into adrenaline mode.  All of the blood goes to your arms and legs in order to run, in is a natural response, and is taken away from the uterus, so it actually is much more painful.

Being present is a choice, connecting to energy around you to keep coming back to your breath.  This is in every area of life, from birth to the ups and downs of living, to sickness and our last breaths.  How we feel on the inside directly affects our physical experience. Anger can literally make you sick, and laughter can strengthen your immune system.

I cannot keep everyone calm, not even my own kids.  It has to start with me, getting myself to a place of focusing on the present moment, and knowing that things move forward, and change and feeling is part of life.  In my Yoga classes and as a Doula, I create an environment where everyone finds their own way of staying present, and is comfortable letting go and just feeling as good as they can, and if something does not feel good, then we modify.

I choose to Feel and breathe,

Coach Yulia