Inhale. Exhale. It's Going To Be Ok.

Is life getting you down? Is the hipster iPad service kid talking in future-speak, and are you getting frustrated? Well, it is possible to live without your machines or coffee, but try to live without breathing for two minutes. Ironically, the last thing we pay attention to is the one thing we can’t live without. We let other things run our lives – particularly our hearts and minds – and those two things often give us the most stress. Just remember to breathe.

In and Out

Breathing runs our hearts, but how often do we let our hearts run our lives? You know that crazy yoga lady in your office who always grins her brains out and never seems stressed about anything… What’s her secret? And yoga focuses around the one thing you can’t live without.

Like lovesick fools we chase "every little heart’s desire” from chocolate to fast cars to that yummy (insert gender preference here) you saw in the lunch café downstairs. We chase those things all over the place. Sometimes we catch them. Sometimes we don’t. Often when we do catch whatever our heart tells us to chase, we discover our object of desire never meets our expectations, or if it does, we soon get bored and chase something else. Sometimes until we’re out of breath.

The mind wanders… 

And what about the mind? It's worse than the heart, and is completely ruled by the senses! Practically every little desire generates a single thought. The eyes send an image to the brain or the nose does the same (damned senses) and the next thing you know you’re the proud owner of something else you don’t need!

So, the next time your new iPad 2 app is taking forever, you're stuck in traffic, making a tough phone call or generally having a bad day - remember to breathe. Did the latte just fall in your lap? Really breathe. Instead of letting your mind be controlled by stress, or cool apps for your phone, see if your breath can control your mind. It’s easy. Just pay attention to it.