Allowing yourself to take that breath

I’ve just got back from a week of family camping. It was so great, full of life and love that pushed all my healing buttons!

Honestly, I considered not going. I had a low-grade health thing that I thought would be a pain to take care of from a campsite, and I’m feeling behind on important pieces of work I’m super committed to.

I could have stayed home, but I went anyway because I needed the break to allow myself to breathe.

I hope you’re familiar with the benefits of breathing, not just as a vital action that keeps us alive, but also as a way to ground back into our inner selves and take ownership of our healing choices.

The chaos of life can rob us of the little things, like intentional breathwork and connecting with what serves us best. That’s when we get lost in the sauce of this human life, and we respond to the conditions we are being offered at that moment.

And we hold our breath.

Our minds move to what life looks like from outside of us instead of inside, like the to-do list or what someone may think of us. From there, many of us will experience the physical response from being misaligned with the goodness of ourselves.

Whole-self breathing doesn’t just happen automatically, especially when the sauce is boiling over. So we need to make it happen as part of our overall healing plan. Otherwise, we give in to the pull to ignore ourselves for things that may not even be our business or our true desires.

Seriously, when was the last time you gave yourself permission to take time for a healing and restorative breath? Not just to rest, but to really breathe—slowly, deeply, letting your body know it’s safe to soften. It’s completely natural but can still feel foreign.

So… Not only did I go on that camping trip, I took the time to breathe…

While watching the sun rise over the water, while playing lots of cards with my giggling grandkids, while watching the family furries retrieve balls thrown out into the lake. And with each breath, I said thank you for the honour of being on this earth, in this lifetime, with these beautiful people I call family.

Breathing is a reset button. It’s a moment to check in with my body, my heart, and that quiet voice inside that knows what I need, even when I forget to ask. Sometimes when the computer keeps me home, I’ll step outside, plant my feet on the grass, close my eyes, and just focus on the air moving in and out of my body. It doesn’t solve everything, but it always brings me back to myself—even if just for a minute.

We all get stretched, but part of our healing is noticing when that happens and allowing in whatever brings us back to ourselves. Give yourself full permission to be there for you.

When you need to breathe, try this…
Find a spot where you can sit or stand comfortably, even if it’s just the bathroom.
Close your eyes and take a slow, deep breath in through your nose. Hold it for a count of four, then let it out just as slowly.
Repeat three times, letting each exhale carry away a little bit of tension.
Ask yourself, “What do I need right now?” Listen for the answer, even if it’s just a whisper.

Breathing doesn’t fix everything, but it does give us the space to hear ourselves again. And in that space, we find clarity, comfort, and sometimes even courage to take the next step. You deserve that pause. You deserve to be heard, by yourself, first and foremost.