Day 37: Vacuum breath

Tonight I have put my kiddo to bed at least 5 times (and counting). By the third attempt, I felt my throat and chest constrict as I went up to comfort her. Babies can't be fooled, and their mirror neurons attune to our nervous systems, as much as our outward displays of calm. In order to settle her, I knew I had to first settle myself.

That's when I employed my good ol' trusty vacuum breath. This is something I picked up from a dude named Daniel Rechtschaffen who wrote a book called The Mindful Education Workbook. Sometimes visualizations geared towards children are good for us big kids too.

So as I move on her direction, I inhale deeply and imagine I am sucking up all the tension from my body, then hold it all in my belly, imagining it being compressed like a trash compactor. Finally, I exhale it all out. After a few rounds of this, as I feel my own body loosen, I snuggle my daughter and imagine inhaling all her struggles, then exhale them out too. In this way, I first calm my nervous system, and then help to soothe her.

I'd invite you to give it a go... now I'm off for round 6...inhale...and exhale.