In this month's  blog, "  The Power of Breath", I explore the physiological basis for why our breath is a powerful tool to manage stress. We don't have a lot of control over many of the reactions in our body when we are under stress but the one thing we always have is our breath.

Bringing a non-judging awareness to our experience is at the heart of mindfulness. We can use our breath, our body and our senses to return our attention to the present moment when we become distracted. This presence supports the relaxation response where our mind and body are working in unison. Our breath also offers us the pause in the midst of stimulus and distraction that helps us turn  habits into choices . Instead of reacting, we can pause  and then respond thoughtfully.

You might enjoy the related  podcast episode, 7 Mindful Minutes: Twenty Breaths, also available on iTunes.

Mindfulness Made Simple . . . But Not Easy

I was honored to write a guest b log for The Shipley School earlier this month. One highlight is the observation that we are all mindfulness practitioners. Any act done with a singular attention can be considered mindfulness. So whether you play an instrument, create art or love to read, you can practice mindfulness by giving each your full attention. In fact, without full attention, you may find yourself out of tune, out of sync. Focusing on "unit-tasking" instead of "multi-tasking" actually makes you more productive. Our culture's obsession with multi-tasking has a cost, it is estimated multi-tasking reduces productivity by as much as 40%! 

Vietnamese Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh writes about simple ways to practice mindfulness without having to sit in meditation in a dark, quiet room, in his book Peace is Every Step. Simple practices like taking a breath at each stoplight or each time the phone rings brings you to the present moment. Additionally, he describes everyday practices to engage with your experience. Imagine when you are eating, you are just eating or when you are washing the dishes, you are just washing the dishes!