Back to the Basics: How to Remember to Breathe

By Adwaita Das

Affirmation by Adwaita Das for The Health Collective

In situations of distress or panic, we often reduce our breathing. But, to breathe is one of the best tools of self-soothing. It oxygenates the body, detoxifying the blood, airing out the brain, opening windows of fresh thought, channelising both mental and physical relaxation. It does NOT help to be told to “just calm down”. It does help to remember the cool sensation of breath in the nostrils, bringing the safety of peace back to oneself with each inhalation and exhalation.