Love Is In the Air

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During the entire month of June, I truly felt the unconditional love in the air.  It was not only the kisses or gestures that brought out the love.  The love was hidden inside angry comments, in the frustration or in a tearful farewell.  It came from every direction, from family, from friends, from strangers or even from animals…. All I needed to do was to pause and breath the air in and open my eyes to the conversations in a very different way.  I was observing a mother and a daughter at a dinner table.  The mother was upset with the daughter and didn’t want to talk to her own daughter.  In the first glance, it was fun to watch but then I looked into the eyes of the mother.  There was sadness in the mom’s eyes for her choice but stubbornness was in her lips.  As conversations grew, the eyes soften and the lips lost the stubbornness.  It was hard to resist the love in the air - the love for a daughter, the love for a family. The night ended with the mom going into her daughter’s car to get home.  Lips were smiling and eyes were filled with happiness…

Basically, slowing my mind, letting the thoughts come individually as opposed to arriving like a jammed packed bus and opening my eyes wider really helped me feel the love in the air while I was in Turkey.

How many times, a loved one from your family has told you that you shouldn’t do something that you would really like to do?  And how many times have you gotten mad at that loved one? I can raise my hand and say “many”…. We all know that our loved ones had no bad intentions.  There is actually love in the air as they tell us not to do something.  However, the message comes ONLY with the negative side of it.  Often times, I forget to think through the “why” for my loved one’s reaction.  But if I stop and breathe, I can better see where they are coming from and react appropriately as opposed to being argumentative.  The goal should be to boost the love in the air not to put it down or shrink it, don’t you think?

It is very easy to focus on the negative and brew on it, especially for me.  However, taking one deep breath in (through my nose) and letting it slowly out (again, through my nose), really helps to clean the air and let’s me feel the positives all around me. This breathing helps me not only during my day to day thinking but also after my workouts.

And with that, here is my challenge for you - BREATHE THROUGH YOUR NOSE and follow the below rhythm.

  • Breathe in through your nose in 4 COUNTS

  • Hold your breath for 4 COUNTS

  • Breathe out through your nose in 6 COUNTS

  • Hold your breath for 2 COUNTS

Keep it up for 5 minutes and let me know how you feel.

Love is always in the air, just know how to breathe it in!  Big high five to you all for using your nose for its true intention as you breathe through you nose!