I have to share something about me you may or may not know. It is … that I LOVE making acronyms out of words that mean something to me. Above my wrist, I have a tattoo that has the word, REAL on it, made out of different symbols. The word real means to me: Realizing Everything is Always Love. [Lack of love or an abundance of love — when we peel away the layers — love is our foundation.]

Recently, I came up with one for word BE.

Breathe & Expand

It really resonates with me, on many levels…

When teaching T’ai Chi / Qigong, I am always reminding students to consciously breathe [feel their breath from their belly, their lower tan tien] and begin to expand not only their lung capacity, but their inner-selves, their life-force, their chi, and their well-BEing.

When facilitating Desire Map Workshops, I encourage participants to breathe into their desires [feel them] and allow their desires to expand them from within. Stepping out of the box of society and grasping for those outside goals. Instead, I invite them to let their desires guide them, expanding their lives and breathing into each moment. When we know how we want to feel, and we breathe that in everyday, our lives begin to expand from the inside out.

In other words…

“Inside attunement — over outward attainment.”
~Danielle LaPorte

Breathing is also something we take for granted, a life-force that continues within us, and hardly receives any gratitude. I remind myself to consciously breathe everyday, to feel that life-force within me and give thanks. I invite you to do the same, breathing is so simple, yet if we didn’t have it, you and I would not be here. [period]

When tuning into our breathing patterns it gives us opportunities to listen to our intuition. One of my Core Desired Feelings is [of course an acronym] IT = Intuitive Trust.

I had a chance to experience my breathing pattern a couple weeks ago. A design client from the East-coast had emailed me late Monday afternoon, wanting a couple “small” projects done by Friday. I read the email (all six-pages of it), immediately my heart was speeding up and my breath was getting shallow. At first I told myself, just to relax, I would speak to her about the next day and get all the specifics.

After she explained to me what this project entailed, I again felt my heart race and my breath get shallow. She then asked me, if I wanted to work on this project. I replied with a heartfelt, “no.” I then went on to explain to her, how my husband was bike racing out-of-town that upcoming weekend; I had promised my daughter a mommy-daughter night on Friday night; and I was teaching a Desire Map Workshop on Sunday.

There was a pause on the phone, then she said, “I respect your no, I didn’t want to hear it, but I respect you letting me know.” When I got off the phone, I did a little happy dance in front of my computer because I had listened to my breath, my intuition, and I had felt amazing!

BE = Breathe & Expand! I invite you to consciously thank your body for your breath everyday, give thanks and take some conscious breaths. Try it when you get into your car, before you turn your on the ignition — take 3-deep long breaths — then be on your way… and feel your life expand.