As we prepare for International Women’s day on March 8, what does this day mean to you?
In today’s world being a woman means that you are wearing many hats! You may be a full time mom, taking care of the household chores and all the needs of your family and now you have taken on the role of teacher and scout leader, coach and best friend. You may be a working Mom that now has to stay on top of all your job duties while you have kids at home. You may be a single woman that works from home and has not had much contact with other humans other than on a computer screen. You may be a health care provider that has been on the front line dealing with the loss of others and then come home to the needs of your own family. There are so many scenarios to describe what this year has been for women and there is nothing that can explain the depth of the responsibility that a woman takes on today. As the world takes a moment to honor women, I want to say thank you to all women for all that you do. And as you are finishing up one more task before you finally lie down to sleep, take a moment for yourself.
As we are rushing through to get everything done we are often breathing fast and shallow, which does not help at all with our already stressed out system. That is the breath of fight or flight mode and how are we ever supposed to relax enough to think about sleep when our body is ready to fight tigers (fight or flight).
So, in this moment, take in a deeper breath. Inhale through your nose for a count of four, hold the breath for a count of four, slowly exhale for a count of four and hold the breath out for a count of four. Repeat this 3 more times. It is amazing what a minute or two of deep breathing can do to bring you back to a more relaxed state.