Stop. Drop. Breathe.

If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.

Amit Ray

If we take anything for granted, it’s got to be our breath. Considering it keeps us alive, five minutes of daily one-on-one time is a small ask which is why we should all:
STOP for five minutes
DROP what we’re doing
and
BREATHE – just breathe.

Taking 5 to Stop Drop and Breathe can mean the difference between feeling frazzled and feeling focused, thriving or barely surviving.

The beauty of this exercise? You don’t have to roll out a yoga mat, sit in semi-lotus and chant ‘ohm’; you don’t have to ‘know’ how to meditate. In fact, there is no ‘knowing or ‘doing’. You just have to ‘be’ somewhere quiet (lock yourself in the loo if need be) for five minutes.

Take this opportunity to hear what your breath has to say. Pay attention to its ins and outs. What does it sound like? Is it hushed and delicate? Does it delve deep into your belly with a sonorous sweep? Perhaps it feels trapped somewhere between your breastbone and throat.  Allow it to communicate how it feels, being mindful of its message, without trying to ‘fix’ it. Just allow it to offload.

And therein lies the money shot: that golden sense of time slowing down, thickening and stretching like expandable foam until it completely insulates the present moment – that blissful moment where time stands still and the weight of the world dissolves.

And all it took was five minutes to Stop Drop and Breathe.

Want the full meditative experience? Click on the link below for a guided breathing technique from my book – The Happy Medium.