Over the past few years, I've come to appreciate breathing. And how it affects the mind. And creativity. And mood.
There are a lot of variables to breathing, when you think about it.
How much air.
How fast or slow.
From the belly or from the chest.
Through the nose or through the mouth.
What you're thinking about while you do it.
Whether you tense up or relax.
And changing different parts of your breathing will change how you feel.
One solid move is to relax on the exhale.
Not just relax your lungs. Relax the muscles your face muscles you didn't realize were tense. Relax your thoughts. Maybe even smile a little bit.
And the cool thing is, you can practice that anytime you want. You have to breathe all the time, otherwise face imminent death...right?
May as well put it to good use.