Most of us have stress in our lives. The news can be scary. Work can have pressures. Family may expect a lot from you. And darn it, you want to show yourself love and have no time! Doing something to reduce stress is an incredibly loving gift for you. And a simple, quick way to do this is to do some deep breathing throughout your day.

Please don’t tell me you have no time!!! You can do it any time, anywhere, for even 30 seconds.

You breathe anyway, so why not get more out of it? Consciously take deep, relaxing breaths. Shallow chest-breathing–with the upper chest instead of lower in the diaphragm–speeds the heart and tenses muscles to enhances stress. Deep breaths release stress and helps your nervous system settle down. Breathing is in your control and enables you to relax anytime, anywhere. Why allow stress to control you? Doing this kind of breathing at different points throughout my day keeps me a lot calmer.

And keeping yourself calmer says, “I love me!”

Close your eyes. Breathe with your hand on your belly to feel air go in and out. Take a deep breath through your nose as your belly expands. Hold the breath a few seconds. Then let it out slowly through your mouth, as your belly goes in. Feel tension leave. The more often you do it, the more stress reduction you’ll have. Do it when you’re riding to work or in the bathroom or watching TV. Just a few every once in a while can have an impact on your health and how you feel. That says, “I love me!” each time.

Take the 31 Days of Self-Love challenge and get my book, How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways for free at http://howdoiloveme.com. And you can post your loving acts HERE to reinforce your intention to love yourself. Read my 31 Days of Self-Love Posts HERE.

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