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Every Breath You Take....
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
Mother Nature has giving us a built-in emergency first aid kit, which can instantly bring some relief in whatever situation one might find oneself in.... if one 'remembers' to become aware of/surrender to its presences ....
This
Helps
Everytime
Brings
Relief
Everytime
Anywhere
Transforming
Healing
When feeling anxious in times of stress
Where thoughts can create a mental mess
If one can remember to be aware of this
Calmness will be restore or perhaps even bliss
Having to practice what comes naturally " breathing" ...Go figure 
just another one of life's conundrums....
But the obvious is not always so obvious
Is the breath part of your mental first aid kit ?
3
Comments
It's part of my natural reaction to getting caught up in difficult feelings or a wandering mind when I don't want it to wander. I take a deep breath which connects and grounds me. It's become a more common part of my life, more like checking a watch or something rather than a first aid kit.
Kinda like a pre-emptive strike @person
Pre-emptive breathing, good plan, relax before the crisis (fat chance during it). Meditation before you need it. Dharma now, not when the next dukka intensive arrives ... etc Seems like a plan ...
... time for me to sit and breathe for a while, in what I refer to as 'my formal practice' ... actually did a wonderful hypnosis/relaxation which involved breathing yesterday ...
Here it is:
Treat yourself.
Thanks @Shoshin. A timely reminder
**Parasympathy for exhalation...***
Breath is under conscious as well as under autonomic control. Your breathing turns out to be the link between you and your autonomic nervous system. Letting go’ is a key aspect of breath awareness. You can experience this sense of surrender if you take a deep breath in and then emphasize breathing out until there is no more breath left. Then you would rest in the prolonged pause between the exhalation and inhalation until your body automatically wanted to start breathing again. It’s unnecessary to try to control the breathing process at that point. You’re still simply observing your experience of the automatic movements of breathing. when you exhale, or breathe out, it turns on the part of the nervous system called the parasympathetic system, which tells everything to calm down. This provides you with a unique opportunity to help your nervous system relax. If you can make the amount of time that you breathe out longer than the time it takes to breathe in, you’re intentionally instructing your autonomic nervous system to relax. It’s that easy.
You're welcome @Bunks ...At times we can become so adsorbed in/charmed by our unwholesome thinking patterns, that we forget "it's just a thought" ....and our breathing pattern is the last thing on our minds...when it should be the first....
I guess the more one becomes aware of /familiar with their breathing, the less likely the mind will become charmed by its own thoughts (locked into the pattern)....
After a while, thinking just becomes thinking... just as breathing just becomes breathing...Nothing Special
Very much liked what @IronRabbit said.
In the sutras the pre-Buddha practiced some extreme 'breath out' pranayama techniques and ended up with a headache.
Fortunately after enlightenment, he advocated the attention to breath as a diagnostic and feedback/training tool.
Breath gently, kindly, softly but deeply.
Body Dharma - simple.
According to Professor Richard Davidson our minds tend to rest in the negative state, always on the look out for danger (ie, this negative state being the mind's comfort zone, so to speak
) ...And according to some neurotic neuroscientist, they say it takes three positive thoughts to balance out just one negative thought...(not eliminate just balance out)...
Hence why the importance of ongoing mindfulness practice....to help reverse or neutralise the negative patterns that we can so easily slip back into
The "Thought" Police
I recently changed from a focus to breathing out from the mouth to a focus on breathing in and out gently/with awareness frrom the nose.
Here is Tibetan style, alternate nostril breathing ...
http://www.thewayofmeditation.com.au/blog/the-incredible-benefits-of-tibetan-pranayama-and-how-to-do-it/
Live long and breath gently ...
"....I'll be watching you"
A couple weeks ago when I had trouble with my van, I forgot to breathe!
My anxiety level skyrocketed.
I lost at least 2 full night's sleep because of it.
Let's put it this way: It was the icing on my crap cake!
(I prefer crab cakes!)
@silver have you thought about putting up simple signs around your house ? (Like a form of "Subliminal persuasion" )
I've been told it should be. But I remain skeptic.
Maybe I am not breathing enough...
When we are about to react negatively rather than respond to someone else's behaviour, one of the first things we do is hold our breath.
Holding one's breath is the first impulse for our body to get ready on "fight or flight" mode.
That's why it is so important to hold on to our breath as a way to ground ourselves and be more aware of our responses.