Hey y’all! Hope everyone has been doing well! Apologies for not posting over the past couple of days! I personally get overwhelmed at the end of the year as it seems that all deadlines suddenly become ASAP and holiday planning stress begins to build up! This year, I have been pretty good about it because I have been able to maintain a growth mindset by identifying my stressors and really deconstructing them before I respond to them! That being said, I have created the BREATH 2 THRIVE - RATE OF PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE (BT-RPSS) (0 - 1) Calm & Centered: I feel completely at peace; my breath is deep and steady, and I am fully present in the moment. (2 - 3) Mild Stressors: I experience slight tension; my breath is slightly elevated, but I can easily return to a calm state with focused breathing. (3 - 5) Noticeable Stressors: I feel a moderate level of stress; my breath is shallow, and I can benefit from breathing exercises to regain balance. (5 - 7) Elevated Stress: I am experiencing significant stress; my breath is rapid, and I need to practice breathing techniques to find relief. (7 - 9) Overwhelmed: I feel overwhelmed; my breath is short and quick, making it difficult to concentrate. I need immediate breathwork to help ground myself. (9 - 10) Extremely Overwhelmed: I am in a state of high stress; my breath is erratic, and I feel disconnected. I urgently need to engage in deep breathing exercises to regain control. **Instructions**: Reflect on your current state and choose a number from 1 to 10. Identify your stressor and rate it on how it makes your feel and where it makes you fall on the scale If you’d like resources for breath work practices or further insights, just let me know! I’d like for you to try to this out and share one stressor and where that makes you fall on the scale and I’ll share a breathing technique on who to work through it! “You are stronger than you’re spiral!”

Happy Monday Y’all! Hope you have had a wonderful weekend and are ready for an amazing Thanksgiving holiday! You all will run into many stressors over this holiday weekend and all I want you to remember is “BREATH TO THRIVE”. Traffic, family, delays, burned food, etc… can cause a lot of stress. I get it! Remember not to be reactive and collect yourselves before responding! “When you own your breath, nobody can steal your peace.” I also found this brief article on stress which I thought you all would find interesting from the Harvard Medical School. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all had a great week and are gearing up for Thanksgiving Festivities! Please feel free to share your highs and lows of the week! Remember that we can always celebrate are lows with the lessons learned!

Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-27247-y

Lets focus on some intentional breathing rooted in contact with the earth. Go to the park, lake/ocean....any place where you can take your shoes off, root yourself in Nature, and work on your breathing practice. 10 mins of 4-8-12 breathing and then 5 x 1 min Breathholds (every 2 mins) 4 seconds inhale 8 seconds hold 12 seconds exhale