How to Air Out Your Vocabulary:
When we hold our breath, we unknowingly tense our shoulders and tighten our chests, which can lead to a habit of breathing rapidly and shallowly. Train yourself to observe your breathing. Do you:

• Hold your breath when mousing, cutting & pasting, or waiting for the computer to respond?
• Feel sometimes a sense of anxiety and an inability to breathe?
• Breathe generally shallowly, rapidly and in your upper chest?
• Expand your chest and raise your shoulders when you take a deep breath?

If you have one of the above breathing patterns:

• Ask yourself what statement you would use to describe your breathing pattern, such as, I gasped in awe, It took away my breath, etc.
• Then, create a statement that describes how you want to resume your breathing, such as, "My breathing is quie," "I breathe effortlessly," "Breathing is calm and regular," etc.

Throughout the day, check your breathing, gently exhale longer and return to a rhythmic pattern of breathing. When retiring at night remind yourself to exhale slowly as you drift into the peaceful heaviness of deep sleep.