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Letter of Resolution

© S.G.Birch

As I begin a bright new year, full of potential and ideals, I will promise myself not to resolve to eat celery until I look like Pamela Lee. I will not resolve to keep my house the height of picture perfection, like Martha’s. This year I will not give myself unachievable goals that will have already lost their importance by mid-January. I won’t make promises to calculate my daily calorie intake, or monitor monthly the state of my Christmas gift list, or analyze the number of books I have read with my children.

This year, with it’s fresh face and new beginning, I will resolve to do one thing. I will breathe.

I will learn to breathe in deeply through my nose, exhaling slowly through my mouth. I will do this consciously several times a day until it becomes a habit. I will feel the air filling my lungs, oxygenating my blood, clearing my head. The very act of conscious breathing will help me to keep my mind and body refreshed, alert and rested. The increase of clean, oxygen-rich blood flow in my brain will improve my memory and increase my creativity, allowing me to become focused in my life, motivated in my writing, and organized in my home.

This year I will determine to keep my house safe, rather than spotless. I will spend more quality time with my children, without checking the clock or suffering anxiety about my to-do list. I will do my best to keep up with the laundry, but will refuse to let it grate on my nerves if I can’t. I will have more patience with my children, a closer bond with my husband and a stronger sense of myself.

I will accomplish this by breathing.

When the world begins to shut me in with its demands and expectations, I will close my eyes and breathe: deep, relaxing, soothing breaths that will cleans the soul, increase my energy level, improve my resistance to disease and promote a positive frame of mind. I will use breathing techniques to reduce my anxiety level, decrease insomnia and relieve tension.

This year I will try to buy healthy, nutritious snacks so that I am less tempted by the fatty ones. I will drink water when I am thirsty, walk when I have the opportunity and do Yoga when I am anxious. As I continue to learn the intricacies of each Yoga posture, I will be perfecting the art of breathing by holding, controlling and using my breath in each movement. The deliberate inhalation and exhalation of air will nourish my muscles, increasing flexibility and vitality. Deep breathing will burn extra calories, supply a healthy blood flow to my vital internal organs and enhance the efficiency of my digestive system.