“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky.
Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh

Have you taken time to breathe lately?

Yes, I know you are breathing. You wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t, but have you actively taken time to breathe lately? There is a difference, after all.

I do this exercise as a warm up in classes sometimes. A way to bring people into the present moment. Creativity, as I hope you have picked up on by now, is a great tool for that.

Breath is essential, we all know that. We have to breathe to stay alive. But breath is also essential for stress management. Feeling stuck in fight-or-flight mode right now? That’s not good for our physical or emotional health, and if we focus on our breathing we can actually work to reset our nervous system.

This activity is intended to bring a little more awareness and attention to your breath, to offer up a few intentional moments of calm. A simple practice that you could incorporate into any part of your day.

Supplies:

• Paper
• Pen, pencil, or marker

Grab your drawing/writing device and place it on your paper. Close your eyes. Bring your attention to your breath. Allow the breath to dictate where your pen and pencil goes. No rules for this besides following your breath. Maybe the breath feels continual, maybe it feels choppy and more like scattered marks. Draw for as long as you need to.

Open your eyes, look at your paper, notice.

Close your eyes again. Before you let the pen or pencil do anything, take a couple of deep breaths. Focus on the inhale, breathing all the way into the belly, and then letting that breath slowly come all the way back out. Keep with this deep breathing and bring your pen or pencil to the paper, allowing the breath to guide the stroke. Draw for as long as you need to.

Open your eyes, look at your paper, notice.

Breathe. 

This was a prompt featured in Creative Fuel Challenge, a semi-regular newsletter with creative prompts. I usually send it out twice a week, and it’s intended to inspire a little but of extra time for creativity in your day. Sign up here.

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