Emotional Wellness - When in Doubt, Blow Out!

Emotional Wellness Series #1
​When in Doubt, Blow Out!

(This is a transcript from my video of the same name.)
​I’d like to welcome you to the first in my series on Emotional Wellness. I’d like to call this one, “When in Doubt, Blow Out.” Have you heard that phrase before? The first time I heard it was in a childbirth class, where we were learning lots of different ways to breathe, and counting, and focusing on different aspects of the childbirth process. And they told us all along, whenever you get frustrated, or you forget what to do – you can’t think of which way to breathe at that time, just blow out. When in doubt, blow out.
 
Over the years, I’ve used this technique for many different reasons. When I get frustrated, when somebody cuts me off in traffic, when I’m feeling stressed, it just makes you feel better. But I notice something else that it does – it makes your face go into a frown.  Well that doesn’t totally make me feel better. What if I raised my eyebrows, and smiled? That’s better. Isn’t it amazing how, when you just change what your face looks like, it helps how you feel on the inside.
 
One instance where I’ve noticed that I “blow out” is at the end of a Zoom meeting. Have you experienced that? I call it the “zoom sigh.” When the meeting is over, and I click “leave meeting” I do the Zoom sigh. It happens every time. Even when I tell myself, “don’t do that.” But it’s similar to blowing out, when you just let out a sigh. But there’s that face again. How about if I told myself, “that was a good meeting. I was really glad I got to connect with those people today.”

Let’s start thinking about our self talk, and what our face looks like. We can really change the way we feel inside. And that’s one aspect of emotional wellness. To think about what you look like, what your body is doing, and talk to yourself. Speak kindly to yourself.
 
This morning when I woke up, I was in pain in my back, as often happens, and I did the blow out technique. But then, I straightened up, and I told myself, “I’m awake, I’m alive, and there is hope.” Let’s remember that there’s always hope.
 
Why do we tell people to smile when we take their picture?   It’s because you look so much better when you smile. And you feel better too.

I would love to hear your stories of using this technique - please comment or contact me!
If you'd like to see my funny face when I blow out, watch the video here: