Happy New Year: Breathe in 2018

So we're already into Day 4 of 2018 and I'm finally starting to sit down and think about my goals and ambitions for the year - if I'm honest, there's nothing BIG that's jumping out at me, screaming that I HAVE to do it this year. I'm just excited to see what the year holds and what 2018 brings.

I think perhaps, that there's been quite a lot of CHANGE in the last few years, definitely positive developments, but still a rollercoaster of a ride. In 2017 alone, I changed jobs and moved house, that's quite enough surely! 2018, I'd like to be a little more STABLE, a year that enables me to sit back and smell the roses, appreciate where I am in life, the people I have around me and the opportunities that come my way.

With that in mind I've decided to pick BREATHE as my word for this year. I started choosing a word as my intention rather than making resolutions a few years ago, and it seemed to work well - I've moved through Strong, Believe, Focus and Happy so Breathe seemed like a good addition.

Breathe

Breathing is obviously something we do unconsciously, it's how we stay alive after all (!) and we shouldn't really need to think about it. But sometimes that deliberate act of inhaling and exhaling is a powerful tool - for stress relief, to inject a moment pause into a situation to enable you to think, to appreciate the here and now before rushing on.

Whether we choose to Inhale the confidence, and Exhale the self-doubt, or simply stand on the top of a mountain and Breathe in the fresh air, I feel like my choice of word for 2018 can have mental and metaphorical meaning, as well as literally making me think about how I breathe!

As an asthmatic, the word BREATHE has even stronger connotations, as controlling my breathing and being aware of how I breathe is hugely important to managing my condition and still being able to take part in the activities I love. Breathing properly can make your training more effective, and enable you to achieve your goals, and with the power of breath being such a fundamental part of Yoga, it's a real reminder of the importance of reintroducing this into my life as well.

What are your goals for 2018? What word would you choose?