Postpartum Anxiety + Box Breathing

I’ve never identified with having anxiety until I pushed a human out of my vagina. Postpartum anxiety is real. Not to mention the global pandemic that descended upon us just 4 months after a human left my body (and how that pandemic is still happening even as my baby is about to turn two).

More often times than not I find myself with a clenched jaw and a racing heart. My eyes are wide, darting around assessing all possible situations, real and imaginary. BREATHE. Sometimes that’s the only world I can grasp onto. It’s a real fucking practice but yoga, the ancient wisdom stream that is rooted in union and liberation, is what pulls me out of those spiraling moments.

My physical yoga practice is pretty nonexistent these days yet my anxiety has been the greatest reminder for me that yoga is so much further beyond the physical. So in my anxious spiral, I cling to the reminder to BREATHE. I close my eyes and do a box breathing technique. That small yet deep practice of yoga reunites me with the present moment and liberates me from the hold of anxiety.

I love this graphic from artist Itzel Islas for box breathing. Take your yoga off your mat and into your life, recognizing and honoring how deep it goes, and tell me what serves you if it feels ok for you to share. I love dialing into our collective experience and I'm so grateful you read this far.

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