Return to Your Breath
This week I keep coming back to something simple: the way we return.
Not the dramatic kind.
Not the “new year, new me” kind.
Just the quiet kind — the kind that happens in the middle of a regular Tuesday when you notice you’ve been holding your breath again.
January has a way of turning everything up.
New plans. New pressure. New expectations.
Even if no one says it out loud, the air feels full of invisible assignments:
Be better. Do more. Start over. Catch up.
But I don’t think we need a fresh identity.
I think we need a steady place inside ourselves to come back to.
So today I’m offering a small return.
Not a resolution.
A reset.
Because breath is the first place we can practice coming home. And it’s available even when everything else feels messy.
A 60-second return (try it now, if you can):
• Unclench your jaw.
• Drop your shoulders slightly.
• Inhale slowly through your nose.
• Exhale like you’re letting go of a sentence you didn’t need to finish.
Then ask yourself, gently:
What am I carrying that can be set down for the next hour?
That’s it. That’s the practice.
Small enough to do between meetings.
Strong enough to change the shape of your day.
If you’re rebuilding, breath is an honest companion.
It doesn’t ask you to be inspiring.
It doesn’t require you to be healed.
It just meets you where you are — and reminds you that you’re still here.
This week, consider making return your rhythm:
Return when you feel scattered.
Return when you feel sharp.
Return when you feel numb.
Return when you feel like you don’t have time.
Because the truth is: you don’t return after everything is handled. You return so you can handle what’s here without leaving yourself behind.
A few reflections to sit with:
Where do I notice I’m rushing — even internally?
What does my body need more of this week: rest, movement, quiet, support?
What would change if I treated my breath like a safe space I could step into?
If you want to go deeper this month, The Threshold is now live as a free member space. Inside, you’ll find the longer January member letter — “The Opening: Return” — plus three companion prompts for journaling or meditation. It’s gentle, private, and designed to hold you through the month.
(You can find The Threshold on the site — it’s the doorway.)
Until next Tuesday,
Wendy
P.S. If this helped, share it with someone who’s trying to begin again without breaking themselves to do it.
