Taking a Breather

Can you relate to the above video? As a teacher and a mother, I am noticing that stress is becoming more and more prevalent in the lives of not only adults, but of young students. I can list all the catalysts, but I would like you to take a minute to list the top three stressors in your present day life. Can we control the stress? No. However, we can control the way that we react to the stressors. Breathing is a normal function of the human body and a way that we continue to bring oxygen into our lungs, brain, and blood flow. Breathing is also the gateway to releasing the stress and bringing tranquility into our lives. Simple and short breathing activities, like the one presented in the above video, are all it takes to get started in taking control of your reaction to the outside world stressors. By telling our body how to breathe, will send the positive message to our brain that we are not stressed. There are breathing techniques that you can do without anybody knowing that you are using the technique at the present moment. At first, make sure that you focus on your belly when you breathe. Your belly should fill with air as you inhale air through your nose. As you exhale, your belly should go in, as you bring your navel in towards your spine. Other breathing techniques that you may be interested in are: Alternate Nasal Breathing, Vritta (equal breathing-good for asthma patients), and breathing with hand mudras (Sa, Ta, Na, Ma).  Change is not always bad. Speaking to other people and even to yourself with full integrity, including speaking to your brain is a positive change that you can embed into your life. Keep your mind open and remember the famous words of Mahatma Gandhi,

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

VOCABULARY:
prevalent (adjective) - common, widespread
catalysts (noun) - a person or event that quickly causes a reaction
stressors (noun) - something that makes you worried or anxious
function (noun) - the specific purpose of why something or someone exists
gateway (noun) - a passage into or out of a place or condition
tranquility (noun) - the state of being calm or quiet
navel (noun) - the central point of your abdomen, your belly button
mudras (noun) - a symbolic hand gesture used in yoga
integrity (noun) - the quality of being honest and fair
embed (verb) - to place or set something in something else

VOCABULARY EXERCISE:
Match the vocabulary word to the best use of the word in context.
1. function ________                             a. The fuzzy kittens were a _______ to Kim's smiles.
2. embed _______                                 b. He is a man of great knowledge and ____________.
3. prevalent ________                       c. When you exhale, you should bring your _____ to your spine.
4. gateway _______                    d. Did you properly _______ the vocabulary words into your article?
5. catalysts _______                      e. After the accident, he was lucky to have full brain _________.
6. integrity _______          f. Touching your thumb to the tip of each finger tip is a known hand _____.
7. navel ______                           g. Anxiety is becoming very __________ in my classes this year.
8. stressors _______                       h. Drinking hot tea at night brings Carol some __________.
9. mudras ________                         i. Learning languages is the ____________ to the world!
10. tranquility _________                  j. Money can be a huge ___________ in a marriage.

GRAMMAR POINT:
In the English language, nouns are either singular or plural. Singular nouns refer to one person, place, or thing. Plural nouns refer to more than one person, place, or thing. In order to make nouns plural, we often see an "s" at the end of a noun that ends in a consonant. For example, dog becomes dogs in the plural form. Please go through the above blog post and highlight all the plural nouns. Then, circle all the singular nouns.