Just Breathe
My life...
Cluttered with plans.
Crowded with dreams.
Distilled down.
One basic need:
Just breathe.
Sounds simple, right?
Go ahead. Scoff. Roll eyes.
But every morning, alarm hits.
Before prayers clear lips,
I take it in.
Just breathe.
My valley...
Life in Salt Lake.
Anything but simple.
Look up.
Skies: unvented kitchen.
Trapped smoke. Stale air.
Summer wildfires.
Horizon stirred into soup.
Thick. Chunky. Heavy.
Every inhale?
Cautious slurp from toxic bowl.
I survive on purifiers. Filters.
Mechanical lungs.
Tethered because I have to.
I have to...
Just breathe.
My screen...
And it's not just sky.
Political spite.
Biting everyone.
Burning throat.
Settling deep.
Scroll timeline. Read trending news.
Watch chest tighten.
Gasping.
Coughing on fumes.
Bitter, cultural fire.
Need second. Step back.
Need to...
Just breathe.
My escape...
Lap pool.
Blue lanes. Submerged peace.
Rhythmic breath.
Synchronized survival.
Down there, water filters chaos.
Every stroke, lungs empty trash.
Refill with hope.
In chlorine, under surface, finally:
Breathe.
My focus...
When gray clouds gather.
Choke out valley.
Just breathe.
When digital muck obscures sun.
Just breathe.
When chest tightens.
Lungs ready to burst.
Drop shoulders.
Just... breathe.
Breathing Lessons
“Just breathe” is useless advice. It treats logistical jams like attitude problems. Deep breathing doesn’t clear inboxes, pay bills, or fix crises. It just fills lungs while you watch the chaos unfold.
Climate isn’t helping the metaphor. Between summer heat and air quality alerts, normal breathing sometimes requires effort. Match that with a relentless news cycle, and the result is predictable: tight chests and short tempers.
When things get heavy, my default response (sitting still and trying to look zen) backfires. I just sit alone with the noise, getting stressed about being stressed.
Instead, I resort to brute distraction.
I’ve been swimming laps, mostly because it forces a strict protocol: breathe on a fixed count or sink. Brains stop spinning when occupied entirely by survival mechanics and the humbling realization of how out of shape I am.
Chaos doesn’t disappear when I get out of the pool. To-do lists stay where I left them. But the mental static clears. Sometimes breathing isn’t the solution; it’s simply the baseline reset required to face the day.
Breathing Lessons from the Experts
After revising this poem, I became curious about what breathing experts actually recommend. It turns out most breathing techniques are surprisingly simple.
Healthcare organizations like the Cleveland Clinic recommend diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing. Instead of taking shallow chest breaths, you breathe slowly through your nose and let your diaphragm do the work. Studies suggest this promotes relaxation and reduces stress.
Another method is box breathing. Breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts, exhale for four counts, and hold for four counts. Repeat. High-stress environments use this technique because it gives the mind a simple structure to focus on.
No special equipment is required. The CDC recommends deep breathing alongside exercise, news breaks, and time outdoors to help manage stress.
Of course, my preferred technique remains lap swimming. It combines deep breathing and exercise with the physical inability to check my phone for thirty minutes.
Sources
Cleveland Clinic is a nationally recognized nonprofit medical center that provides evidence-based health information reviewed by medical professionals.
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is the leading U.S. public health agency and offers research-based recommendations for managing stress and improving wellness.
NIH (National Institutes of Health) supports and publishes biomedical research, making it one of the most trusted sources of health information in the United States.