Breathing thru the HITs of life...

You know that one.... maybe others mistake it for a sigh.... but you know what it is.  It's that moment where you take that deep breath and then.... get right back to it. 
On this little 80 day journey I'm on, I've made really REALLY good friends with the deep clearing breath.  6 days a week this program kicks my booty. Some days I find it enjoyable, but there are those handful of days I DREAD!!  I know I'm going to work way harder than I think I can. When the HIT training starts my heart quickly races... and sometimes my mind even joins in the fun. That's when I have to make a choice: I can either let things continue to be out of control and eventually succumb to the belief that I really can't...which usually leads to quitting OR I can make the choice to find my deep clearing breath and keep pushing.  I inhale all the fresh oxygen my body needs and I exhale the carbon dioxide... I start to notice my heart rate starts to respond to my efforts, and it becomes more controlled. All of the sudden, things start to settle. Both my heart and mind reset and I finish strong.  I have never regretted completing the hard workout. ever.
I've found myself using this concept in my life... long after the workout is over.  I mean, I'm a therapist... so I know the ins and outs of relaxation breathing techniques. There is a difference. This deep clearing breath takes place in the middle of the hard.  
I'm continuing in the hard, using the breath to allow me to indeed continue in the hard. 
Life is sometimes full of hard.  One might say that for some, and at times all, it is indeed High Intensity Training.  It doesn't let up.  The moment you have one thing tackled, 2 more things demand all you have.  
 Life starts to feel more like the never ending climb than that thing you dreamed of as a little girl.
The climb may not have a summit anywhere in sight...
 the weight of what you carry may feel heavier and heavier with each passing moment....
the feeling of climbing alone may have stolen your motivation to keep putting one foot in front of the other....
That is when your heart and mind say "I can't do one more hard step..."
But my dear friend... that.... that is the moment... to not fall into beliefs that have us anxious and overwhelmed....
  In the middle of life's heavy, you breath in truth... exhale lies... meanwhile moving your feet forward...  

Exhale "I can't do this..." Inhale "I can do all things..."
Exhale "Why am I being punished?" Inhale "All things work together for good..."
Exhale "this is too heavy for me..." Inhale "He will strengthen me with his hand..."

Take the deep clearing breath and feel your feet keep pounding up that mountain. It's in that moment that we our chaos and feelings of being out of control come under submission of a greater truth... I mean the chaos may continue... just like the workout... but it starts to FEEL differently... perspective shifts... and we start to notice that indeed our feet can climb what it thought it couldn't.
"The Sovereign LORD is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer...  able to tread upon the heights."  Habakkuk 3:19