Breathe Bracelet Blog

1. Fully inhale while slowly counting 4 gold beads.
2. Fully exhale while slowly counting 6 blue beads.
3. Repeat 3x.

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“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” — Etty Hillesum

Creating a life after having been trafficked is hard. We nearly lost this dear soul; she was so, so tired of the struggle to heal. I think that feeling of despair is known to most of us at times: ‘I just can’t go on this way.’ It was serendipitous her first day back from the hospital was our end of year picnic on a summer morning by a quiet creek…

I gave everyone instructions that made our artisans giggle: “Walk barefoot and slowly explore all around. As you walk, breathe in and say: “Yes. Yes. Yes.” Breathe out and say: “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”* This is a ‘Yes’ and ‘Thank you’ to life, to the Divine, to the present moment.” Like I said, they all giggled, but then they wandered off and did as instructed.

Ten minutes later, our fresh out the hospital artisan returned with a curious expression on her face. I thought maybe she’d grown bored or frustrated with my odd exercise, but then she said:

“I realized this is the first time I’ve been in nature sober. There is so much life here. I can feel it under my toes. In the wind. I’ve never been able to feel it before… As I walked, I did like you said… (Breathing in a prayer: ‘Yes. Yes. Yes.’ Exhaling a prayer: ‘Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.’) “And… the ‘Yes’ became: Yes… I want to live. Yes. I want to live. Yes, I want to live."

Basics of Well-Being 

We know how powerful returning to the basics of wellbeing can be: breath and nature. This bracelet is designed to remind you that the most basic building block of inner peace is always within your reach: your breath. When you inhale, you activate your nervous system. When you exhale, you calm it. (Thus, the exhale is longer.) And, that space between your inhale and exhale is an inbuilt pause, offering your body quiet and rest. Maybe, you’d like to try the mantra our artisan did: Inhale and silently pray: “Yes. Yes. Yes.” Exhale and silently recite: “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

"Our brokenness is never the starting point,

our belovedness is."

- Joanna Hargreaves

Suggested Uses:

- Everyday on arriving in your office or workspace.

- In the line at the grocery store or bank.

- On a walk.

- To help you fall asleep.

*Exercise originally suggested by Thich Naht Hahn