A little reminder: rest, surrender, breathe.

Finding the balance between effort and ease is a core principle in yoga and in day to day life.

• When to work and when to rest.

• When to strive and when to surrender.

• When to inhale and when to exhale.

Each breath is an opportunity to practice this principle.

Inhales take effort. Drawing in air from the outside world to extract oxygen and fuel our bloodstream to move and think and feel is taxing, but our exhales don’t have to be.

Whether conscious or unconscious, sometimes we hold our breath, or labor our breathing to match the stress, anxiety, or other emotion that our bodies are holding onto. With practice, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Every exhale can be an opportunity to rest; to surrender.

We can trust our bodies and let go of the need to hold or push out our breath. We can simply drop it. Our bodies naturally regulate how much carbon dioxide to release, so we’ll be healthier if we train ourselves to trust, rather than trying to control every little bodily function.

Science backs this up. Studies show that when we exhale longer than we inhale, we signal to our central nervous system that it’s okay to to calm down. This natural system slows our heart rate, relieves stress, and rejuvenates our basic bodily functions. Try it.

A good technique for this is a 4-7-8 breath.

The numbers correspond to how long to engage with each leg of the breath.

• Inhale for 4 seconds

• Hold for 7 seconds

• Exhale for 8 seconds

• Repeat

After a morning commute, stressful conversation, or long day, try this breath for a few rounds, then scan your body to notice how you feel. Training your breath and your body in this way can add days, weeks, months, or years to your life. Living a long and healthy life starts with simple little changes like this.

So here’s a little reminder: rest, surrender, breathe.