Book Review: My Magic Breath by Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor

Short, but impactful, My Magic Breath is a children's book that teaches the importance of mindful breathing.  Using beautiful, sprawling illustrations (by Michelle Polizzi), the book gives kids the instructions needed to change their thoughts into deep, magic breaths and exhale them to create something amazing. 

Since my kindergartner is rather sensitive when it comes to his emotions, I was excited to be able to try this book with him.  He loves reading and being read to and this book was able to keep his attention as it wasn't too wordy, but he also enjoyed the breathing exercises that went along with it.  At the time, he was in a good mood, but I definitely think reading this when he is upset would be a great way to redirect his negative emotions.

When he outgrows the book itself, I intend to donate it to his elementary school, as I think that it would be a great book to have in a classroom with younger students.  I was given a gratis copy for review.

This is a great book to keep at home or take along on trips, as it helps kids process their emotions and turn them into something beautiful.  With the author's permission, I have created a video of a reading of the book.  Definitely get your own copy as this video doesn't replace the great bond you can share by reading it aloud with your child.  My Magic Breath is available for purchase on May 15!

The Dirty Glass by the Sink

The things I'm gonna do...

A couple therapy sessions ago, I was talking about how I used to be passionate about so many things and I used to ENJOY doing so many things.  Then last week (or so) a memory popped up on Facebook that said I had just finished a 10 mile bike ride with no breaks.  It brought up the therapy session again.

My therapist suggested that I should try something that I used to like doing and force myself to do it five times before I give up.  The sad part is that these are things I used to do because I loved doing them!  But she's right, and here are the three things that are most prevalent on this list:

1) Read books.  Growing up and all through my K-12 life, I loved to read and read thousands of books.  I'd read different genres, both fiction and non-fiction.  I continued to read off and on as I started college, but as the years progressed, I found that having so much to read for school made reading for fun seem a bit off-putting.  I got through the first four Harry Potter books, made it through all the Twilight books, started the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, read a James Patterson novel here and there, got about 14 books deep on the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum novels... then crickets.  I told myself that as soon as I finished my Masters that I would read a book for fun.  So, I picked up a suspense novel from the shelf at Goodwill and I read it.  I liked it.  I fell in love with Gone Girl, so I read a couple Gillian Flynn books.  I liked them.  But then I stopped again.

2) Ride my bike.  In the summer of 2010, I started riding my bike at least four days a week.  It was peaceful.  I would leave the kids at home with their dad, put my headphones in and just enjoy the ride.  I got to the point where I was regularly riding 6 miles at a time.  It felt good and definitely did NOT feel like a chore.  After moving in January 2011, I stopped riding and have never been able to get back into the stride.  And boy is my waistline angry!

3) Create.  I am simply saying "create" because there are several creative outlets I used to have, whether it was crafting, drawing, writing, blogging, etc.  I just need to let my mind kick back and do something to work on my focus and inspiration.

Of course, just like a list of NYE Resolutions, I'm not getting my hopes up.  When it comes to the bike riding, I don't like humidity, so that is slightly weather-permitting right now.  I perused the clearance bookshelves at a local thrift store yesterday and found about 3 books that I liked that didn't seem like they would be part of a series- I can't commit to that right now.

So wish me some silent luck in any way that you can.  I have no idea what my motivation would be, but I do know that joy is something that is severely lacking in my life and has been for years.  I figure that if I can get to the point where I ENJOY something, that counts as joy, and I will take what I can get!

What is something that you have lost your passion or drive for?  Let me know in a comment or as always, hit me up on Facebook or Twitter!