​It's hard to believe I know, but it is true. If you simply stop what you are doing and take a few deep breaths it can make a night and day difference in your outlook and perspective, especially regarding whatever is happening in that moment.

In yoga we call the breath Prana. Pranayama is all about breathing and the breath and is an intricate part of any serious yoga practice. There are breathing practices to relax you, to invigorate you, to help you concentrate and many more. Let's just concentrate on the relaxation aspect for these few paragraphs.

Sit down if possible. If not, see if you can just stand still for a moment. Close your eyes, or not, if not possible. Focus on your breath and take a deep, cleansing breath. Think about the breath coming into your body and then as you release the breath let the stress leave your body with the air. If you can just do this even 5 times it will allow you to refocus your brain.

As we all know, stress can be detrimental to the situation and cooler heads will prevail. So, even if for only one deep breath, focus grasshopper. Travel nurses and professional healthcare travelers face all the normal stresses of the healthcare field, but sometimes have more issues due to the newness of the situation. Time to learn how to cool your jets if you haven't already.

There are many more breathing practices available to help you. You can search online for breathwork, breathing practice, pranayama, or of course find a local yoga studio. Mindfulness and breathing can help you get through a stressful shift. Once the shift is over get outside and walk if at all possible. A brisk walk and some breathing helps me every day!

Mary Crawford, HealthCare Employment Network