Welcome brother.
If you've pressed play on this,
It's probably because things feel heavy.
Your marriage might be strained,
The world might be loud,
And somewhere inside you're carrying more than you can name.
You're not weak for feeling this.
You're human.
And right now,
Just for a few minutes,
You get to set it all down.
Let's begin.
Today we're going to use a simple breathing pattern called box breathing.
Inhale for four,
Hold for four,
Exhale for four,
And hold for four.
Let's try it together now.
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
Again,
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
Let your body just settle into that rhythm.
No pressure,
No judgment,
Just breath,
Holding you together.
There's a silent weight that many men carry,
The pressure to hold it all together,
To fix what's broken,
To be strong,
Even when you're falling apart inside.
The truth is,
Even steel cracks under pressure.
If you feel alone in your marriage,
If the house feels more like a battlefield than a home,
If you're consistently putting out fires but no one asks if you're okay,
Know this,
You're not crazy,
You're not broken,
You're not weak,
You're a man who's been holding too much for too long,
And you don't have to anymore,
Not alone.
Let's go back to the breath.
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
And as you breathe,
Picture all that pressure,
Silent frustration,
The exhaustion,
The loneliness,
Draining from your body like sand through an open hand.
With each breath,
You're not giving up,
You're letting go of what was never yours to carry alone.
Some of the strongest men I've known aren't the ones who powered through everything,
They're the ones who finally said,
I need someone in my corner.
Maybe it's time to talk to someone you trust,
Not to fix everything,
Just to be seen,
To be heard.
Do it for your kids,
Do it for your best friend,
You're worth that too.
Now,
Let's take one last little breath together.
Inhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale two,
Three,
Four,
Hold two,
Three,
Four.
Gently come back to the space you're in,
Wiggle your fingers,
Roll your shoulders,
Take note of how your body feels just five minutes later.
You're not meant to do life alone,
There is strength in stillness,
There is power in reaching out.
You're not alone anymore.