It’s not often that we write about other publications, but we wanted to give a shout-out to Breathe — a magazine designed to help you exhale and thus recharge.
Breathe — which comes out of the United Kingdom but can be found on American newsstands — is subtitled “and make time for yourself.” Each issue is divided into five sections — well-being, living, mindfulness, creativity and escape. Issue 33, for example, includes:
A step-by-step guide to analyzing your own handwriting with a page to “Try It Out”;
An article on navigating differences with others that opens with this great quote by Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union: “Peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity, in the comparison and conciliation of differences.”
Recipes on cooking charred mackerel, fire-grilled beetroot and baked peaches out of doors;
A look at self-publishing and a number of self-published successes ranging from Beatrix Potter’s “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” to E.L. James’ “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
And a tour of some of the world’s most “Seductive Sunsets.”
The clearly written articles are offset by highlight boxes and bullets of key points and accompanied by illustrations that draw you in with a mix of photography and hyperrealistic drawings in saturated colors.
But what makes Breathe so, well, breathable is an unusual viewpoint that allows you to tune in to yourself without any hint of narcissism. (Indeed, Breathe’s special edition on gratitude — a subject WAG covered in its November issue — contains an article that suggests you “Love Yourself First.”)
Breathe understands that you have to go deep within to reach out, that sometimes you have to take your foot off the pedal to succeed; and that failure often later breeds success.
Meanwhile, Breathe inspires others. In one of the issues we purchased at Barnes & Noble’s concept store in Eastchester, we found a child’s drawing on a small, rectangular piece of paper with a flower in lavender, blue and gray. Underneath was written “Stay on the path to no resistance.”
We’re taking that as a sign from the universe as it sounds very Breathe-able.
For more, visit breathemagazine.com.
