La psicóloga me enseña a respirar hondo para controlar la ansiedad y buscar equilibrio.

The psychologist teaches me to breathe deeply to control anxiety and seek balance.

Breakdown of La psicóloga me enseña a respirar hondo para controlar la ansiedad y buscar equilibrio.

• para: to
• me: me
• a: to
• y: and
• enseñar: to teach
• respirar: to breathe
• la ansiedad: the anxiety
• la psicóloga: the psychologist
• hondo: deep
• controlar: to control
• buscar: to seek
• el equilibrio: the balance

Questions & Answers about La psicóloga me enseña a respirar hondo para controlar la ansiedad y buscar equilibrio.

Why does the sentence start with La psicóloga instead of just Psicóloga, and why is there a feminine form psicóloga?

In Spanish, when you talk about a specific person and mention their profession, you normally use the definite article:

• La psicóloga = the psychologist (a particular one, the one we’re talking about)
• Soy psicóloga = I’m a psychologist (no article when you just say what you are)

The word psicóloga is feminine because it refers to a woman.
Professions generally have masculine and feminine forms:

• el psicólogo – the (male) psychologist
• la psicóloga – the (female) psychologist

The ending -o is usually masculine, and -a is usually feminine. In Spain it’s very normal and expected to match the profession to the person’s gender in everyday speech.

What is the role of me in La psicóloga me enseña…? Is it a direct or an indirect object?

In this sentence, me is an indirect object pronoun meaning “to me” / “for me”.

The verb enseñar works like this:

1. enseñar algo a alguien – to teach something to someone

   • La psicóloga me enseña técnicas.
     The psychologist teaches me techniques.

2. enseñar a alguien a hacer algo – to teach someone to do something

   • La psicóloga me enseña a respirar hondo.
     The psychologist teaches me to breathe deeply.

So me = a mí (to me).
You could rephrase: La psicóloga enseña a respirar hondo a mí.

Why does me go before enseña instead of after the verb?

With a single, conjugated verb in Spanish, unstressed object pronouns (me, te, lo, la, le, etc.) normally go before the verb:

• Me enseña…
• Te ayuda…
• Nos escucha…

They only attach after the verb in three cases:

1. Infinitive:
   
   • enseñarme, ayudarte
2. Gerund (-ando, -iendo):
   
   • enseñándome, ayudándote
3. Affirmative commands:
   
   • Enséñame a respirar hondo. – Teach me to breathe deeply.

So here we use the normal pattern: me enseña.

Why is there an a before respirar in me enseña a respirar hondo?

Many Spanish verbs require a preposition before an infinitive that completes their meaning.
Enseñar normally takes a + infinitive when you say what someone is being taught to do:

• enseñar a conducir – to teach (someone) to drive
• enseñar a leer – to teach (someone) to read
• enseñar a respirar hondo – to teach (someone) to breathe deeply

So the pattern is:

enseñar a + infinitive = to teach (someone) to + verb

What exactly does respirar hondo mean, and why hondo instead of profundo?

Respirar hondo is a very common fixed expression meaning “to take a deep breath” / “to breathe deeply.”

• Literally: “to breathe deep.”
• Here hondo functions like an adverb (telling us how you breathe), even though it’s an adjective form.

You can say respirar profundamente or respirar profundo, but:

• respirar hondo is more colloquial and very frequent in everyday Spanish.
• profundo/profundamente can sound slightly more formal or technical in some contexts.

In Spain, if a psychologist is guiding you through breathing exercises, respirar hondo is exactly what you would expect to hear.

Why is it para controlar and not por controlar la ansiedad?

Here para expresses purpose or goal:

• para controlar la ansiedad = in order to control/manage the anxiety

Very simplified rule:

• para + infinitive → purpose / objective
  
  • Estudio para sacar buenas notas.
    I study (in order) to get good grades.
• por + infinitive → reason / cause (less common)
  
  • Lo castigaron por llegar tarde.
    They punished him for arriving late.

In your sentence, we’re talking about why the psychologist teaches you to breathe deeply – with the goal of controlling anxiety – so para is the correct choice.

Why is it la ansiedad with an article, instead of just ansiedad?

Spanish often uses the definite article with abstract nouns where English does not:

• la ansiedad – (the) anxiety
• la felicidad – (the) happiness
• el estrés – (the) stress

Compare:

• Controlar la ansiedad es importante.
  Controlling anxiety is important.

In English you normally say “control anxiety” without the, but in Spanish la ansiedad is very natural, even when you mean anxiety in general, not one specific episode.

You could say controlar mi ansiedad if you want to emphasise my own anxiety, but la ansiedad here sounds general and is perfectly idiomatic.

Why doesn’t the sentence repeat para before buscar equilibrio?

The para in para controlar la ansiedad y buscar equilibrio applies to both infinitives:

• para [controlar la ansiedad] y [buscar equilibrio]

Repeating it would also be correct but a bit heavier:

• …para controlar la ansiedad y para buscar equilibrio.

Spanish usually avoids repetition when two verbs share the same preposition and the same subject or controller. So the shorter version is more natural.

Why is it buscar equilibrio without an article? Could it be buscar el equilibrio?

Both are possible, but the nuance is slightly different:

• buscar equilibrio

  • Very general and abstract: to seek balance, to look for balance in your life / mind / emotions.
  • No article often makes the idea feel more abstract or unspecific.

• buscar el equilibrio

  • Still abstract, but it sounds a bit more concrete or defined, as if there is a particular kind of balance you’re aiming for (emotional balance, work–life balance, etc.).

In everyday speech in Spain, buscar equilibrio is common and natural in psychological or self‑help contexts.

Why is the verb enseña in the simple present tense instead of a continuous form like está enseñando?

Spanish uses the simple present much more widely than English.
La psicóloga me enseña… can mean:

• A habitual action: My psychologist teaches me (regularly)…
• A current process: My psychologist is teaching me (these days)…

Using está enseñando focuses more strongly on “right now / at this moment” and is less common in general descriptions.

So in Spanish, the simple present here naturally covers what English divides into “teaches” and “is teaching.”

Could you say La psicóloga me enseña cómo respirar hondo instead of a respirar hondo? Is there a difference?

You can say it, and it’s grammatically correct:

• me enseña a respirar hondo
• me enseña cómo respirar hondo

Differences:

• enseñar a + infinitive is the standard, neutral way to say teach (someone) to do something.
  It focuses on the ability / skill.
• enseñar cómo + infinitive highlights the way or method more explicitly: teach me *how to breathe deeply (the technique, steps, etc.)*.

In practice, in this kind of psychological context, me enseña a respirar hondo is more idiomatic and more common in Spain.

Is psicóloga the usual word in Spain, and how is it pronounced?

Yes, psicóloga is the normal everyday word in Spain for “psychologist.”

Pronunciation points:

• The p in ps is silent: it starts with an “s” sound.
• In most of Spain, c before o is pronounced like “k”: si‑KÓ‑lo‑ga.
• The written accent on psicóloga shows the stress is on the second syllable from the end: psi‑CÓ‑lo‑ga.

So you hear something like: [si-KO-lo-ga] in much of Spain (and [si-SO-lo-ga] in seseo regions), always with the stress on CÓ.