COMING BACK TO THE BREATH.
- A guide to mindfulness -
As we move forward in our day, sometimes before we have made it out of bed, we are making a to-do list of all the tasks needing to be completed. While there is an importance to planning our day, it does cause a fatigue in the mind to be continuously thinking about the future. Stress and anxiety levels increase which then have a negative impact on our performance.
When we are stressed, our bodily functions mirror our mindset; however, there is a quick and simple way to override the stress you can be feeling: Mindfulness.
While mindfulness is a state of being, there are different techniques that you can use in order to help your mind to be more present throughout your day:
One of those techniques is mindful breathing. It involves being fully present with your breath and how it moves together with your body. Practicing it naturally calms your mind because the exhalations are relaxing the muscles in the body. It encourages focus and results in a positive performance.
There are different techniques of mindful breathing you can try:
Two-Part Breathing.
This involves breathing through the nose, keeping your inhalations and exhalations the same length. You can breath for as little as three seconds, or for a long as eight seconds.
Three-Part Breathing.
Similar to 2-part breathing, this incorporates adding a “hold” of the same length in between each inhalation and exhalation. If you find that keeping each of these parts at the same length is causing discomfort, reduce the amount by one or two seconds. So, rather than inhaling, holding and exhaling for five seconds, reduce it down to three or four seconds.
Abdominal Breathing.
As mentioned in the name, this exercise involves breathing into the stomach. Unlike the 2 or 3-part breaths, you don’t necessarily need to keep the inhalations or exhalations the same length, but it is an option. When you inhale, you imagine pushing the air through the lungs and into your stomach, so that it inflates as a balloon would. Then allow it to deflate as you exhale. During this exercise, you can visualize the breath moving through the body and can feel focused on its movements. This is a good type of breath to do if you would like to try sitting and meditating.
As with most things, it requires practice. Afterall, mindfulness is a practice in itself, but the more you begin to reconnect with your breath, the easier it becomes to begin to naturally keep the breath calm and controlled when you notice a shift within it.
When we have busy days, we can find it overwhelming to now add a breathing practice to it. But the beauty of it is, it doesn’t need to be yet another step to your “self-care” routine. Some moments you can incorporate mindful breathing into your day is when you are making a hot drink. Holding the cup in your hand, you notice its warmth against your palms, and you notice how your breath and body gently move together. You allow your mind a pause from the thoughts that race through it. Other moments can be when you are washing dishes, or cutting vegetables, even hanging the laundry.
Returning back to the breath doesn’t need to be a task, it is something to enjoy. A place to find peace. You may even begin to notice that it’s something you connect with in whatever task or activity you are doing.
“Mindful breathing is a kind of bridge that brings the body and the mind together. If through mindfulness of the breath you generate harmony, depth, and calm, these will penetrate into your body and mind.”
Written by Harriet Cherry