Breathing Through It
When you change your breathing patterns you change your physiology.
Learning how to breathe and paying attention to your breathing are important skills in learning mindful living.
Just by breathing in and out, you are triggering parts of your nervous system that you probably weren’t even aware of. The breath helps regulate your heart rate, sweat glands, digestive system, nervous system, intestines and so much more.
In order to allow yourself to feel calmer and less anxious, you need to practice breathing techniques that will lower your stress response and improve your emotional and cognitive health.
Need a relaxing and clearing breath?
Practice diaphragm breathing which involves taking in so much air into the lungs that it expands the stomach. Filling your diaphragm with the breath provides
more oxygen to the body, helping lower the stress response.
By simply breathing in your nose and out your mouth you are calming your physiology and stress responses. You can do this mindfully before you answer the phone, before you eat something, or if you are feeling low energy
In order to breathe through your diaphragm properly, place a hand above your belly button and one hand on your chest. Next, relax your abdomen and breathe in through your nose and fill your lungs allowing them to expand downward. Do not breathe shallow breaths and do not raise your shoulders. Exhale slowly through your slightly opened mouth. You will know if you are doing this correctly by the warmth or coldness of the breath. If you are breathing from your abdomen, the air will feel warmer whereas if you are breathing from your chest, the air will feel colder.
Pay attention to your breathing in great detail and it will help you to practice the process of noticing when your mind begins to wander and can help bring your mind/attention back.
If you journal about your breathing, keep track of what happened. What thoughts or feelings surfaced? Did you notice if your mind started wandering? What did you like or dislike about paying attention to your breathing? What other thoughts did you have?
