When we breathe mindfully, the mind starts to slow as we harness our concentration on the life force within us. This focus helps to deepen the breath, which engages the relaxation response and reduces the production of cortisol in the body.
Stephanie Moore
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We all know that the breath provides our bodies with the oxygen it requires to function optimally. However, since it is a process that occurs naturally, we often forget to offer it the appreciation it deserves. As we enhance our awareness of the breath, we start to see how it nourishes and soothes the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical body. Reading time; 4 minutes; 44 seconds
The fantastic thing about mindfulness breathing is it works; it’s simple, you can do it anywhere, at any time, and you get immediate results.
If you feel yourself heading down a pathway you don’t want to go (to a place of anger, resentment or conflict), through conscious awareness, you can slam on the brakes and almost immediately channel yourself down a more productive pathway as you apply mindful breathing. Within three breathing cycles, you’ll feel you are back in the driver’s seat with your hands firmly on the controls. Mindfulness.jpg389 KB
Research has shown that practising mindful breathing can help you become more aware of what you are feeling and thinking in the ‘present’ in a non-judgmental way. Mindfulness is linked to improved health, lower anxiety and stronger resilience against stress. Studies have also shown that people who participated in a 15-minute mindful breathing exercise recorded fewer negative emotions when shown a series of negative images than those who didn’t engage in conscious breathing. This suggests that focused breathing can enhance your ability to modulate your emotions.
Mindfulness helps you to detach from your thoughts, feelings and emotions, allowing you to work through and understand those feelings instead of allowing them to consume you. Mindful breathing offers you an ‘anchor’ – your breath – on which you can focus whenever you struggle with negative thoughts. Mindful breathing helps you be ‘present’ at the moment instead of worrying about the past or stressing about the future.
To help understand how mindful breathing can genuinely help, it’s worth understanding how we experience stress. When you are in a stressful situation, the most ‘primitive’ part of your brain (the amygdala) triggers what is known as the ‘fight or flight’ response. This causes changes to your heart rate, muscle tone, blood pressure and concentration. You stay in this heightened state until your brain perceives that the ‘danger’ is passed.
This primitive response is vitally important when you need to react quickly, such as when you need to escape the path of an oncoming vehicle. However, it is not advantageous in ongoing stressful circumstances that cause anxiety. There is no time for rest and recovery – such as constant demands in your workplace or relationship problems. This is when chronic stress does not allow your brain to return your body to its resting state, which affects your mental and physical wellbeing, both in the short and long term.
How you manage stress is crucially important. Even if, as a short-term approach, you use mindful breathing in any perceived stressful moments during the day, taking your attention from what is occurring and focusing only on taking new breaths, you will significantly improve your ability to manage stress.
Think of chronic stress as affecting your brain similarly to how simultaneously running too many programs on your computer can reduce its performance. Your brain is your computer and can become overloaded. Pausing and taking a few mindful breaths focuses you on a short single task to clear your mind, allowing you to refocus, make better decisions and ‘reboot’. just breathe.jpg534 KB
Mindful breathing should ideally be practised for five to ten minutes daily for at least a week. It can be practised standing, but it is easier when you are sitting or lying comfortably. You can have your eyes open or closed, but it’s usually easier to keep your focus if you close your eyes.
Begin by taking an exaggerated breath–particularly if you are trying to stay calm in a difficult situation – then take a deep inhale through your nose (on a count of 3), hold your breath (on a count of 2) and finally take a long exhale through your mouth (on a count of 4).
Continue with this breathing pattern, focusing on the rise and fall of your chest and the sensation of the breath through your nostrils.
You will become more relaxed as you work through a cycle (inhale, hold, exhale). Try to extend the length of the cycle by inhaling through your nose on a count of 5, holding your breath on a count of 3 and exhaling through your mouth on a count of 5. The optimum cycle to work towards is 7/7/7 – a 21-second cycle.
You may find, particularly in the beginning, that your mind becomes side-tracked by various thoughts. Don’t be harsh on yourself; notice when you are distracted, and gently bring your attention back to your breath.
Breathing techniques and other activities such as tai chi or yoga can induce a relaxed state of mind that is invaluable in reducing the body’s response to stress.
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Research has found that mindful breathing reduces anxiety and increases positive automatic thoughts 3, both of which have the power to impact our mood. Since mindful breathing gives us an anchor into our direct experience, the mind slows as we harness our focus. As the mind slows, we gain a greater perspective over the habitual thoughts that move through us subconsciously
What keeps many people from falling asleep at night (or keeps them up in the middle of it) is a racing mind. Helping us to let go of the past and future so that we can fall more effortlessly into sleep
What’s essential is practice. It’s a tool you can use to bring yourself back to the present moment in stressful situations, and who wouldn’t appreciate having such a valuable tool on hand for those times when you need it? Download the mindful breather worksheet and start the daily practice
