We have heard so many things about mindfulness over the past few years, but how many of us put it into practice? One of the most beneficial ways to practice mindfulness is mindful breathing. It can help bridge the gap in the mind-body connection.
Mindful breathing is a technique of intentional and non-judgmental attention to your breath that can transform your mental and physical well-being. It can also help with stress, anxiety, and even meditation. Learning different mindful breathing techniques is a perfect way to incorporate mindfulness into everyday life.
What is Mindful Breathing?
First, let’s break down mindfulness. What does it mean to be mindful? Mindfulness means being in the present moment. It is a way to notice the things around and inside you.
Practicing mindfulness comes in many different forms, but mindful breathing is the most commonly used method to practice.
Mindful breathing, also called conscious breathing, is a method that requires you to slow down and bring awareness to your breath. When focusing on just your breathing, you become attuned to “the gap.” It’s a space between thoughts, rarely accessed in everyday life. Noticing “the gap” can help you relax your mind and body.
The beauty of mindful breathing is that it can be done anywhere, anytime. You don’t need any equipment or special training to practice it. All you need is yourself, a comfortable place to sit or lie down, and a few minutes of uninterrupted time.
The Benefits of Mindful Breathing
Breathing mindfully has many benefits for mental and physical health. By being more in tune with your breathing, you will notice different parts of your consciousness you were previously unaware of. The more you get to know yourself, the better your chances of calming yourself down when anxious or de-escalate a situation when you are angry.
Mindful breathing has a two-fold effect; it can help with mental health and create a trickle-down effect. The trickle-down effect occurs when you utilize conscious breathing to calm yourself, which results in your body releasing more serotonin and dopamine while decreasing cortisol levels. Cortisol is the body’s stress hormone.
All the body’s systems, such as musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous, immune, and reproductive, are affected by stress. By using techniques for mindful breathing and reducing stress hormones, your body can begin to heal and become healthier.
Mindful Breathing Techniques
Practicing mindful breathing is a great first step to becoming more self-aware overall. There are so many types of mindful breathing techniques that it can be overwhelming to get started.
Here are just a few of the popular mindful breathing exercises you can use to get started:
Deep Breathing
Deep breathing, also known as belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing, involves breathing deeply into your belly and exhaling fully. It can help with stress reduction and create a feeling of relaxation. This technique deactivates the body’s stress response and activates the “rest and digest” state. A Deep breathing meditation is a great place to start!
Counting Breaths
Counting breaths can be particularly useful for active minds as it can prevent them from getting caught up in stressful or anxious thought patterns. It helps break the cycle of negative emotions by interrupting thought loops that can contribute to stress and anxiety.
Energizing Breaths
The breath can also increase alertness and energy levels. When you’re feeling sluggish, you can use a breathing technique based on a Kundalini yoga technique called segmented breathing. This involves inhaling in four equal and distinct segments to fill the lungs, and then exhaling in one long and smooth segment to empty the lungs. Repeating this technique three or four times can invigorate the mind and boost energy and alertness.
Box Breathing
The most significant benefit of box breathing is relaxation, especially in times of stress. A box breathing exercise can promote profound relaxation when your stress response is activated. Start by breathing in, counting to four slowly. Feel the air enter your lungs. Hold your breath for 4 seconds. Try to avoid inhaling or exhaling for 4 seconds. Slowly exhale through your mouth for 4 seconds. Repeat steps 1 to 3 until you feel re-centered.
Incorporating Mindful Breathing into Your Daily Routine: Practical Tips for Busy People
If you’re anything like me, you are a busy bee! I run in many different directions daily, and sometimes I find it hard to take a minute for myself. I have been trying to take at least 15 minutes daily to do mindful breathing exercises and meditate. It has been challenging, but here are some things I have tried that have helped me carve out the time to practice.
Create a Morning Routine
Creating a morning routine that includes mindful breathing to start your day has been proven to add efficiency to your life. Starting with a goal, and immediately checking it off your to-do list boosts serotonin, which helps keep you motivated throughout the day.
Practice While Driving
Practicing mindful breathing can be beneficial, especially if you spend long periods in the car. Taking advantage of this time by practicing a mindful breathing technique, such as deep breathing, can help you maintain a sense of calm on the road.
Download a Meditation App
You can download many different meditation apps to help you learn how to master mindful breathing. Some of the sessions are even as short as 5 minutes. Any time you can spend focusing solely on your breath is better than none. So take a few minutes here and there to explore and see what you enjoy best.
Use Mindful Breathing to Transform Your Life for the Better
Now that you have a better understanding of mindful breathing and a few tips to get you started, it’s time to implement them to transform your life into the life of your desires. Mindfully breathing will help you get to know your inner self better. Once you know yourself, you can start aiming toward those goals you didn’t recognize before.
Take this opportunity to create a vision board, or a list of life goals you want to accomplish. Try new mindfulness techniques to bring in more ways to transform your life. Yoga is a great way to work out some of the daily stress that builds up, and you can even practice mindful breathing simultaneously!
With the goal of mindful living, it doesn’t matter which techniques you choose. There is no wrong way to try for inner peace. Take your time with it, and start with baby steps. There may be discouraging moments in the journey. Still, life is long, and self-care makes it more fulfilling. So, be patient with yourself, and love yourself through difficult moments.
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