Finding Strength: The Basics and Benefits of Deep Mindful Breathing
Photo by Max van den Oetelaar
Did you know that deep mindful breathing is one of the easiest, most convenient and natural tools we have to combat issues like stress and anxiety, reduce pain, aide in digestion and weight loss and have a positive impact on our thoughts and mood?
Deep mindful breathing has become my favourite practice for disrupting what’s not working and advancing towards my goals no matter what I’m dealing with in life - and let’s just say, having three kids in itself is a lot. Not only is it my favourite practice, but my favourite saying to activate the benefits in flight of any disruption is “and breathe…”
Breathing is something we do every day, without any thought. It’s an automatic process that helps us function as a human being. But when was the last time you stopped and took a slow, deep breath? Probably not as frequent as you think. So, why would we bother?
The benefits:
1) Decrease Stress and Increase Calm. When we become stressed or anxious, our brain releases cortisol, the “stress hormone.” By taking slow and deep breaths, our heart rate slows, more oxygen enters the blood stream and ultimately communicates with the brain to relax. It also ups our endorphins, the “feel good” chemical.
2) Increase Energy and Improve Immunity. When our blood is fully oxygenated, it carries and absorbs nutrients and vitamins more efficiently. Essentially, the cleaner the blood, the harder it is for illnesses to stay in our system. The more oxygen we have in the blood, the better our body functions, improving our overall stamina and energy.
4) Positively Impact Thoughts and Mood. Research has found that mindful breathing both reduces anxiety and increases positive automatic thoughts, both of which have the power to impact our mood. Since mindful breathing provides us with an anchor into our direct experience, the mind slows as we harness our focus. As the mind slows, we gain greater perspective over the habitual thoughts that move through us subconsciously.
4) Better Sleep, Increase Strength and Weight Loss. What holds many of us back from a good night sleep is a racing mind. Mindful breathing provides a distraction for our thoughts so we can finally fall asleep more effortlessly. The body produce the most growth hormone while we’re sleeping, which burns fat, builds and repairs muscles so we can increase strength and lose weight.
The Basics:
There are numerous different breathing exercises we can explore. Given the amount of complexity in our lives already, my advice is to keep it as simple as possible. Start small and advance as you go. Deep mindful breathing requires nothing other than paying attention to the breath – exactly as it is.
Find a comfortable seated or lying down position. Ensure the body is as relaxed as possible and ground yourself by closing your eyes. Bring your attention to the room or space around you and notice how you feel. What do you notice? What emotions are present? What does the air feel like against your skin?
Draw your attention to the breath. Without trying to change or control it. Simply practice observing it exactly as it is. You might notice its pace and depth shift, allow this. Simply hold your focus on each in breath and out breath. Also, observing the brief pause in between each inward and outward movement.
Finally, bring your attention to slowing down the pace of your breath. Take a slow breath all the way in, hold for a count of one. Release the breathe all the way out, then hold for a count of one. As you advance through this practice you may find you can increase the count.
The benefits associated with the breath are infinite. Any stress-related condition (which is much of what we are facing today) can be improved by practicing even the simplest of breathing techniques.
Can’t find the time? Start with sneaking it into the day - when you wake up or go to sleep, when you’re driving or in the shower, when you’re watching tv or reading a boo; and if you prefer structure put a reminder on your phone, or on a post-it note on the bathroom mirror or computer.
What are you waiting for?
Let’s breathe…
