The Power of Breath

February 11, 2020

At certain times of the month or when I have a lot on, I can easily get overwhelmed and anxious. A jittery feeling starts in my chest,  I can find it hard to think straight and focus and I can be quite reactive. But over the past few months, I have discovered meditation and the power of our breath and it has really helped me.

By breathing slowly and deeply, we can lower the stress hormone cortisol and calm the nervous system to trick the body into thinking it is relaxed. Whenever I feel that familiar overwhelm feeling creeping up, I take a short time to close my eyes and do a breathing exercise and after just five minutes, I feel so much better and carry on with my day.

I sometimes use the short exercises on the Calm App or the breathe app, recommended by my amazing Yin Yoga teacher Vanessa Joy that she uses in her classes 6 x 6 which is great.

If you don’t want to use an app then you can use another technique to keep you focused- you can count your breaths or I sometimes make up a little simple mantra to repeat and focus on while I breathe. I have also heard great things about the square breathing technique- you can find some great resources online to help you to do that if you google too.

Would love to hear if this helps you too or any other resources you use to help you?

(Image: Breath by Wincenty Dunikowski-Duniko) 

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