Breathwork - The Power Of Your Breath
Breathwork is perhaps a rather new topic that is entering mainstream media but is one that has been a part of Buddhist and meditation practices for centuries if not thousands of years. It offers similar benefits as meditation, in the sense that it calms you down and grounds you with your thoughts, with the difference that breathwork has a large impact on calming of the nervous system and even shifting your mood and energy levels; It is essentially a more active form of meditation.
If you are interested in what breathwork has to offer and also what are some common breathing techniques to practice, then please keep on reading. Enjoy <3
WHAT IS BREATHWORK?
Breathwork is a kind of breathing practice through which you practice deep diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing. This kind of practice is designed to improve and enhance various aspects of health such as physical, spiritual and mental health.
Various studies have shown that regular breathwork practice can be of great help when it comes to managing stress, trauma or anxiety.
Breathhwork differs from meditation in the way that meditation is a form of breathwork but breathwork itself does not need to be coupled with meditation practices. Meditation is often paired with various breathing techniques designed to ground and calm you down, whereas breathwork can be practiced independently in order to cultivate feelings of mindfulness and tranquility.
WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
Just like meditation, the active practice of breathwork has many positive effects of calming the nervous system and clearing our thoughts and mind.
Regularly practicing a variety of breathwork practices has been shown to:
Elevate your mood
Raise energy levels
Improve sleep quality and depth
Improve respiratory function and management of asthma
Management of stress and anxiety (creating feelings of calmness)
Support a stronger immune function
Better mental focus and clarity
Reduce inflammation within the body
Help with managing PTSD
Possibly also lower hypertension (high blood pressure) in adults
WHY DOES BREATHWORK WORK?
So what makes our breath and practicing breathwork so powerful actually?
Deep breathing with your diaphragm has been shown to be able to positively impact the whole body and it does so through having a direct impact on our nervous system.
Our nervous system can be classified as the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) which is responsible for fight or flight reposes and is most commonly activated in stressful situations. The effects of the sympathetic nervous response are recognized as shallow breathing, a tension in the shoulders, digestive issues or high blood pressure and pulse. On the other hand, we also have what is called a parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) which functions as the rest and digest response and is active when our body is in a state of calm.
Breathwork has been shown to be able to calm down the body through reducing the activation of the SNS and stimulating more activity in the PNS, essentially transitioning your body from a state of distress to calm.
COMMON BREATHING TECHNIQUES
Breathing Through Alternate Nostrils
Method: To begin, use your right thumb to apply pressure onto your right nostril so that it is closed. Next breathe in, but so that air only travels through your left nostril. Afterwards you will do the reverse with the opposite nostrils; Release the right thumb and use the right index finger to close the left nostril, so that you can exhale through the right nostril. Afterwards take a pause between an inhale and exhale and continue alternating your breathing through each nostril.
Useful for: Encouraging your body to relax, by requiring you to selectively focus on your breathing
Deep Abdominal Breathing
Method: This is a technique which focuses on breathing through long deep breaths. As you breathe each inhale, you want to visualize the breath and air filling up your entire body, allowing your chest and belly to expand as you inhale. In the exhale, your belly should retract back towards your spine will lowering and relaxing your chest hold.
Useful for: Calming down the sympathetic nervous system.
Breath Of Fire:
Method: To begin, inhale through your nose so that your abdominal muscles are relaxes and then during your exhale, you want to engage your core muscles and strongly push the air our of your body through the nose or mouth. Due to this forcefulness of the exhale, that is where this technique gets its name from.
Useful for: Although this a rather more advance technique, the breath of fire works to reenergize your body and elevate your mood
The 4-7-9 Breath
Method: Start by emptying all air out of your lungs and then inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, then hold your breath for 7 seconds and lastly exhale through the mouth for 8 seconds. This is then repeated 4 times through.
It is additionally beneficial if during your inhale you image that you are breathing in uplifting positive energy and as you are holding your breaths, try to visualize the air that entered your body traveling upwards your body and with it pulling everything that is negative or does not serve you. During the exhale try to imagine excess energy being released through out the mouth.
Useful for: Calming down the body through lowering our heart rate, bringing us into the present moment wile calming down the nervous system. This kind of breath work is beneficial for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed, anxious, triggered, angry or has issues with sleeping.
The 4-4-4 Breath (Box breathing)
Method: Begin by releasing all air from your lugs and holding your breath for 4 seconds, then breathe in through the nose for 4 seconds after which you hold your breath again for 4 seconds and lastly exhale through your nose for 4 seconds. This pattern of breathing should be followed for 5 minutes in order to feel the effects.
Useful for: Enhancing concentration and producing calming effects on the body such as lowering heart rate ad lowering stress levels. It can be beneficial to use in the morning to wake up the mind, in the middle of the day if you experience a decline in energy or before a large project which requires high levels of focus
The 5-5 Breath
Method: Begin with observing the natural rhythm and length of your inhales and exhales. Afterwards, for 1 minute, start by breathing in for 4 seconds and then exhaling for 4 seconds. Next repeat this for 5 seconds instead of 4, and then gradually increasing your way up to 7-10 seconds. The idea is to begin with one minute of breathing in and out for 4 seconds each and then increasing this time span for more seconds, so that overall the practice lasts up to 20 minutes, but can of course also be shorter.
Useful for: Calming down the body and creating an overall sense of calm
I hope that todays post had inspired you to practice more of breathwork and that you were able to learn something new. I think that an occasional breathwork practice can definitely be beneficial, especially in stressful situations where we would benefit from calming down and thinking with a clear head.
Thank you for reading.
Benefits Of Regular Meditation
“Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.”
I have always heard of the many benefits that meditation can bring along with it, but I have always had a hard time comprehending them or believing they are true since I had never integrated meditation into my lifestyle as part of a regular practice. To test these benefits for myself, about a month ago I had decided to try and start a daily meditation routine, to see whether these benefits are as widespread and impactful as meditation articles make them seem.
After having done more than a month of regular daily meditation now, I can firmly confirm that I have uncovered some of these benefits for myself and I hope that with this article I can convince you to at least try meditation once and that the benefits will show themselves if you are consistent and intentional.
Before I start stating and explaining some of the most profound benefits that I have discovered with a regular meditation routine, I would like to first open up by clarifying what meditation even is - as many people have an incorrect assumption of it- as well as providing insight into how meditation is carried out and some practical tips that we can all use to integrate meditation into our lifestyle.
LEARNING THE BASICS
WHAT IS MEDITATION:
If we simplify the idea of meditation, we can define it as a practice or skill in which we are able to sit in stillness, not forcing our mind to think or reflect about anything, while becoming an observer to our behaviour, emotions and thoughts. The point of meditation is not to be perfect or to experience zero thoughts during our practice - which is very unlikely if you are a beginner since during the day our minds are exposed to a constant influx of information from the outside world - but the purpose of meditation is to be acceptant to anything that comes and goes through our minds while being submerged in the present moment, not worrying about the past or future.
During meditation we often turn our focus to our breath as it is one thing that is always with us in the current moment, meaning that it helps keep us grounded to the present moment.
Meditation is also a time we choose to schedule purely to ourselves, not having to worry about worries and thoughts arising from our external situations, meaning that it is a time that we can calm down, get a new perspective on things and find moments to slow down in this fast-paced lifestyle that we live.
HOW TO MEDITATE:
Sit down in a crosslegged position that you find comfortable with your hands resting on your knees or in your lap, and your shoulders being pushed slightly back to open up your chest and maintain a proper posture.
Relax your muscles thought out your whole body, but still keeping yourself in an attentive and upright position.
Close your eyes and take a couple of deep long breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling out of your mouth.
Once you feel your body has started to calm down, resort to following your natural breathing patterns, keeping your eyes closed and the focus on your breath or an area of your body where your breath can be felt (nose, expanding of chest or stomach).
Focus on your breathing for the majority of the practice and when you start coming to the end of your practice, slowly start bringing awareness to your body and space around you, until you are able to fully open your eyes.
GENERAL MEDITATION TIPS:
Turn your mindset from being a perfectionist to being accepting of everything that comes your way and not letting it make you get off track permanently. In the beginning, everyone finds it hard to quiet our minds, but forcing this will also yield in no beneficial results.
The more consistent and intentional you are with your practice, the more likely you are to find purpose in doing it and the more likely you are to integrate it as a habit. Reflect upon your practice and identify whether afterwards you feel any different and try and set up an intention for why you want to start meditating.
People tend to often assume that meditation is a very strict, perfectionistic and hard to do practice, however it is not. Meditation can be a very easy and effortless process to follow as long as we do not become judgemental of whatever wanders through our minds. Just like it is not a practice of being a perfectionist, meditation can also come in different styles depending on your preference for sound, pace and technique, making it a universal skill that people can master if they put their mind to it.
Meditation can be done in silence or with accompanying music or instrumental background sounds. Which one you prefer is up to you.
Nowadays there are also plenty of meditation apps that help you with starting or continuing the habit of meditation. Many apps offer the option of guided meditation where you are listening to another person that it systematically guiding you through the process of meditation.
Meditation does also not have to take up plenty of your time, but can instead range anywhere from as little as five minutes to more than an hour, depending on which level you are and the amount of time you choose to dedicate to this practice. As a beginner, I would recommend starting with five minutes and then slowly progressing to ten minutes and eventually twenty minutes until you are able to do the practice on your own for however long you feel like.
Whether you decide to meditate in the morning, evening, during the day, or all three, it is up to you. Many people prefer to meditate first thing in the morning as in the morning hours our brain is not compleltčey clouded with thoughts of the upcoming day, making it easier to focus and relax into the practice itself.
MY MEDITATION PRACTICE:
I have been meditating for a little over a month now, doing between 10-20 minutes every morning right when I wake up. I personally like using the app Oak as it is free of charge (except their mantra meditation course) and it provides the chance of guided meditation that I am a big fan of as it helps me enter the state of meditation quicker.
In the background, I often like to play relaxing instrumental noises such as a flute or rain falling, but sometimes I also just do it in silence.
If you are someone who is a big app user, there are many different apps out there that specialise in meditation, so experiment with them and find which one brings you the most value, enjoyment and regularity in your practice
PERSONAL BENEFITS OF MEDITATION
BENEFIT 1: Becoming an observer
The first benefit that had uncovered itself to me after starting a regular meditation routine, was that I became an observer and spectator to my own life. Becoming an observer has firstly benefited my life from an emotional standpoint, where I was able to assess the way I reacted to a certain situation, whether I reacted appropriately and why did I react in that way. By improving the way I reacted to situations, I was able to influx more positive opportunities into my life, as well as maintain or build new social connections.
Furthermore, gaining the perspective of an observer also enabled me to become a better decision-maker as I was able to look at a situation objectively and start relying on rational thought instead of just emotional drive.
BENEFIT 2: Feeling more calm and centred
The second benefit comes with no surprise, but undoubtedly meditation has allowed me to become calmer, more level headed and more focused on my work, where I was able to approach situations with a clearer mind and produce less of an anxious response. By feeling calmer, it has lead me to improve my work prioritization which manifested itself into being able to focus on a given task for longer periods of time and becoming better at avoiding distractions - all of which are needed for a balanced and productive lifestyle.
BENEFIT 3: Increased gratitude
By becoming more of an observer through the process of meditation, you are able to self reflect, gain more control throughout different areas of your life, which leads you to become a more present person. The ability to be present in a situation is becoming rarer but it is also one that is becoming more necessary to do. By being more present we are able to truly assess our life and look at it through a lens of gratitude for all the things, experiences, people and opportunities we had, still have or we will get in the future.
I believe that we should not label situations as either being “good” or “bad” because that can predetermine our response to them when it is still in our control to choose the way we intentionally react to them. The focus in your life should not only be on “good” situations because we also need “bad” situations to learn from them and be able to appreciate and realise what a “good” situation even means for us. Through expressing gratitude, you are able to view even the most negative situations with at least a hint of positive light, which is always better than seeing only the bad in something negative, as dwelling on your losses never gets you anywhere, but learning from them does.
BENEFIT 4: Increased mental clarity
Another benefit that came to me through the practice of meditation was that I experienced greater mental clarity during my day, with which I was able to react more appropriately in situations, make better decisions, stay focused on the task consistently and live more in the present moment. “Mental clarity” means something different for everyone, but in my terms, it meant that I became a generally all-around more rational person with the things I said and did which made me become more intentional with my actions and the way I choose to spend my time. I realized that it was up to me how I spent my time and how much time I choose to allocate to a specific task. It was up to me to decide how much focus to bring to the table and where to concentrate it on.
Lastly, because I started viewing life events in a more objective light, I was able to tune into my intuition more, which simplified and quickened the process of decision making that so often usually drained me of energy.
BENEFIT 5: Becoming less judgemental and more accepting
The last point links to the idea of neutrality and not labelling something as being “good” or “bad” but simply being acceptant and aware of it. By labelling something as “bad” or “good” you are in a way predetermining your response and thus the outcome from that situation, that would otherwise have been up to you as to how you choose to react to it. It is crucial to realise that we will be okay even if we encounter a “bad” situation and that we can use those situations that make us struggle and fail, to our advantage, to fuel our growth as a person and to strengthen our mindset.
ADVICE FOR PICKING UP THE HABIT OF MEDITATION:
Start small and be consistent. Even just five minutes a day can be sufficient as a beginner, and when you feel ready to extend that time period, go for it.
Involve the use of a meditation app that will make it easier for you to stick to your practice and encourage you with your progress thus far.
Understand and figure out why you even want to start meditating in the first place. What do you think or want to get out of this practice?
Adapt the practice to your preference in terms of the length you choose, time of day you do it, your choice of having music, background vocal guidance or silence. Design it so that it will be enjoyable to you, increasing your chances of sticking to it.
CONNECT THROUGH INSTAGRAM
Follow me along on my Intsgram where I showcase my photography work along with generally useful life advice. Would love for you to check it out and hope that it brings you useful value.
