We breathe about 60,000 times a day but do we even notice?
Or do we ever notice that our breathing is often too shallow and we only just obtain enough oxygen to function, leading to our bodies & minds into almost perpetual flight or fright mode.
Our breath: without it we are quite literally nothing. With it, we more than exist, we are powerful.
In yoga we use the breath or pranayama to help unite our body & our mind. A good yoga practice will start with breath awareness. In other words, bringing the attention to the breath.
But why? In doing so we calm the mind.
Many meditation or mindful practices focus attention on the breath, using it as a tool to gently guide us back from our thoughts to the present, just being. After all, any breath you take, can only ever happen in the present moment: it can’t happen in the past, or in the future, only right here, right now. That’s why it is such a powerful anchor to the present moment.
So by starting a yoga class by focusing on our breath and allowing it to become slower and smoother, this tells the mind that we are no longer on red or amber alert, we can stand down. It brings the attention back to the mat & inside us so that for the duration of the class we don’t have to worry about anything beyond our mat.
But it doesn’t have to be unique to a yoga class. Just try it now: bring your attention inwards. Put a hand on your chest and one on your tummy and notice which rises and falls with the breath. Your hands should rise with the inhalation and fall with the exhalation.
Now, if the hand on your chest rises, you are shallow breathing, try to take the breath into your belly and watch the hand on your abdomen rise and fall with each breath. This is belly breathing and this send a powerful signal to your brain, that everything is ok, no need to fight or flight.
Another trick to help calm yourself during a stressful moment – allow the exhalation to be a moment or two longer than the inhalation. This activates the relaxation response, balancing the pre-frontal cortex with the frontal cortex, the thinking part of the brain with the automatic part.
So you can use your breath in two different ways: you can check in on your breath, see if it is shallow or a belly-breath and use that as an indicator of your stress levels and take appropriate action; or you can bring your attention to your breath, change its pattern and thereby change what is happening to you.
Our breath…something we usually take for granted but it is a powerful tool in moderating our moods and maintaining some calm.
