Breathwork Techniques
Benefits of BreathWork.
Breathing with intention is a technique for getting in touch with what matters. When you feel down, stressed out, and need an energy boost, reach for a breathwork practice. By focusing your mind on each breath, you can slow things down and bring yourself back into the present moment.
Chronic stress has become disturbingly common, the stresses of daily life and the pressures of society to be just doing more! This has led us to remain constantly in fight mode, which is an innate human response to protect ourselves when we are in threat of danger, however, our bodies cannot decipher the difference between stress induced by the threat of being killed by a tiger or the stress from work or our relationships etc.
When we are in flight mode, we are calm, at peace and able to access our critical thinking and creative part of our brains, but in fight mode, our sympathetic nervous system takes over and restricts general functioning in order to pump adrenaline and energy to the body to flee, suppressing our immune system, digestive system and ability to critically think making everyday high functioning, extremely difficult, making us more prone to mood swings, anxiety, depression, cardiovascular health issues and autoimmune disease.
So what are you waiting for?! Here are my favourite breathwork techniques:
Wim Hof Method - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tybOi4hjZFQ
step 1. 30 deep mouth belly breaths laying or sitting whichever is more comfortable for you
step 2. at the release of the 30th breath, hold your breath and refocus your awareness to your body, your heartbeat, the change of body temperature, the feeling of gravity and the support beneath you.
step 3. when you feel the urge to breathe, take a recovery breath in and hold for a further 15 seconds.
step 4. repeat steps 1-3 for two more rounds
Box Breathing
As the title, you will be breathing in a box motion.
step 1. breath in the nose for the duration of 4 seconds
step 2. hold your breath for 4 seconds
step 3. release the breath for a duration of 4 seconds
step 4. hold for a further 4 seconds and repeat until you are satisfied and calm
Meditative breath
The simplest form of intentional breathing
step one. breath in for 4 seconds
steps 2. release for 4 seconds
follow @morningmindfulness_ for daily tips and live sessions
