Have you ever noticed that the way you breathe affects how you feel? If you’re feeling angry or stressed-out, taking a few deep breaths can often settle your emotions, clear your head and allow your muscles to relax. Our breath naturally adjusts to the demands of our body, like when we exercise or emotional triggers, like fear or panic. But did you know you can change your mental, emotional and physical state through the doorway of the breath?
The most important thing you do.
We spend a lifetime breathing, but we don’t often think about our breath unless something is wrong. It just occurs automatically in the background of our everyday, but it definitely is the most important thing we do! I don’t like to dwell in the negative, but have you ever considered what you might be missing out on if you are unaware of the power of your breath or worse, the damaging health effects of a lifetime engaging in poor breathing habits?
You are how you breathe.
How you breathe and how you feel has a direct impact on the activities you choose to engage in from day-to-day. When you’re feeling low-energy it’s hard to get motivated to do anything more than your minimum daily tasks. Although, there are other health factors that can affect your well-being, the act of breathing fuels every process of the human body and is essential to life itself.
Love is like oxygen.
The breath sustains our bodies through the oxygen that we take in on the inhale, and the carbon dioxide that we exhale. Good oxygenation gives you more energy and proper breathing techniques can give you tools to regulate your nervous system and reduce the depleting effects of stress.
The breath is your “go to” function when you want to improve your health and increase your level of vitality. When you breathe effectively and with awareness, you take in more energy that you can then invest in getting the most out of life and doing all the things you love!
Take a moment right now to observe your breath.
Breath in and breath out as you normally would. How does it feel? Are you breathing freely or is there a feeling of constriction? How is the rhythm of your breath…fast or slow? Where does the breath go in your body? Can you feel it in your chest, your belly or somewhere else? Are you nose breathing or mouth breathing? Are both nostrils clear or is one clogged? What is the overall quality of your breath? How do you feel?
Sometimes just bringing awareness to the breath can cue us to breathe better, but if you’d like to go a little deeper try this one minute, breathing exercise.
5-5 Breath.
- Sit comfortably in a chair with your back straight with your feet on the floor and hands on your thighs (close your eyes if you like)
- Inhale for 5 seconds
- Exhale for 5 seconds
- Repeat 6 times
- Notice how you feel
Generally, people report that this balanced breathing makes them feel clearer, more relaxed but at the same time energized! Breathing at a rate of five seconds in and five seconds out is considered to be an optimal breathing rhythm and is a good place to start for most. This is just one of many breathwork exercises that can help you feel fresh and revitalized.
Manage your mojo.
In a yoga practice, breathwork is called pranayama. Prana is the Sanskrit word for vital energy, much like the Chi of Chinese Philosophy, and yama is translated as control or management. So, pranayama is an exercise for managing your vital energy. To increase your vitality, you need to take a wholistic approach. Even if your goal is to get an energy boost, you must first consider your energy drains. Like blowing up a flat tire…you wouldn’t fill it with air until you’ve patched the leak, right?!
Relax to revitalize.
In terms of your body, this means that vital energy and resilience is built on a foundation of reduced stress and relaxation. It is essential to be able to switch away from the highly demanding fight or flight response of the sympathetic nervous system and move into the rest, repair and digest mode of the parasympathetic nervous system. In this relaxed state, we are better equipped to assimilate the nourishment of our practices and direct our vital energy toward healing.
Be energy smart.
In fact, long term vitality is achieved through energy efficiency. Being more mindful of how you use your resources is key. The way we breathe, move and think all have an impact on your level of wellness. Much like creating an energy efficient home, reducing unnecessary energy consumption will definitely pay off over time. Like the fable of the Hare & The Tortoise, slow and steady wins the race!
5 Ways to Increase Your Vitality.
If you’d like to learn more techniques for optimizing your breath and energizing your body then I invite you to attend my 5 Ways to Increase Your Vitality Workshop! Of course, this workshop goes beyond breathing. You’ll learn several effective techniques and strategies for managing your vital energy so you can get the best out of every day! Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Breathing for increased energy
- Reducing compensatory movement patterns
- Optimizing the psoas muscle
- Stress-relief techniques
- Avoiding energy drains and creating supportive habits
Click the link below to access this vitally important workshop for only $27!
You will have lifetime access to this content. You can also use the Q&A section in the course to contact me.
For more information about my yoga and transformational coaching programs go to: https://soniabaillon.com/services or if you want to offer yourself a little self-care right now check out my FREEBIES below!
Try a FREE 30-Minute Breathing Workshop!
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