In this episode of the Becoming You podcast, we dive into some very simple breathing techniques that will help you respond to situations in life, instead of reacting to them.
Why focus on the breath? Well, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a hard time breathing when caught in an overwhelmed state. When we’re bombarded by a flood of emotions, our mind goes in a hundred different directions attempting to stop potential disasters from happening.
That’s right: When in a panic, in our mind, disaster is a foregone conclusion. We are not in our body in that moment. We feel scattered. We are not grounded.
The reason we always hear, “Calm down; take a deep breath,” is because the very act of breathing helps us to reconnect to our body.
Breathing is normally an unconscious activity. However, if we choose to consciously control our breath, it’s as if time slows down. We gain more control over our next move. We feel safer.
When you find yourself beginning to panic for whatever reason at all, try to become aware of three aspects of your breath:
Once you take note of these three factors in your breathing, compare them to how you breathe when you’re in a relaxed state. How different are the intensity, depth, and pace of your breath when you’re calm? And more critically, how differently do you make your decisions in this state? I rest my case!
When we have a calm and clear mind, we have greater access to our intuition.
This is so powerful. Whenever we make decisions from an intuitive place, we are so much more confident in the decision as being right for us, even if it is not “right” in the minds of other people. And it won’t matter to us. It all comes back to these feelings of safety, security, and stability which come with relaxed breathing.
After all, when we’re so focused on safety, we cannot focus on thriving.
So, when in doubt, return to your breath, and take in bellyfulls of air. Remember that you are your own healer, and that power comes from taking control of your breath.
Now that we’ve laid the foundation, here are four simple breathing techniques to help you take control of your breath and, by extension, take control of your environment.
Technique #1: Box Breathing
Inhale for four; hold for four; exhale for four; hold for four.
Rinse and repeat this pattern as many times as it takes to find your center.
Technique #2: Continual Conscious Breathing
As the name suggests, this is a deliberate, ongoing breath with no holding in between.
Slowly and deeply inhale, filling up both your tummy and your chest. Exhale immediately after.
I personally inhale and exhale through my nose, but try inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. It doesn’t really matter as long as you do what is most comfortable for you.
Technique #3: Heart Resonance
This breathing technique helps you connect to your heart space.
If you want to slow down a rapid heartbeat, use this pattern to experience heart coherence: connecting your mind, heart, and body in a straight line.
Inhale for six and exhale for six. Repeat this only six times.
Technique #4: Double It
Inhale for a count that feels good to you, and then exhale for a count twice as long.
Elongating your exhale is an incredible way to help your body calm down, because you are exhaling every single ounce of air in your body.
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