The Power of Breathing

The more I get to know myself and others around me, the more I am reminded of the importance of taking a breath. Being mindful is about being in the present, no longer stuck feeling guilt or remorse about the past or anxious and controlling about the future. The Here and the Now. The place where we can make changes.

Healing is done on so many levels and at different times. By taking a moment to be concious about breathing, you are coming out of your brain and thoughts and connecting with your awareness and intuition. Your gut instinct and your primal needs. You are taken away from society’s pressures and the medias propaganda. You release money troubles, health anxieties, body weight stress, parenting woes, work restrictions or whatever else you are thinking about that you have no power over. You are re-plugging in to you- the real you, and that is incredibly powerful.

Sounds easy and it can be as easy as 1,2,3

1. Stop (close your eyes is completely optional)

2. Breathe in (listen and feel the breath fill you up)

3. Breathe out (listen and feel stress and tension leave with your breath.

Even if that is all you do. That can be enough- it is a great start.

Here are some more exercises I have learnt over the years;

Counting breaths;

Close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

Try and breathe in for a count of four and out for a count of four. Repeat this a few times (4-6 times)

Increase time to breathing in for a count of 6 then out for a count of 6. Repeat this a few times (4-6 times)

Increase this to breathing in for a count of 8 then out for a count of 8. Repeat this a few times (4-6 times)

( OPTIONAL)Spend some time her picturing yourself in a favourite place or looking at yourself in the mirror and seeing yourself as the perfect you.)

Return to breathing in for a count of 8 then out for a count of 8. Repeat this a few times (4-6 times)

Return to breathing in for a count of 6 then out for a count of 6. Repeat this a few times (4-6 times)

Return to breathing in for a count of 4 then out for a count of 4. Repeat this a few times (4-6 times)

This can take as long or as little time as you have!

Rainbow breathing; (This is great for kids)

Stop the bus

This is best done when you are pressed for time, need to meet a deadline, are stalling doing something that really needs doing, cant wait, cant stop! Its amazing how little it takes to stop, re-focus and actually achieve more. It is also great to use when you have a thousand things going on and you cannot get to sleep.

this can be done for 1-5 mins. Set a timer so you are not stressing about time.

Close your eyes and breathe in and out. Allow all thoughts to flow through your mind without holding on to them. without trying to solve them- just watching them. Especially when it is the last thing you should be doing! Each thought can have a shape or colour as you see it drift off. Then start to repeat, I wonder what my next thought will be…

Other exercises to get you on track:

Opening yourself up to opportunity is about trusting yourself and the universe to provide for you. Whilst breathing and being mindful of your breath, try to visualize all the things you want from your life. What you want to look lik, feel like, where you want to be and who you want to be with. Set a direction for yourself. Start listing ideas and avenues to pursue. Bring yourself out of pause and motivate your body and mind towards a purpose and goal.
List the things you are good at. Your key skills. What lights your fire, what gets you excited? List them all and all will reveal itself- it will become so obvious where you want to go- start to follow it step by step. It may be an area or path that you never considered before but will seem so perfect.
Every night before bed- try to make a list of 5 things that happened that day that you are grateful for and then what you are looking forward to for the next day. This can help you to prepare you for a good nights, restful sleep. You may even wake up refreshed and positive to start another abundant and grateful day.
Try to find other ways of being mindful every day- like taking your shoes off and grounding yourself, or walking in nature on one of the nearby trails. You don’t need to go far or for long, but try and do something every day to nurture yourself. Being in nature is so peaceful and restorative once you get out of your head. Ban all phone action whilst out there and even try it without music to distract your brain. Find what you like it may be water, or mountains, beaches or even just wandering through a city spoting nature everywhere. Feel like your feet are on the floor and your brain is in your head and your body is in control.
From an emotional level- please look after yourself. You are very important and worth care and attention. Only then will you be able to find better energy for yourself and your healing. Try to identify patterns of behavior and beliefs that you can reverse and change. EFT is a great tool for this- Eft is quick and easy to use and can be used for all ages and all areas in your life. Buried emotions can result in behaviour patterns, experiences can shape our reactions, find someone qualified to help you and practice everyday- you will be astounded how good you feel to get rid of some dragging baggage.
Try this meditation series. Designed for weight loss it holds all the components of being mindful about your body and connecting emotion and physical beyond weightloss. I used to listen to it both sitting at home and whilst travelling to and from work.
There are so many short and easy recorded meditations on You Tube (see here for who I follow) or check out the free app- headspace.

Breathing and being mindful can be done anywhere and at anytime!

Over the last few weeks I have used meditation for numerous reasons. Mostly to calm me down and to help me trust nature and it’s capacity to heal and re energise.

I used it to connect to my baby whilst pregnant and when I went almost 2 weeks over my due date after expecting another early baby, to my latest mastitis pain and healing process. I have also used it to help me deal with my mums recent death and the frustrations, anger and guilt attached to adjusting to having another family member and my toddlers reaction to it. I tend to give energy out without leaving much for myself and so I am conscious that I need to reset and refuel myself and my body. This is where rainbow meditation comes in for me.

Rainbows symbolise hope for me. I love colour, wearing certain colours gives me confidence and peace of mind. I feel uncomfortable in black or white without a burst of colour. Visualisation is a key tool for me too, I use it all the time whether I am thinking of how to get somewhere or to use a specific muscle in the body. To put the two together to make changes in the body makes perfect sense to me.

Simply get comfortable and focus on your breathing. Then picture each colour whilst breathing in and focus on breathing out the murkiness. I do this until I feel like I’m breathing out white. Continue through the rainbow. If you need more guidance there are many similar ones on you tube. I’m sure many out there would object but how I see it is meditation is mostly about stopping and focusing on breathing. Getting oxygen in and around the body is so important.

Getting people to meditate can be hard because it is perceived to be this ultra zen feeling that has to be taught and done for hours. I do it for 10 mins in the bath or when I am cuddling one of my babies to sleep or even to get me to sleep myself. It can be accessible and most importantly can fit into your day no matter how much time. Even a minute concentrating on just breathing is good enough. Try it!

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