Breathe

What better practice to engage with when it comes to managing pressures and stress?

It sounds so simple and so naive, it is NOT.

Using some basic methods to divert focus away from the vortex of thoughts and worries ruminating around in our minds is extremely powerful and important.

You may already be aware, and maybe occasionally even having a go at various times when the brain and thoughts are really revving up.

When I reference Practice, I am pointing to a regular process where we consciously set up a situation and time to just be with ourselves and use Breathing to give our brains a rest.

Can you afford to give yourself 30 minutes of self care practice?

Removing ourselves from any distractions like phones, music, social media, other people, notifications etc

Quiet and comfortable, lying down or sitting in bare feet with the soles of your feet on the ground surface.

Notice how our body and mind is slowly exhaling and our pulse is slowly settling down….

Try to perform a body scan where you start at the crown of your head and move slowly along the length of your body all the way down to your toes.

As you focus on the different parts of your body, try and notice any sensations like itch / warmth / cold etc before moving on.

This is all about noticing and hence becoming mindful about your body, right here - right now.

There is no place for worry, planning, regrets, the past or the future. Life only really exists right here - right now!

Now you are ready to move on to Breathing as a Practice.

You can use a plethora of various models, all of which are essentially designed to assist us with the all important Grounding and Self Care.

Here is a proposal for a basic model as a start:

Start by settling in, make sure you are comfortable and can hold the position you are in for a few minutes,

Breathe as normally as you can, notice how you feel and how your breath is moving.

Now let’s get going, maybe try and close your eyes or look at a fixed point:

• Inhale slowly through your nose while counting to four….

• Hold your breath while counting to four….

• Exhale slowly through pursed lips while counting to four….

• Hold your breath while counting to four…

Repeat for several minutes, or until you are clearly noticing that your mind is settling down and your heart rate is slowing down.

Once you feel that you are complete, take some time returning to your regular breathing pattern and wiggle fingers and toes a bit before getting up and about,

What do you notice? Any difference at all?

If you have a piece of paper or a Journal, I highly recommend that you even make some notes and reflect.

Do you think this is worth setting aside some time every day for?

We often do a good job of looking after our physical health, including practice and exercise - forgetting the importance of our mental health and wellbeing.

I would love to hear about your experiences with this or similar practices.

Have a great week ahead!

Stig