Lets talk about breathing.
It’s “the most wonderful time of the year” and there are so many ways that we celebrate. In addition to your usual day to day activities there’s special events and all the preparation that goes along with it. It can easily become stressful and overwhelming.
One of the simplest and fastest ways I know that helps me to stay relaxed, and able to enjoy this lovely time is to intentionally breathe.
"No matter how you breathe, by just paying attention to the breaths you’re taking can be enough to shift your mood."
If you would like to explore intentional breathing to increase your presence and relaxation, here are two techniques to try.
“Regulating Breaths” From a functional standpoint, our bodies maintain a greater oxygen saturation when breathing exclusively through the nose. See how you feel after taking 5 “regulating breaths”. Breathing through just the nose: Take a sharp breath in, and take a slower breath out. Repeat for 5-10 breaths.
Another aspect to consider is the quality of your breathing.
Aim to breathe Lightly, Slowly & Deeply.
This means that while noticing your breathing, try to gently breathe (“Light”). Try to take a long time to fill your lungs (“Slow”), and finally, try to fill the full capacity of your lungs and abdomen by emphasizing diaphragmatic breath (“Deep”).
2. Diaphragmatic breathing can take a minute to get the hang of, especially if you have a shallow breath pattern, which is defined as a breath style that mostly fills the topmost part of your upper body. A shallow breather will tend to take frequent quick breaths. Diaphragmatic breathing is an essential component of a calm mood and to regulate emotions.
To explore the rhythm and movement of your diaphragm, place your hands at the base and sides of your ribcage. The focus will be on the Exhale, with the inhale allowed to happen automatically in response to a fully emptied breath.
Start by Lightly, Slowly and Deeply breathing in as best as you can.
On the exhale, pull your belly button in to the spine. With your hands on the sides of your ribs see if you can feel your ribs relax and drop while exhaling.
While breathing in, see if you can feel the bottom of your ribcage
expand and imagine your diaphragm dropping into your abdomen.
Keep going for 15-20 breaths.
Let me know how it goes and stay calm as the season carries on!
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