Jordan Turner an international mind and body transformation specialist talks about how beginners to breathwork can incorporate this powerful practise into their everyday life.
Breathing is one of the few bodily functions that can be controlled both consciously and unconsciously. Breathwork is when we choose to take conscious control of our breathing. Why take conscious control? There are many reasons why and lots of benefits, but the main reason in my opinion is that breath is life. We take our first breath when we enter this world, then we take our last breath when we leave and it’s during the breaths we take in-between that determine how we experience the journey we call life. Learning to take conscious control of your breathing will put you in the drivers seat of your existence and give you greater control over your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Where to start and How?
Lets start right now! Become aware of your breathing as you are reading this take a deep breath in and exhale. I suggest starting with deep diaphragmatic breathing. You will build solid foundations through this practice and receive many benefits including lowering the harmful effects of the stress hormone cortisol on your body, improve digestion, support metabolic process that affects our weight and leave you feeling more connected and present.
Diaphragm breathing basics
Here’s the basic procedure for diaphragmatic breathing:
1. Sit upright in a comfortable position or lie flat on the floor, yoga mat, your bed, or another comfortable, flat surface.
2. Relax your shoulders.
3. Put a hand on your chest and a hand on your stomach.
4. Breathe in through your nose for about 2-4 seconds. You should experience the air moving through your nostrils into your abdomen, making your stomach expand. During this type of breathing, make sure your stomach is moving outward while your chest remains relatively still.
5. Purse your lips (as if you’re about to drink through a straw), press gently on your stomach, and exhale slowly for about 2-4 seconds.
6. Repeat these steps several times for best results.
Time Commitment - I recommend starting with 30 breath cycles everyday. This will take you the same time it takes to clean your teeth we wouldn’t leave the house without brushing our teeth well at least I hope most of us wouldn’t so lets spend the same time on a practise that can improve our overall health and wellbeing.
Daily Check In – Throughout the day check in with your breath. If you notice you are chest breathing or your breath is shallow take a conscious effort to relax your chest and bring the breath back into your diaphragm even just a couple of deep breaths can make a huge difference to your state of being and in time will become your new norm. Added tip, there are many ways to anchor this into daily practice and its for you to decide what is best for you personally, but here are a couple of suggestions. Set a reminder on your phone to prompt you to check in. Use every moment you are about to eat as reminder to check in. Setting situational reminders will support you staying much more present and aware throughout the day improving your ability to respond and adapt to situations.
Whiskey Breathing
This is a relaxing process that will drop you into your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and renew) Great practice to unwind or before bed to help support improving your sleep.
• Sit upright in a comfortable position or lie flat on the floor, yoga mat, your bed, or another comfortable, flat surface.
• Relax your shoulders
• Nose breathing only or inhale through nose exhale through mouth
• 1:2 Ratio (Most common 4 seconds inhale / 8 Seconds exhale)
• Diaphragmatic breathing.
• under 6 breaths per minute
Why Wellbeing Escapes?
