The time is changing faster than ever. The world is getting a more complex place with every passing day. Jobs are getting tougher and family’s needs have become greater. The pandemic has illustrated how anything can turn our world upside down in just a matter of a few days. Stress levels are at its all-time high.
I am sure you are aware that some people are able to sail better through the stress of these tough times. Some have learned the art to keep their nerves calm. Fortunately, there is a way to manage stress and unwind in tough times. It is called Mindful Breathing. In the subsequent part of this article, you will learn ways in which mindful breathing can help you:
1. Brings your mind to peace
A great way, mindful breathing can help you is by bringing your mind to peace. There is a lot of traffic of thought bustling in and out of our brain that makes us cause stress and feel agitated. Most of the thoughts that enter our minds are of barely any significance. By practicing mindful breathing, you are able to have a clearer picture of the world and of yourself. It helps you come to the present moment.
At first, it seems like the racing mind that we have, will not calm down and it is almost impossible to slow it down. But the truth is that the idea of calming your mind seems tougher than the act of calming your mind. We often forget that it is natural for our minds to relax better and more naturally than being active. By practicing mindful breathing you allow your mind to come at peace.
2. Manage your emotions
Now we know mindful breathing can help you keep your mind calm. From that it can help you manage your emotions better in the following two ways. Firstly, with the mind at peace, you are in a much better position to regulate the inflow of thoughts that influence your emotions. Secondly, if your mind is at peace you are able to see things with much clarity which enables you to look at things with a better perspective.
By calming your mind with mindful breathing you can have the reign over your emotions. Our emotions are nothing but a product of the thoughts we entertain, consciously, or unconsciously. Also, with a clearer mind, you are in a better position to program your mind to avoid stressful emotions. This way you will be much more objective in filtering the emotions. The fact is that many things that happen in your life have no effect on us what so ever. Therefore, we should not attach any emotions to any of the things.
3. Relaxes your body
Mindful breathing can be immensely helpful for relaxing your body. It helps relax your important muscles and control the production of the stress hormone i.e. noradrenaline. When practicing mindful breathing your brain automatically signals the muscles to relax. This has developed as a part of the evolutionary process.
There is another way mindful breathing helps is by bringing the mind, body, and emotions in synergy. A calm mind helps you calm the other two and those other two also influence each other in the same way. Can you imagine having a calm mind in a tensed body?
4. Triggers calming response
Our body responds to mindful breathing by a process called calming or relaxation response. I am sure you have heard of the fight and flight response, which helps us react swiftly in stressful situations. The relaxation response is just the opposite. It allows us to relax even when we are in a perpetual state of stress.
When you do deep breathing, oxygen supply increases in the brain and this stimulates the PNS which manages the energy, heart rate, digestive activity and other functions. All of this together creates a healthy system in the body and promotes calmness.
5. Improve your health
We take breathing as an activity for granted. You must know that there are intricacies of breathing like how you breathe and by how much. It has a huge impact on your health. Following are the two ways:
Deep breathing
There are researches which found that greater lung capacity is linked to lower stress level, less anxiety and lower depression. People who practice mindful breathing tend to breath deeper, so they are able to fetch the associated health benefits.
Breathing through nose
People who breath mindfully do it more from nose than mouth.Scientists have found that breathing through mouth can cause neurological problems and high chances of respiratory infection. With nose breathing, you are able to absorb more oxygen to your system, lowering the risk of health problems.