So far we have explored what Mindfulness is: the moment to moment awareness & acceptance of our thoughts, feelings, emotions & behaviours; the attitudes that accompany mindfulness: non-judgment, kindful acceptance, forgiveness & compassion, playful curiosity & the beginner’s mind, non-striving, gratitude & heartfulness; and the distinction between mindfulness & meditation: meditation being the formal way to practice mindfulness, mindfulness being a way of living.
Today we are going to talk about how we practice mindfulness by using the breath to anchor ourselves in the present moment & why we do this but first I want to share a story from Jay Shetty’s book, Think Like a Monk. Jay spent 3 years training to be a monk in an ashram in India & has since taken the world by storm bringing these beautiful monk values to modern day. If you haven’t already read it, I urge you to do so.
In the book he recalls seeing a young monk teaching other monks how to breathe & when he asked why this was the response he got: ‘Because the only thing that stays with you from the moment you’re born to the moment you die is your breath.’ The young monk went on to add, ‘When you get stressed – what changes? Your breath. When you get angry – what changes? Your breath. We experience every emotion with the change of breath. When you learn to navigate & manage your breath, you can navigate any situation in life.’
Did you know that we breathe about 20,000 times a day? Were you aware that many of us take such shallow breaths, that we only just obtain enough oxygen to function? This can put our bodies & minds into almost perpetual flight or fright mode.
Our breath: without it we are quite literally nothing; with it, we more than exist, we are powerful.
Many meditation or mindful practices focus attention on the breath, using it as a tool to gently guide us back from our thoughts to the present, just being. After all, any breath you take, can only ever happen in the present moment: it can’t happen in the past, or in the future, only right here, right now. That’s why it is such a powerful anchor to the present moment.
Our breath is both a guide & a tool. By becoming aware of our breath, noticing when we are breathing shallowly in our chest rather than more slowly & deeply into our belly, it can be a sign of stress. Many of us are so used to the habitual background endless stress levels that we are not even aware that we are stressed. When we bring our attention to our breath & notice our breathing is shallow we can take some longer smoother breathes into our belly which calms the mind & thus the breath becomes a tool to calm the mind.
Try it now: place a hand on your chest & a hand on your belly & when you breathe in notice which hand rises. If I’s the hand on your belly, continue to breathe slowly & deeply into your belly & notice how you feel after a few rounds. If it is the hand on your chest, then you simply redirect the breath into your belly. Take several belly breaths & notice how you feel. Our breath is 1 of only 2 automatic responses we can consciously control (the other is blinking). Of course you aren’t actually directing the breath into your belly, it is the movement of the diaphragm that moves your belly. Belly breathing is also known as diaphragmatic breathing.
We are beginning to understand that for each emotion, we have a different rate in our breath, just like the monk mentioned at the beginning. By slowing the breath, taking longer smoother breaths, this sends a powerful message to the brain.
Our exhalation stimulates the vegas nerve, which activates the relaxation response, calming the nervous system. When we are breathing quickly & shallowly the sympathetic nervous system, the fight or flight system is activated, we are literally getting ready to run away or fight. When the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, we are activating the rest & digest system. Our breath helps to bring these systems into balance, which is important as they work best in conjunction with & complimenting each other.
This week’s meditation is a mindfulness of breath meditation. To obtain your copy, simply email Alex to the email address below quoting Frost mindfulness breath. Next time we will be exploring why & how we can use the body to anchor ourselves into the present moment & cultivate a more mindful approach to living & being.
Alex is based on the edge of the stunning Cotswolds & has been sharing her love for all things yoga & mindfulness for the last 8 years, not just in the UK but also around the world. Her mission is to help everyone discover a sense of peace & calm within & to encourage them to embrace regular self-care practices.
If you would like more information on how to practice mindfulness, meditation & yoga message her at alex@myananda.co.uk.
For free resources check out her Facebook group: Mindfulness & Yoga for Self-Care, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MindfulnessYoga4Relationships
Alternatively please check out her website: www.myananda.co.uk