The Wellness Blog

A little secret about your breathing…..

Breathing with intention, leaves you feeling calmer and even more energised than before. But what is the science behind the effects of breath work?

Diaphragmatic breathing, or deep-abdominal breathing is the kind of breathing that naturally slows your heart rate, stabilises blood pressure, and stimulates the vagus nerve – which runs from the brain through to the heart, lungs and digestive tract.

Deep abdominal breathing allows your sympathetic nervous system to calm (which is responsible for your body’s natural “fight-or-flight”response) and your parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” system) to relax.

These effects are all important because they have been associated with decreases in anxiety and depression symptoms and improved psychological wellbeing in those with chronic pain.

During breath work, we become much more attuned to what’s happening in our body, in our mind and in our heart.

The goal of breath work is not to eliminate stress from our lives, but to help us be better equipped to cope with it.

Using your breath to increase awareness and acceptance of stress and at the same time stimulating the relaxation response of our nervous system.

Being mindful of how we breath and learning to take our breath out of the chest and moving it deeper into the lower lying abdominal muscles. The more you practise and learn how to breathe from the belly the more you will naturally take it into your everyday life.

Using the next 5 minutes to learn how to connect to your breath, connecting to your body and to your mind – reducing stress and anxiety and supporting your overall wellbeing.

To begin…… find a comfortable position, allow your body to settle and feel relaxed – when you are ready, press play and let your body begin to breathe………..