Notes on: The Power Of Mindful Breathing at Work

'The Power Of Mindful Breathing at Work' is an article by Bryan Robinson and was originally published on thriveglobal.com.

When you feel like your stress is stealing your breath away, try this.

Because breathing has been subconscious since birth, we tend to take it for granted throughout our life, but it could be a valuable tool to counter stress, and it can be done at any time and any place. Specifically, studies have shown that diaphragmatic breathing exercises can reduce anxiety, depression and overall stress at work and in our personal lives. Some studies go far as to suggest that when done regularly, diaphragmatic breathing can actually prevent stress, not just reduce it when it occurs.

Sometimes when we are stressed, at work, or in our personal lives, we tend to take short shallow breaths with our shoulders, and sometimes we may even stop breathing, even for a moment in response to stress. The issue with over breathing is it exasperates stress as we excel more carbon dioxide and this impacts the balance of gases in our body.

In contrast, when we are relaxed, our breaths tend to be fuller and deeper, coming from our abdomen. The diaphragm contracts, pushing muscles in the abdomen up, which opens up your chest and allows your lungs to take in more air. The extra oxygen when you breathe deeply makes you relax and it makes it more difficult for you to get worked up.

Natural Abdominal Breathing

You can calm yourself at any time and in any place just by practicing abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing. Deep breathing from your diaphragm sends extra oxygen to your brain and activates your parasympathetic nervous system (the rest-and-digest response) which leads to a feeling of calm throughout the body. All it takes is 5 minutes of deep abdominal breathing to achieve a strong sense of calmness, and the key is simple, just become mindful of your breath when you are feeling stressed and take control.

Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Your abdomen should rise on the in-breath and lower on the out-breath and your chest should barely move. You can even place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen to ensure you are mindful of the right movements.

Calming Breath Counts

To help you be more mindful and concentrate on your breaths you can count while you breathe. This helps ensure you are doing the breath properly, but also can help your attention remain focused on your breathing and not wander. Some exercise you can try:

• Breathe in through the nose slowly, and then hold your breath and count to 4, then exhale slowly, and once your lungs are empty, again count to 4. Repeat for 5 minutes.

• Close your eyes, take a long deep breath through the nose, then hold it for 5 seconds, then slowly exhale for 5 seconds. Do it again, but this time for 4 seconds, the next time for 3 seconds, then 2, and for 1 second. Repeat this a few times and once you are done, open your eyes and stretch.

Breath Awareness Meditation

Focusing on our breath is one of the simplest forms of meditation. It brings you to the present moment, and allows you to connect your mind with your body. Find a comfortable place to sit and focus on the inhalation and exhalation, feeling your lungs fill from the bottom to the top, and then empty from the top to the bottom. Following your breath through the full cycle. As thoughts enter your mind, do not fight them, accept them, but slowly bring your awareness back to your breath.

The 365-breathing rule

To counter accumulated stress, many therapists use the 365 breathing rule, where they do a conscious breathing exercise at least 3 times a day, 6 breaths each time, with 5 seconds for the inhale and a 5 seconds for the exhale, every day of the year.

The more often you practise, the better you will get at focusing on your breath and the more impactful it will be, blocking stress and giving you more moments of calm that will allow you to use your energy in much more productive ways.