Words: Team THINKWELLNESS360
Hey — you look quite stressed out, don’t you? Take a few minutes off and try to spend some time focusing on your breath. Don’t think of anything else. You will feel better.
This yoga type of breathing is to complete relaxation what music is to the mind.
Simple premise. The quality of your breath mirrors the quality of your mind. It also bears a definitive connection between your mental, emotional, and psychological states
Now — just focus on your breath. Your mind seems to wander. It also draws itself away from your body. You may get worked up by thinking of the future, your health, your bank-balance and the past.
Nature’s Blessing
Let’s look at the whole thing differently. That we have the ability to automatically breathe even while sleeping is one of nature’s blessings on us. We are fortunate, indeed, for this gift.
When you are asleep, there is, of course, no need for conscious awareness. But, when you focus on your breath, it is natural for your attention to force you to ‘focus’ on what’s happening within a given situation.
You thought that you often drifted into something not connected. Well, if you focus on the present-moment reality, you can sure stay connected to your body. You will begin to live in the now, or present-moment. This is what meditative practices are all about.
Remember: it is possible for us to think of the good times we’ve experienced. This feeling sometimes leads to a fear that it may not happen in the future. This may lead to stress.
The best thing to do now is to think in the present. Remember: being lost in fantasy may lead to disappointments in the face of reality.
Breathing & Relaxation
- Your quality of breath mirrors the quality of your mind. It also bears a definitive connection between your mental, emotional, and psychological states
- The pace and depth of your breath speaks about your state of mind
- Remember — when you are disturbed, you tend to take short, quick, shallow breaths
- When you are relaxed, or asleep, just the opposite happens. Long, deep breaths.
- It is, therefore, up to us to choose our breathing pattern and change our mental state
- When you relax and slow down the pace of your breath, you calm your mind. As you get into the practice, if not habit, you also slowly begin to think and act from a position of peace
- Relaxed breathing also helps you to live in the present-moment. It brings a sense of freedom from past unpleasant experiences and sorrows. It makes us look objectively into the reality of things — without false hopes.
Result? You develop patience and compassion. You also achieve a hopeful state of mind. To accept ourselves as we are, not what we are not. When this happens, you also learn to live. You now spend time with yourself and the people you love or adore.
Quality breathing practice brings to you other benefits, too:
- It reduces your stress and blood pressure levels
- It prompts your immune system to work with better efficiency
- It helps you sleep better
- It elevates a state of optimal physical, also mental, health and well-being.
