Have you ever observed how your breathing changes in certain conditions? How is your breathing when you relax? How is it when you are jogging? How is it when you are upset? It is always different in different situations. The breathing adopts to the situation. But it is also vice versa. You can influence any situation with your breathing. You can control your state of mind by breathing with a certain technique I will cover here. Most people are not aware of this fact. You will be able to use your breathing like a tool.
Here is a basic ONE TWO THREE introduction into conscious breathing.
Step ONE
Be aware of the moment where for example the inhalation is meeting the exhalation. It is a kind of pause or brake which is happening because the airflow stops and gets reversed. In this moment you can find a space of stillness because the respiration system is on halt and there is no active body movement. It is just the same when the exhalation is meeting the inhalation. You breath out. You stop. You breath in again. You stop. So on and so forth. Be aware of the brake.
Step TWO
Start to breath. Focused only on your breath. Once you get to the brake after inhaling, stay there for two seconds. Exhale slowly. After exhaling, stay in the brake for two seconds. Repeat.
You can try it out right now if you want…
Step THREE
Increase the duration of the brakes slowly. Stay for three seconds. Then after a while try four seconds. You will see that your breathing will become calm, nice ,easy and deep. Sometimes I have the feeling that somehow an autopilot is taking over when I do this. I see the autopilot as the self-regulating system of my body.
Heartbeat test - prove of concept
If you want to find out how this affects you on your overall system you can do the following: Get a heart rate monitor. Start running or even better start cycling. Get yourself to a point where you are constantly at 110 heartbeats per minute and remember the speed you are going. Stay there for a couple of minutes. Here is where the breathing technique starts. Begin to breath how you just learned. Breath in. Hold for one second. Breath out. Hold for one second. After a while go to two seconds if you can. And so on and so forth. You will see that after several breaths the heartbeat will go down but you maintain the speed that you are going. The only change you did was breathing with a conscious brake. That's it. Now you see how your breathing can influence your live in a very positive way.
Practice conscious breathing on a regular basis. After waking up. While going to sleep. During your workout. You name it. So you will make sure that this technique is always present with you.
Practice this kind of breathing while you meditate. For more information about meditation check out our recent post. MEDITATION – A path to happiness
What was your result of the heartbeat test? Let us know in the comment section below :D
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Namaste
-Jonas-