The Power Of Your BREATH

Happy Self-Care Sunday!

What are your Self-Care Sunday plans in 2023? I’m super excited to be hosting online breathwork sessions every New Moon to help optimize your breathing for better performance at work and in life. Check out the details on my Instagram or Facebook.

Expressing gratitude can improve your mood. People who regularly express gratitude for the positive things in their life are shown to be happier overall, leading to lower rates of stress and depression.

🙏🏽 Gratitude Practice 🙏🏽

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What if there was a way to control our emotions and thoughts in the brain to achieve a desired mental state or reduce stress?

Regular meditation and breathwork will increase alpha waves – your relaxation brain waves & reduce beta waves – the brain waves of active thought and learning.

Besides relaxation, alpha waves may also help boost creativity and act as a natural anti-depressant by promoting the release of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Deep breathing and closed-eye visualization techniques also boost alpha waves.

Join the monthly online New Moon Breathwork Experience here.

Whilst reading the next few sentences, gradually bring your awareness to how you are breathing. Where do you feel the breath in the body? Are you bringing the air in through your mouth or nose? Simply observe your breath for the next few minutes. Is your belly rising fully and freely on the inhalation or is the upper chest slightly puffing up during an inhalation? Are you finding it easy or a little challenging to breathe? Is the exhalation subtle and gentle? Slowly begin to notice which part of your torso is moving more during your next breath. Do your best to try not to alter the breath at all, simply observe which part of the body the breath travels to. Breathe in…..Breathe out… This mindful breath observation where there is no control over the breath, you are simply observing the movement of the body, is one of the best practices you can do to improve focus and your overall brain health. What the yogis and Buddhists were practicing 2,500 years ago is finally being acknowledged by modern day science.

The rhythm of breathing co-ordinates electrical activity across a network of brain regions associated with smell, memory, and emotions, and can enhance their functioning, according to a new study by researchers at Northwestern University. The findings, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that breathing does not merely supply oxygen to the brain and body, but may also organise the activity of populations of cells within multiple brain regions to help orchestrate complex behaviours.

Check out my podcast “Embody Your Full Potential: Break Free From Fears & False Perceptions” episode #62 on the Self-Care Goddess Podcast.

Breathing is controlled unconsciously by the brainstem, and humans alter their breathing pattern in response to emotional stimuli and mental effort, suggesting that our thought processes affect the rate of breathing. These new findings suggest that breathing can also impact our mental function. For example, breathing rapidly when we are scared or highly aroused may optimise information processing in the brain so that we can think and act appropriately and quickly.

Breathing modulates emotional recognition and memory recall, with both processes being more accurate during breathing in compared to breathing out. The route of breathing is critically important – positive effects are seen when breathing in through the nose, but performance declines if breathing through the mouth. When you breathe in, you are stimulating neurons in the olfactory cortex, amygdala and hippocampus. In a panic state, your breathing rhythm becomes faster and as a result you’ll spend proportionally more time inhaling. This could have a positive impact on brain function and result in faster response times to dangerous stimuli in the environment.

I invite you to watch my wellness video “Boost Nitric Oxide by 15 Fold with Humming”

I am a certified Breathwork Facilitator. Connect With Me to know more on the amazing power of breathwork and learn some breathwork techniques than can help you better manage yourself.

References:

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_focusing_on_the_breath_does_to_your_brain