BREATH & Feelings
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.
Showing gratitude can make you more optimistic. Studies show that those who
express gratitude regularly appear to have a more positive outlook on life.
🙏🏽 Gratitude Practice 🙏🏽
Send a quick gratitude message to a colleague at work that you’re grateful for, and let them know why you’re grateful?
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How does breathing affect your feelings?
One of the fastest ways to feel better emotionally is to improve your physical state and you can do that by simply changing how you breathe. Mindful breathing is a simple concept that is all about taking time to slow down and bring a sense of awareness to your breath but there are many ways to incorporate it into your day.
Research links breath awareness meditation to better cognitive function. You can also use it to unwind and relieve some stress and anxiety. Breathwork is one of the most valuable tools to manage your emotions, and once you learn how to use it, you’ll see how it positively impacts your overall well-being.
Join the monthly online New Moon Breathwork Experience and learn exercises that will help you master nose breathing, enhance lung function and reduce stress. Purchase your online tickets here.
Negative emotions have an immediate effect on breathing. Do you remember the way your breathing changed when you last lost your temper, were startled by a loud sound, or felt overwhelmed? As we focus on managing a disturbing event, deeper, more abrupt, or more rapid breaths shift the balance of energy within the body. This momentarily heightens our attention level, preparing us to take action or allowing us to vent emotional energy.
Breathing changes like these have been recognized by Western science for many decades. For example, a study titled “Influence of Emotions on Breathing” was published in 1916 in the inaugural issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology. In it, Annette Felecky illustrated how strong emotion alters many of the most important characteristics of normal breathing. Depending on the emotion, we may breathe faster, sigh, gasp, or even stop breathing altogether. In 1986 Italian researchers suggested that even preconscious emotions (emotions that have not fully manifested or have been suppressed) may have similar influences on one’s respiratory style.
Check out my podcast “Ecstatic Dance: Healing Through Movement” episode #65 on the Self-Care Goddess Podcast.
When breathing is affected by emotion it usually takes place at the edge of awareness. But if we are going to make use of the breath at times of emotional distress we need to learn to bring it easily to our awareness. Daily practice is the key: it gives us the opportunity to observe relaxed breathing and to bring the interactions between breathing and emotion into view.
Breath awareness yields rich information about the conditions of the body and mind. As we watch the breath we not only perceive the quiet rhythm of exhalation and inhalation, we also sense the barriers and comfort zones that have been established within the body. We feel the pervading desire of every part of the body to breathe and sense the mind relaxing or tensing connecting with the breath.
I invite you to watch my wellness video “Breathe In Ease For Stress Busting”
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.
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