Breathing for Mindfulness (Video)
October marks the time of year when the days start getting noticeably shorter and the weather is beginning to cool, signaling us to put on our sweaters, cook a warm meal, and cozy up by the fire… right?
But for many of us, October also marks the beginning of the holiday season and the ramping up of school and other commitments. Contradicting the pull to go inwards is the expectation to go shopping, socialize and engage in fall activities, all while keeping up with work, school, family, and life!
For me personally, this time of year is at first exciting and I feel motivated to do ALL of the things… until suddenly I find myself getting burnt out and realizing I’ve been doing so much for other people without pausing to take care of myself.
Perhaps you’ve experienced burnout before: the pure emotional exhaustion and falling away of all known coping mechanisms, living in survival mode because life feels too draining to keep up with. I know I’ve been there, and it can feel really hard to pull yourself out of that place once you’re there.
I use mindfulness as a preventative care practice to check in with myself throughout the day, sometimes several times a day. No, I don’t need fancy yoga clothes, no guided meditation, and not a lot of time to pause, connect with myself, listen to my breath, and quiet (even if just a little) the noise in my mind.
Mindfulness can be as simple as continuing to do the thing you’re doing (eating, sitting, driving), while paying closer attention to the experience of the activity. Because it is something we carry with us everywhere we go, the breath is a great mindfulness tool for checking in with the sensations in the body and grounding in the present moment. Deep breathing can help reduce stress by bringing our body to the state we are in when we are calm, activating the parasympathetic nervous system, or “rest and digest,” and reducing the “fight or flight” state we find ourselves in when we are overwhelmed.
In the video below, I walk you through my 3 favorite breathing practices for when I have only a few minutes in my day to pause and connect with myself. If I’m feeling anxious, distracted, or overwhelmed, I find connecting with my breath helps me feel more grounded and calm so I can move on to the next thing with more presence and peace. Not only does this support my own emotional well-being, but I also find more balance in my relationships and work when I take these little pauses in the day for myself.
The 3 practices we’ll try in the video are:
Lion’s breath
Breathing in and out to a count of 4
Bumblebee breath
We spend so much of our lives thinking about the next thing, or thinking about the past, but what if we can find the subtle beauty of the present moment? As I’m typing this, I notice my mind worrying about whether I will be able to finish writing this before my next client, when the wind outside my window blows through the trees and reminds me to notice the beautiful fall colors, and the clouds rolling by as the sunlight peeks through. The wind doesn’t blow all of my worries away, but it brings me closer to right now, reminds me to stay present with my body, and to have gratitude for even the littlest things.
So I return to the breath, my wind, for a moment... then return to my work with just a little more calm and focus.
Thank you for sharing this time and space with me to connect with our breath together! Return to this video or these techniques anytime you feel called to take a moment for yourself. You deserve it!
Take care,
Vanessa