Tag: self-help

  • Meditation for Breathing

    Meditation for Breathing

    Have you ever noticed  what happens to your body when you feel Stressed, does it cause shortness of breath, tense muscles, headaches, panic attacks, sweaty palms or simply make your problems seem worse?

    When an event happens that triggers you to feel stressed, your body releases stress hormones that instigate your  natural “fight or flight” response, our prehistoric survival mechanism to protect us from danger.  It is these hormones which are responsible for tightening your muscles, increasing your heart rate, and quickening your breath.  All to increase your alertness and prepare your body to either defend you against the perceived danger or run away from it.  As these physiological responses happen to non-life threatening events where you no longer need to fight or run you have no release …without a release your stress levels increase, heightening feelings of anxiety and panic and so the cycle is repeated.…  

    …being anxious tightens the muscles that help you  breathe, and you start to  breathe  faster and struggle to catch your breath. This is the same for when you get angry or frustrated – emotions which the body translate as stress.  Have you ever noticed that whilst stress may seem to be limited to the mind, it also shows through the body even when you have not mentally recognised a stimulant for stress?

    Thankfully we have been gifted with a very simple tool to help inhibit our body’s natural stress response…our breath…but can the key really be as simple as learning and training yourself to harness your breath fully?! We breathe all the time right!…but there is a difference between breath with awareness provoked voluntarily with thought and breath without.

    It is true that breathing is generally a simple thing for our body to do, something which we do naturally.  It is important however to pay attention to how you are breathing. As shown, your breathing patterns can indicate what your body is doing, even when it seems not to match up with your mind, and is especially significant when it comes to experiencing stress. Certain breathing exercises can help to reduce your body’s reaction to stress and bring clarity of mind – a simple task that when paid attention to, can help relax your body and help you move forward through otherwise potentially stressful situations freely. 

    You see your natural, physical response to a stressful trigger (the “fight or flight” response) is controlled by part of your involuntary nervous system (Autonomic Nervous System)  known as your sympathetic nervous system. It is this system which is responsible for increasing your heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar to help you perform under stress. Conversely, your  parasympathetic nervous system (also part of your involuntary nervous system) does the opposite, inducing the “rest and digest” response after the perceived threat has passed, bringing the body’s reactions back to equilibrium. This is significant as the mind’s perception of stress can trigger the body to react in a fight or flight response, changing our breathing patterns and heart rate until they seem to be out of our own control –  regulating your breath voluntarily can break the cycle and help instigate your body’s  “rest and digest” response.   Therefore certain breathing exercises can help to calm the body and in turn your mind in the face of stress.  

    Practicing breathing exercises and bringing awareness to your breath daily helps train your body to use this response more naturally when faced with potential stress of a non-life threatening nature.  Helping you to remain calm under pressure, build strong relationships and meet deadlines.  

    We regularly teach our students, mentees and clients to connect to their breath and find it common place for many to only breathe in the upper section of their chest indicating a shortened fast breathing pattern – part of the fight or flight – as opposed to a deep full relaxing breath. Directional breathing is great method to help relieve this.  TIP:  bring a focus to your “belly” as you breathe, ensure your abdomen expands as your breathe in and contracts as you breathe out.  If you find this tricky then this is definitely something that will be useful to you so stick with it! 

     

  • Finally found myself….

    …I was here all along!

    When you truly know yourself, you will understand what it is you want.

     

    What does it mean to know yourself? People will interpret this in different ways…however a commonly held view is knowing yourself means to know your strengths, weaknesses, values, beliefs and what is important to you.

    Have you ever stopped to ask yourself who you truly are!?

    Did you get anywhere with that question or are you just more confused?

    Believe us when we say we truly understand, it can be very confusing/daunting. You are not alone. Many people tell us they haven’t found themselves yet…

    It is far easier than you ‘THINK’!

    Your language plays an important role in this. If you have worked with us or read much of our material you will know this is a subject very close to our hearts…our language has the ability to open up the doors or trap us where we are. What is the general conversation that you often have with yourself?

    For example, if you are often going around having the conversation you don’t know where you are, you don’t know what you are doing, what you are meant to be doing, or you are unclear of where you are going then you will be constantly seeking things/stories to validate that and keep yourself in the pattern.

    The law of attraction states that whatever you focus on, think about, read about, and talk about intensely, you’re going to attract more of into your life  – Jack Canfield

     

    You can improve your life by improving the thoughts that you dwell upon and the actions that you take. Focus is key.

    Let’s look at focus.

    Have you ever tried playing the game ‘yellow lorry’ with your children. Where you teach them on a journey to spot every yellow moving vehicle. The color is a less common one but the more your children look for them the more they will spot them, then they will always see them.  What we focus on is what we get.

    There are a few little things that you can do to start knowing who you really are, let’s simplify it.

    Take a piece of paper and write down some of the following:

    • Are you male or female?
    • Do you have brothers or sisters?
    • Are you an mother or father, aunt or uncle, grandma or grandad?
    • Write down your interests and hobbies

    Yes… it is as simple as this, this is a part of who you are but it doesn’t define you

    Now let’s look at the next bit…

    Write down your values and beliefs (between 10 and 20)

    These are the ideas and concepts from which we view ourselves and the world around us.  Examples may include:

    Values –  The things in our lives that are important to us – e.g. being charitable, friendly, honest, loyal, happiness, love, family.

    Beliefs are the lens through which we view our lives, often held as true without any factual evidence.  They can come from our own experiences in life, our parents, religion, media & marketing etc.  E.g. life is hard, people always take advantage of me, I am not good enough, its not right to make mistakes, I don’t deserve…, I am……, I can’t…..because……,

    Now look at your list and number them in order of the most important to you.  Start at 1 being the most important.

    The first three are the ones influencing you and your life the most.  How are they serving you? Do they empower or dis-empower you? Encouraging you to grow or keeping you stuck?

    Choose something to change. Flip it to humour or a positive outlook. Discipline is key.  Work on it constantly as this will create a new habit.