Mindful Breathing Exercises

Welcome back to another #MindulnessMonday. Today we are going to be discussing why breathing properly is important and I will also give you some exercises you (and your kids) can practice at home.

Breathing Basics

Breathing is involuntary and voluntary, which means it happens without us needing to think about it, but we also have the power to change the rhythm in which we breathe. Normally we are shallow breathers and only take short breaths into our chest and shoulders and very little becomes taken into our lungs. Belly breathing is important because you take it into your belly and fill up your lungs like a balloon. If you watch a newborn baby sleeping (or awake), you will see their belly growing big with every breath they take in. When we take deep belly breaths we fill up the bottom of our lungs with new fresh air. In life we loose that natural ability to breath deeply because of stressful situations and anxiety which causes us to cut our breathing short. When we laugh we take deep belly breaths in because we're happy and relaxed.

Proper Breathing Exercise

It's important to breath in through our nose because our nose filters the air and warms it up. That helps our body take it in and absorb it better. Relax your chest and put your hand on your lower abdomen. As you take a deep breath in, feel your abdomen expand onto your hand. Your lungs will be grateful for that. As you let your breath out you will relax your belly and bring it back in to squeeze the air out. You can exhale through either nose or mouth. From what I've read, nose is preferred but you can decide which works better for you. Doing this multiple times a day is a great form of self care and in a couple weeks your body will become use to it. You will have re-taught your body how to breath properly and it will continue even when you're asleep.

Why Breathing Exercises are Helpful

Breathing techniques help lower our heart rate which helps us calm down and relax. It also relieves stress and anxiety. Deep breathing exercises can help us fall asleep easier. It increases awareness and of course mindfulness. When we are stressed we have rapid heart rate, increased blood pressure, and we breath fast. When we are calm it's the opposite. So, breathing exercises help us reach that calm state.

Breathing Exercise For Calmness

Now that we know how to breath properly and how breathing exercises are helpful. We can practice breathing exercises to help us when we are stressed out or when we would like to meditate and relax.

Breathing For Calmness

It's helpful to close our eyes so we don't become distracted. It's common to do the 4-7-8 breath count. Breath in (through your nose!) for 4 counts, then hold your breath for 7 counts, and then exhale slowly for 8 counts till you reach the complete end of your exhale. Do this 4 times and you can work you way up to more.

Breathing To Relax Body and Muscles

You can also do this while laying down and take deep breaths in and slowly out as you relax all your muscles focusing on each body part beginning from your face all the way down to your toes.

Breathing With Children

For children I like to do a shorter amount of counts to make it easier on them in the beginning, however I don't like to focus too much on counting, rather more on the importance of the deep breath in and slowly out. You can make it fun by taking deep breaths in and blowing bubbles slowly out, blow pinwheels, smell flowers, and pretend your a bear about to hibernate before bed.

My Experience

In my experience, I definitely notice a difference immediately after practicing breathing exercises, especially when I am beginning to feel frustrated or stressed out. That is another reason why being mindful is important because we become in touch with our bodies, thoughts, and feelings, and can have more control and calm ourselves when we need too. Simply noticing our heart rate increasing or our thoughts becoming negative can help us change that and "take a deep breath" (as we're often told). Being a mother can have frustrating moments and deep breathing practice really helps. I also like to practice deep breathing throughout my day as I re-teach myself how to breath properly.

You can check out this video of my girls and I practicing breathing exercises.

I hope you found this post helpful and give deep breathing exercises a try, if you don't already. Please share with me your thoughts in the comments section below.

Thank you for reading!

With love, Melissa.