Top 3 Breath Tools For Your Workday (which can be done in under 5-minutes)

There is a level of exhaustion and overwhelm being felt right now with the amount of information we’re exposed to from zoom meetings, our social media accounts and in the news.

One of the symptoms of overwhelm whether work-related or not is distraction or loss of focus which impacts our mood, how we behave and our productivity.

Overwhelm is an imbalance in how we are feeling, we may be feeling more stressed or simply have a lot on our minds, we may not be sleeping well and finding it hard to concentrate on any one thing. Your breath is the fastest and simplest way to rebalance your emotions and create a sense of re-connection to yourself in the present and on the task you’re focusing on.

And all this got me thinking…

These are my top three breathing techniques that you can implement right now, and which take as little as five minutes of your time.

What you’ll need:

• 5 minutes

• No devices, even if you need them for the timer app, pop them on do not disturb.

• A quiet space or some headphones.

• You; your body and breath

1. Slow Down: Diaphragmatic breathing

Slowing your breath down enables the expansion of your lungs however only 10% of adults use the full range of their diaphragm, most of us tend to take shorter, shallower breaths throughout our day, barely engaging our diaphragm at all. The cost of this is it overburdens our hearts, it raises our blood pressure because the diaphragm acts as a second heart, it’s a powerful muscle, it has it’s own rhythm, it directly affects and strengthens your heartbeat helping to push all your blood around your body.

Effective breathing, engaging your diaphragm as you breath, eases cardio stress, increases lung capacity and improves body-brain efficiency and allows for the slower release of CO2 which is good because CO2 attracts more O2!

Try this:

Place a hand on your belly and the other on your chest

Breathe in slowly for 1,2,3,4,5 and release for 1,2,3,4,5

Take your time to find your rhythm keeping your breath slow and steady

If you are breathing using your diaphragm your belly will gently expand with each inhale, and soften back with your exhale

Your chest will rise on the inhale and fall back on your exhale

If you follow the movement of your breath as you count in for 1,2,3,4,5 your belly then chest will rise.

As you release your exhale the chest then the belly will soften back.

Move the hand on your belly a little lower and the one at your chest higher

Continue to breathe slowly and fully noticing the movement deeper in the abdomen and all the way up into the top of your chest.

2. Rebalance + Reconnect: Reset breath or The Triangle

This technique acts as a reset for your nervous system, you hold your breath after the inhale which helps you ‘catch your breath’, giving you time to steady the rhythm of your inhale and exhale and allows your nervous system a chance to ease back into balance. You start counting to 3 or 4 as you breathe in and the breath-hold and exhale are for the same time.

Try this:

Slowly breathe in for 1,2,3

Gently hold your breath 1,2,3

Slowly exhale for 1,2,3

Repeat for 3-minutes or until you feel calmer

3. Connect: Coherent breathing or The Infinity Loop

This one helps to promote focus and increases your body-brain efficiency because your engaging your diaphragm and taking slow full breaths however the focus is on creating an infinity loop or a continuous cycle of your breath. Many of us tend to have natural hesitation or pause as we breathe between the inhale and the exhale, it may be tiny but it might be there. As you find your rhythm you can begin to focus on removing any pausing or the gap between your next inhalation.

Try this:

Place a hand on your belly and the other on your chest

Breathe in slowly for 1,2,3,4,5 and release for 1,2,3,4,5

Take your time to find your rhythm keeping your breath slow and steady

Notice any pauses between your inhale and exhale and gradually start to remove these by breathing straight back in after each exhalation

Follow the infinity loop in your mind breathing in 1,2,3,4,5 and out 1,2,3,4,5 and straight back in 1,2,3,4,5…

By bringing your awareness to your breath you’re not only rebalancing your physical body by connecting directly to your nervous system, but you’re also practising mindfulness to help focus your mind, (mental) and easing any emotions which may have risen up due to the distraction or overwhelm.

Head over to the FREE Big Love Community over on Facebook to let me know how you got on or come say Hi! on Instagram!

Have a good day!

Becki