3 Benefits Of Mindful Breathing Meditation And Why You Should Be Doing It
3 BENEFITS OF MINDFUL BREATHING MEDITATION AND WHY YOU SHOULD BE DOING IT
If you’re not meditating, you’re missing out. And if you’re not doing breathing exercises, you’re missing out double. Overcome your meditation challenges by combining the two, and reap the benefits of both meditation and breathwork at the same time.
In this article, I’ll be explaining why you might be finding meditation difficult, how breathing exercises can help, plus the amazing benefits of those breathing exercises. Don’t miss out on this easy life hack for better health and well-being.
A lot of people find it challenging to meditate. That's because meditation is a state, not an action. It's actually a very natural state. But today, it's a state that we have to develop because, somehow, along the way, we forgot how to do it. Worse than that, modern society trains our brains in antithetical states. We are literally rewiring our brains in a bad way.
As a result, most people find meditation not only difficult and challenging but boring and testing. If you've tried meditation and been turned off meditation, you've probably found yourself saying things like:
Tried meditation and hated it.
Tried meditation, and it didn't work.
Tried meditation, but my mind wanders all over the place.
Tried meditation, but it's not for me.
Tried meditation, but it was too difficult.
Tried meditation but don't see the point of it.
Tried meditation, but it drove me mad.
Tried meditation, but it made things worse.
TIME TO RETHINK MEDITATION
Today, I want you to re-think meditation. Don't give up. I always say there's a sport for everyone, and like sports, there's a meditation technique for everyone. I think mindful breathing exercises are the way to go if you're just starting out.
You see, today's mind is used to being occupied (think endless scrolling on the toilet!), and when you take that stimulus away, it starts to freak out. What do we do when we meditate? We take stimulus away. Some meditation retreats take away so much stimulus you're hanging out in a dark room 24 hours a day.
Don’t worry, we’re not going in the deep end. Many meditation techniques involve focusing attention on just one thing, like a candle flame or watching the breath. The problem is we're very adept at multitasking. Indeed, research has shown that our brains can easily focus on two things at a time. What's more, today's brain is wired for distraction, so a simple instruction like watching the breath will just not hold our attention.
Instead, we need something a little more challenging. Something that's going to require a good deal of attention to get it done. The mind loves a project. It loves to be busy. When we practice mindful breathing meditation, we support the mind by giving it something a little bit more challenging to do - a project.
BREATHING EXERCISES
Yogis have been practicing mindful breathing exercises like alternate nostril breathing and diaphragmatic breathing for millennia. And today, their benefits have been widely recorded by scientific studies.
I've been practicing breathing exercises since 2002 and teaching breathing techniques since 2005. When I started teaching yoga, I did a lot of private one-to-one lessons. My clients thought I was mad. Making them close off one nostril, then the other, breathe in, breathe out, chant om, sit on the floor. I was just weird to them. But they stuck around, and dutifully, they followed along. And then, one day, they'd come in and shriek, "I get it!"
Once they got past the weirdness of it all and settled into their practice, they started to enjoy the benefits. The calm that it brought, the peace and the stillness. Qualities that we don't find in modern society. Qualities that something deep within us craves.
Today, mindful breathing techniques are not so weird. Following the success of people like Wim Hoff, they've broken into the mainstream. We've all heard of box breathing, and we've all heard about the wonders of l breathing exercises. Many people already have a regular practice. But today, I wanted to introduce people who struggle with meditation to mindful breathing.
PRACTICE MINDFUL BREATHING
Yogic breathing exercises require focused attention. You have to do breath gymnastics. Breathe in at certain times, breathe out at certain times, breathe this way, breathe that way, hold your breath, exhale slowly, count, close your nostril, breathe in deep, breathe out quick. They're technical. And they require attention. They keep the mind busy.
They give the brain something to do. And they teach the brain to focus. That is what meditation is. It's focused awareness. As you practice mindful breathing exercises, you cultivate mindfulness and the meditative state. You learn to be comfortable with minimum stimuli. Heck, eventually, you crave the peace and stillness in that nothingness. And then you can flip into the meditative state at will.
But here's the great thing. While mindful breathing exercises help you develop as a meditator, they also have very powerful effects and benefits in their own rights. There are too many benefits of mindful breathing to go into them all. So, I've condensed them into three easy-to-remember benefits to keep you focused and on track.
1. DEEP BREATHING REDUCES STRESS
If you've never learnt breathwork, there's a good chance you're not breathing well. I've seen it time and time again, teaching both yoga and hypnobirthing. Most people breathe from the top of their lungs. This is called thoracic breathing. It's what we do when we're in fight or flight. No wonder we have a stress and anxiety epidemic.
Most breathing exercises include some form of deep breathing or diaphragmatic breathing. This retrains the muscles responsible for breathing and encourages us to breathe from deeper down in our lungs. When we practice breathing techniques regularly, we change the way we breathe in day-to-day life. We correct our bad breathing habits.
This, in turn, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system. That part of our autonomic nervous system that is responsible for rest and digestion. In other words, it stops us from functioning in the fight, flight, or freeze state, you know, from being stressed out. And that's powerful.
When we're in fight, flight, or freeze for long periods, aka when we’re stressed out all the time, it has a horrendous impact on our health and well-being;
Your immune system stops working.
Your blood pressure goes up, causing cardiovascular problems.
Your digestion slows down, causing gastrointestinal problems and inhibiting your ability to access nutrients, which causes more health problems.
Your cognitive function declines and leads to degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease.
Mental health problems develop.
Sleep is interrupted, which causes health problems.
2. DEEP BREATHING INCREASES GAS EXCHANGE
Breathing is a process where used air is expelled, and fresh air is drawn in for the body to use. That's a very simplified version. In more scientific terms, breathing involves a gas exchange. Do you know that scientists can tell what you've eaten several hours later by examining your breath?
We all know that the skin is the biggest elimination channel for our body, but our lungs probably offload more toxins than any other organ. And here's the kicker: most of us breathe from the top of our lungs, so we do not get rid of those toxins efficiently or effectively.
On top of that, we're also not getting enough fresh oxygen in, and down the line, it's our cells that are suffering and suffocating. Breathing from the top of our lungs is so inefficient. We have more alveoli at the bottom of our lungs, and there's ten times more blood flow down there, too.
Breathing exercises increase our gas exchange. More toxins out. More oxygen in. Better health from a cellular level, and let's face it, that's where it's all happening. Deep breath exercises like Kapalabhati and bellows breath get right down to the old, stale, toxic air hanging out in the bottom of your lungs and boot it out. More room for fresh oxygen and better gas exchange.
3. MINDFUL BREATHING IMPROVES SELF-AWARENESS
When we practice breathwork and mindful breathing, we focus attention on our body and breath. This cultivates self-awareness in the present moment. This heightened awareness can lead to greater insight into one's thought patterns and behaviors.
We start to notice and identify unhealthy thought patterns like self-sabotage and rumination. We begin to become aware of unhealthy behaviors, addictions, co-dependencies, and interpersonal relationships. Our thoughts and behavior affect our emotions, so by becoming aware of our negative thoughts, we can eliminate some of our negative emotions.
If we keep practising, we will have improved emotional regulation, communication, confidence, and self-esteem. Our relationships with ourselves and others also improve.
MEDITATION WITH BREATHING
So, let's get started! Meditation with breathing exercises is easy if you start in the right place. There's a whole host of breathwork techniques to choose from, but some of them are quite advanced. I've seen people doing Wim Hoff breathing techniques, an advanced form of pranayama, but they haven't learnt the basics. They're doing it all wrong. My advice is to find a yoga class that teaches breathwork. You'll learn the basics of diaphragmatic breathing and build up to the more advanced techniques.
If this isn't an option, there are plenty of videos to learn from, but start at the basics. I know it's boring, but you need to get the basics right to do the advanced stuff right. Even basic breathing techniques are powerful and can be life-changing. They'll all help with your meditation practice.
BREATHING EXERCISES
Here are a few breathing exercises you can look out for to get you started:
Belly breathing - it's No.1 for a reason. Start here and retrain your breathing apparatus so you've got a good foundation and instant health benefits. Make belly breathing your normal breathing.
Equal breathing - inhaling and exhaling for the exact same count. Simple and effective for regulating your breath.
Box breathing - once you've mastered belly breathing and equal breathing, box breathing is a great breathing exercise to practice regulating your breath and prepare for more advanced breathwork. You can use it in daily life to interrupt the fight, flight, or freeze state.
Full yogic breath (three-part breath) extends the belly breathing to use the full capacity of your lungs, increasing the gas exchange and preparing you for advanced breathwork exercises.
Alternative nostril breathing - a classic yogic breathing exercise. This technique has been well studied and has tremendous health benefits. It mimics our natural rhythm of only breathing through one nostril at a time and changing nostrils every 20 - 30 minutes. Research has discovered that people with certain illnesses are over-reliant on one nostril. Believe it or not, each nostril affects our body's physiology differently. Practicing this technique can retrain your body to rely on both nostrils equally.
Skull shining breath (Kapalabhati) - an advanced bellows breathing technique that is known for its cleansing and purification effects. It is energizing and increases clarity, digestion, and circulation.
Tummo and Wim Hoff method - many people think these are the same, but while they are similar, there are differences. They are advanced pranayama breathing techniques that have too many benefits to list here. They affect the body, mind, and energy.
All breathing exercises require focused attention so help with meditation and training the brain for focused awareness. They all have their benefits, so whether you’re starting out and doing the easier, more basic breathwork or you’ve mastered more advanced breathing exercises, it doesn’t matter. You’ll be reaping the benefits of mindful meditation and proper breathing.
INSIGHT HIGHLIGHT
Meditation can be hard for a Western mind. But breathing exercises give your mind something to do, helping it focus and develop a meditative state. What's more, breathing exercises have their own powerful benefits. Start your meditation practice today with mindful breathing and reap the benefits of meditation and breathwork.
Thanks for reading, and as always, keep striving for growth and well-being, and never settle for less!
How I Can Help
I hope you found this blog post helpful and inspiring. If you have any questions or need further guidance, please don't hesitate to reach out. As someone who’s deeply passionate about well-being and personal growth and development, with a background in yoga and mindfulness, I offer services designed to help you cultivate well-being through spiritual practices. Whether through one-on-one sessions, workshops, or online resources, I’m here to support your journey towards becoming the best version of yourself.
Here’s to your well-being, personal growth and success!
Head over to the services section on my website for more information on how we can work together to achieve your goals. I work online and face to face on the Côte d’Azur, in France.
