A breath of fresh air to calm the mind

suemunro
2 days ago
2 min read

The air we breathe is such a fundamental part of nature, yet we tend to take it completely for granted. Breathing fresh air (not polluted), is fundamentally important for our health, yet us urbanites tend to spend a lot of time indoors where pollutants from cooking, wood stoves and candles and vapour from cleaning and toiletry products and from paint, building materials and furniture, can build up. Houseplants as we have seen in a previous blog can help to improve the quality of air in our indoor spaces and of course, good ventilation also helps. When we are outside in heavily built-up or industrial areas or walking along busy roads we can also be exposed to higher proportions of air pollution. We are likely to find that the quality of air will be better walking and exercising along less busy streets, or better still in greenspaces.

The quality of the air we breath is one thing, but how we breath is also important and can have profound impacts on not just our health, but also our wellbeing – whether we feel stressed or calm, sluggish or energised.

The majority of people give no thought to how they breath or how it could be impacting them. It would seem it is a bit of a lost art that our ancestors knew far more about. Science is only now beginning to catch up on this ancient wisdom and there are still elements of this practice we do not fully understand.

At the simplest level, the very act of concentrating on your breathing is a mindful activity and an instant way to come into the present and therefore escape our spiralling thoughts about the past or the future. Certain simple breathwork techniques can easily be learnt and practiced on a regular basis or as required to calm us down and move us from a state of stress to one of calm.

One such exercise is to breath in through your nose for a count of three, hold the breath for a count of four and then breathing out for a count of five and repeating several rounds of this. The very act of making the exhale longer than the inhale forces the body to move from a stress state to the thrive state.

The good thing about breathwork is it can be done anywhere, and this exercise is so discrete no one would ever know you were doing it. You could do this at your desk, before giving a presentation, sitting on the sofa, in the park or whilst on your commute.

Why not find a regular time in your day to give this breathwork exercise a go? Consider finding a time after you finish work for example. Better still, could you find a place to practice this outside in the fresh air, like a garden or park? There are various breathwork apps out there that can teach you different exercises for different situations, so if you found this exercise useful, why not explore the world of breathwork some more.

‘Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.’

– Thich Nhat Hanh