Conscious Breathing

Simple breath work to slow down and block out the noise...

The Breath

In yoga we practice breathing a lot. We link the breath to movement to keep us present, and to keep energy flowing freely through our bodies as we move. 

We use breath as a tool, to energise us before we move, to help us find ease in challenging poses, to relax our nervous system for deeper flexibility. 

The breath is integral to our practice. We manipulate the breath to benefit what we are doing in the moment. 

But for most of us, breath awareness is lost when we leave the mat. Breathing is automatic, we don’t have to think about breathing in order to do it - it is so easy to not pay attention.

The way we breathe is indicative of the state of our nervous system, the same way your heart rate will slow when you’re relaxed, so does your breathing rate.

You can’t directly control your heart beat, have you ever been able to slow your heart beat down by thinking about it? 

What is beautiful about the breath, is that it is the only autonomic nervous system function we are able to control. Whilst you can’t think your way into slowing your heart rate down, you can consciously slow your breath, and your heart rate will follow suit. 

The quickest way to impact your energy levels and mood is through breathing. 

In yoga we use the word prana for breath, which also translates to life force. 

This means it is literally the thing that sustains our life. 

It is the energy that keeps our hearts beating. 

We could survive days without food, water or sunlight but if we didn’t breathe we would die within minutes. 

The breath is the most fundamental energy source we have.

The Practice 

Honestly, I don’t make time in my day to do breath work. Even though I enjoy doing it in a class, I’m not thrilled by the idea of carving out time in my day for it, and if I do I always seem to put it off. 

Despite this, I know how impactful our breathing patterns are, so I looked for a way to consistently work on mine. 

As with everything in my life, I like things simple. So, my solution was just that; conscious breathing. 

Conscious breathing is really the first step and the basis of any breath work practice; becoming aware of the breath. 

It is not about manipulating it, it is about being aware of the continuous flow of breath that enables us to do everything else. 

When you focus on the flow of the inhale and the exhale it’s hard to get caught up with other things, you only deal with what you can see in the moment. Not what happened yesterday, not what’s coming tomorrow, what is right in front of you now.

This helps me massively when I feel overwhelmed. I'm able to stay present through uncomfortable feelings, allow emotions to pass through and notice if I’m veering into a bad habit. It also makes me appreciate and fully experience joyful moments, knowing everything passes. 

This is one of my favourite and simplest ways of slowing down. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m doing, this is always within reach. I don’t have to find a yoga mat and a quiet room, I can just focus on my breath. 

I try my best to live this practice, but I also often lose sight of it. I get easily distracted and overstimulated. What I find is that, with time, when I do lose it, I come back to it quicker than before. It is a lifelong practice, but when I’m down or stressed, remembering that I can witness the essence of my being through my breath is such a comforting thought. 

Conscious breathing anchors you into the present, it allows you to be truly here. 

Its not a fancy practice, but it works.

There is so much vitality to be felt when you notice breathing fully, deeply, wholly. 

Breathing is the truest expression of being alive, so I’m paying more attention to mine.