Optimize Your Life With Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a state of being aware of one's thoughts, sensations, and surroundings in the present, and accepting them without judgment. Mindfulness can be achieved by taking deep breaths and focusing on them; in doing so, one can reduce stress and anxiety. Recent studies suggest that mindfulness can have a positive effect on a person's mental, emotional, social, and physical health. For example, a study published in The British Journal Of Psychiatry in 2013 examined the effectiveness of mindful breathing in several British secondary schools. The findings showed that the more often students used mindful breathing, the higher their levels of focus, calm, and well-being. Students involved in mindfulness also reported less stress and fewer symptoms of severe depression.
Mindful breathing is intended to activate the relaxation response, this decreases blood pressure and allows your body to engage in reparative and restorative functions. In 2014, a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that people could learn to control their immune response and autonomous nervous system after just ten days of breathing exercises, meditation, and repeated exposure to cold. In the study, 24 participants were injected with the endotoxin E. coli. Those that used mindful breathing had a different inflammatory, immune, and hormone response, allowing them to fight it off significantly better than the control group. Andy Galpin, a researcher at the Center for Sport Performance at CSU Fullerton, explains that when you practice mindful breathing "you’re increasing oxygen saturation in the muscles and making the body more adaptable to absorb oxygen and perform more effectively."
There are many strategies to mindfulness, but the one that seems to work best for people is to attach their breath to a phrase to keep the mind focused and then take a 4-7-8 breath. The following are instructions for practicing a 4-7-8 breath:
1. Lie on the ground or sit with your back straight.
2. Inhale deeply, pulling in as much air as you can using your diaphragm for 4 seconds and holding it for 7 seconds.
3. Let the breath go: exhale fully but not forcefully for 8 seconds.
4. Repeat inhales and exhales 30 times with your own rhythm.
5. On the last round, exhale and then hold your breath until your body feels the need to breathe.
6. Inhale deeply, then hold your breath for 10 seconds.
7. Repeat steps 3–6 for three or four rounds.
Mindful breathing is intended to activate the relaxation response, this decreases blood pressure and allows your body to engage in reparative and restorative functions. In 2014, a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that people could learn to control their immune response and autonomous nervous system after just ten days of breathing exercises, meditation, and repeated exposure to cold. In the study, 24 participants were injected with the endotoxin E. coli. Those that used mindful breathing had a different inflammatory, immune, and hormone response, allowing them to fight it off significantly better than the control group. Andy Galpin, a researcher at the Center for Sport Performance at CSU Fullerton, explains that when you practice mindful breathing "you’re increasing oxygen saturation in the muscles and making the body more adaptable to absorb oxygen and perform more effectively."
There are many strategies to mindfulness, but the one that seems to work best for people is to attach their breath to a phrase to keep the mind focused and then take a 4-7-8 breath. The following are instructions for practicing a 4-7-8 breath:
1. Lie on the ground or sit with your back straight.
2. Inhale deeply, pulling in as much air as you can using your diaphragm for 4 seconds and holding it for 7 seconds.
3. Let the breath go: exhale fully but not forcefully for 8 seconds.
4. Repeat inhales and exhales 30 times with your own rhythm.
5. On the last round, exhale and then hold your breath until your body feels the need to breathe.
6. Inhale deeply, then hold your breath for 10 seconds.
7. Repeat steps 3–6 for three or four rounds.
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