Physical And Emotional Benefits Of Breath Meditation
Most weight loss journeys often begin with so much enthusiasm, but all that passion usually fizzles away from weighing themselves every now and then. This causes one to miss out on the essence of a healthy weight loss journey: the experience. This is why we require you to focus more on feeling good about yourself; on the inside and out, and less on the numbers on the scale.
It’s also important to factor in your mental health as you attempt to lose weight for good because weight reduction not only affects you physically but emotionally as well. This makes deep breathing exercises essential to your journey, as it aids in anxiety and depression reduction, improving stress management, boosting energy level, e.t.c. Lasta helps its users learn to practice mindful eating, meditation, and how to hear and understand the true body’s desires.
Breathing Basics
The recent pandemic has left us wary of the air we breathe in and has reduced the daily oxygen intake of a lot of people in the world, also resulting in improper breathing. Some may argue that breathing is a subconscious activity, this may be true, but breathing the right way is a conscious activity.
Breathing properly through deep mindful breathing causes us to live healthier and longer while averting different chronic illnesses, as well as any negative impact on your physical structure. This is why breathing techniques have been a common practice in eastern cultures and religions like Hinduism and Buddhism. They believe the manner in which we take in and expel air is vital to stress reduction and management and our general health.
Breathing Exercises Good For Your Mental Health
Breathing exercises are basically conscious breathing methods where you get to control the amount of air that goes in and out of your lungs for a set period of exercise time. Breathing exercises come in different forms with each technique possessing its own unique stance.
Below are different breathing techniques that will improve your lung capacity, anxiety, and stress levels:
- Resonance Breathing
- Lion’s Breath
- Humming Bee Breathe
- Box Breathing
- Pursed Lip Breathing
- Belly Breathing or Diaphragmatic breathing
- Deep Breathing
- Relaxing Breath or 4-7-8 Breathing
- Breathe Focus
- Equal Breathing
- Alternate Nostril Breathing
- Sitali Breath
How To Get Started
Plan a schedule. It’s important to have a laid down plan for your breathing exercises; like scheduling your breathing routines, duration of each routine, setting a reminder for your routines, e.t.c.
Breathing exercises aren’t time-consuming, and you can easily allocate 2-3 minutes to each breathing technique you wish to practice, and then gradually increase the amount of time per technique.
It’s also vital to only practice techniques that you’re more comfortable with, as not all breathing exercises may appeal to you. Indulging in more comfortable techniques will make the practice fun and enjoyable.
PS: Include postures and mantras as you get comfortable with the exercises.
Manage Your Anxiety Through Deep Breathing
Mindful breathing has proven to be one of the best means of promoting relaxation; by diverting your mind’s focus away from problematic thoughts that may trigger anxiety or cause mental stress, and directing it towards quieting and peaceful thoughts. This establishes a strong connection between you and your body.
According to a scientific study, deep breathing methods improve the flow of oxygen to the brain and stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which induces calmness into the body, while reducing stress hormones efficiently.
Conclusion
Quoting a Hindu proverb: “Breath like a tortoise, live like a king”. Mindful breathing is highly therapeutic, and it aids in weight loss. Including breathing methods as you attempt to burn fat will make your journey so much fun.
Finally, the best way to find breathing techniques that appeal to you is to experiment with all the listed techniques and start off with the most comfortable ones.
Don’t forget, breath meditation is meant to be a fun activity.