Joyful January #3: Time for a big deep breath

Time for a big deep breath 

Cloud Photos by Megan Gallagher 

 Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor. – Thich Nhat Hanh

Take a breath... ahhhhh 

Stop what you are doing and just check in quickly... how are your shoulders feeling? Are they raised and tight at all? Where is your tongue sitting in your mouth? Is it pushing up onto the roof of your mouth or resting at the bottom? Are you breathing slowly or quickly, deep or shallow? 

What did you notice? 

Now breathe in deeply and fully, until your diaphragm moves and your lungs are full. Now breathe out, slowly, emptying your lungs fully. And repeat a couple of times. 

You have just sent a signal to your brain saying "we're safe team!"

Have a check with your shoulders and tongue now. Are they a little more relaxed? They might be. 

Breathing mindfully is such a small, simple act that can help counter some of the stress and anxiety of unchecked modern living. [Please note I am not suggesting deep mindful breathing as a cure-all but more as a place that we can start tuning into ourselves and giving ourselves a break.] 

Our brain is hardwired to look for dangers so it can keep us alive. When we sense danger our brain and body take on a complex cycle of communications and actions all designed to keep us safe. This is good when we are in a life-threatening situation, but how many life threatening situations are we really faced with on a daily basis? I sincerely hope they are a rarity for us all. The problem is this brain and body safety mechanism, our stress response cycle, is an old set up and it simply runs the communications and actions regardless of whether the situation is a real or perceived threat. Someone looking at us funny might be enough to trigger a stress response, or an overwhelming to-do list, an exam, a difficult conversation at home or work, a full washing basket... you get the picture. One of the actions that happens is that our breathing quickens in order to quickly push more oxygen rich blood to our large muscles (arms and legs) so that if we need to run or fight we have the energy to do so. This all happens without us thinking about it. 

When we mindfully deepen our breath we interrupt the stress response cycle by having the body send a message to the brain saying that it's safe. If we were truly in a life or death situation it would be really hard for us to take a couple of deep breaths and the brain knows that so it dials down the stress response. Isn't the human body amazing?! 

The other benefit of taking some deep, mindful breaths is that it can give us time to just observe our thoughts and feelings like clouds passing... so we watch our thoughts and feelings without holding on to them as we breathe in and out. 

It really doesn't take long or a lot of effort to take a couple of mindful breaths every now and then but somehow it's still so easy for us to forget in the hurly burly busyness of the day. One way I've found helps me is to set a reminder alarm on my phone a few times over the day. It could also be useful to create a habit e.g. if you are working at a school with a bell then every time the bell rings it can be a reminder to take a couple of deep, mindful breaths. 

So as I finish this I hope you'll join me in taking another deep, mindful breath. 

Ahhhh, that feels good!  

Click here for a link to the Joyful January Calendar

The Joyful January project is part of the Happy Healthy Teachers Matter Online Summit. This is an opportunity to start your year with tips, tools and techniques to ensure you have the health, energy and vitality to beat the end of term slump and fatigue, and be the best version of yourself all year long. For more information please follow this link: https://www.spectrumeducation.com/happy-healthy-teachers-matter-online-summit-home/