Have you ever stopped and thought, how did I get here? How did I end up in this place, sitting at this table with this person? We can move through life on autopilot, mindlessly transitioning from one day to the next, our bodies taking us where we need to go, with our minds three steps behind. Technological advances, intended to make our lives easier, have created a sense of urgency in a society rewarded for busyness. Each day we become more disconnected from our internal cues, intuition, and the mind-body connection. 

Aligning your mind and body is key to living a purposeful and fulfilling life; however, it’s concerning how long we can ignore our thoughts, emotions, and desires to keep up with society’s expectations. Practicing breathwork is an easy and accessible starting point to strengthen your mind-body connection, helping you live a meaningful life filled with intention and purpose, improving your physical and mental health. 

What is Mind-Body Connection?

While the mind and body are considered separate entities, they are, in fact, intertwined. The mind-body connection believes your thoughts affect your feelings, and feelings affect your thoughts. For example, in a stressful situation, you may feel your heart rate fasten, whereas moving through a yoga class, you’ll feel your mind slow down. How you move or don’t move your body will affect your mind, just like how you think and feel will affect your body. 

How does Mind-Body Connection Improve your life

A strong mind-body connection can influence everything in your life, from eating habits, work-life balance and overall happiness. If you’re drinking too much, undernourishing your body, or inactive, your mind may become anxious, cloudy, or depressed. If you exercise regularly, eat well, and practice mindfulness, you can feel calm, centered, and energized. Restoring your mind-body connection through yoga, ti chi, or breathwork can help improve decision-making, confidence, and time management, helping you feel in control of your life. 

How does Breathwork Improve Mind-Body Connection?

With countless benefits, including reduced stress, anxiety, and releasing mental, physical, or emotional blocks, breathwork is a powerful modality to improve the mind-body connection. Breathwork uses mindful breathing to activate your parasympathetic nervous system, quiet your mind, stay present, and create clarity. Breathwork can also open your eyes to negative thought patterns holding you from reaching your full potential and unlocking your purpose. 

Breathwork for the Mind

Our environment easily influences our mindset. Changing your routine to include mindful breathing and consciously avoiding distractions can: 

• Reduce anxiety
• Calm and center the mind 
• Tune into your intuition
• Stress management 
• Help process emotions, heal emotional pain and trauma
• Increase self-confidence 
• Improve focus and clarity 

Breathwork for the Body

As we’ve now established, a busy, anxious, or stressed mind can affect our bodies. Practicing breathwork regularly can have the following benefits on the body: 

• Reduce and maintain heart rate and blood pressure 
• Support the immune system through reduced cortisol levels 
• Help reduce aches and pain 
• Increase and sustain energy levels 

What is Mindful Breathing?

Mindful breathing is a type of breathwork that, as it sounds, requires conscious attention to your breath, focusing on each inhale and exhale. It’s an easy and accessible breathing technique that anyone can introduce into their daily routine. 

The Benefits of Mindful Breathing

Taking 3-5 minutes for mindful breathing can be the difference between good and bad days. The benefits of mindful breathing include: 

• Reduced anxiety
• Decreased negative thoughts 
• Increased clarity 
• Reduced stress 
• Improved decision making 

Why is Mindful Breathing Important

Breathing is essential for obvious reasons. However, mindful breathing differs from regular breathing as it requires active attention on the breath and calms the mind. With so many distractions bringing us out of the present moment, staying connected to your breath is important to staying present and living with intention. 

How to Practice Mindful Breathing

The best thing about mindful breathing is that you can do it anywhere, anytime, without requiring breathwork experience. The subtle techniques allow you to practice them in a room full of people when your mind is racing, and your heart is pumping. There are several types of mindful breathing; however, the essential steps are to focus on your inhaling and exhaling, shifting the focus from your thoughts onto your breath. 

Breathing Techniques to Improve your Mind-Body Connection

 Three easy and accessible techniques to get started with mindful breathing: 

• Alternative nostril technique: Place your index finger on your forehead and thumb on your right nostril with a pistol grip. Use your thumb to close off your right nostril while breathing slowly in and out of your left nostril. Move your thumb over to your left nostril and breath in and out of your right nostril. Repeat this process 4-6 times, or until you are connected to your breath and feel calmer. 

• Deep belly breathing: Find a comfortable position, seated or standing, place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Take a deep inhale through the nose and notice the stomach and chest slowly rise. As you exhale, focus on the chest and stomach contracting, pushing the hair out of your lungs. Repeat this 4-6 times or until you notice the mind and body relax. 

• Square breathing: This mindful breathing technique uses visualization to shift the focus from your thoughts to your breath. As you inhale, imagine drawing the first line of a square, with the exhale picture the second line, and continue until you have visualized each side of the square. 

Get In Touch Today To Start Your Breathwork Journey

If you feel a disconnect between your mind and body, Breathwork courses are a fun and easy way to introduce mindfulness into your everyday. Once you experience the power of breathwork, find out how to become a certified breathwork instructor if you want to share this unique and effective practice with others.