It’s not lost on any of us that the years of the pandemic have given us all a figurative kick in the introspective pants. We have all been forced to find new ways to center, to ground, to de-stress, to reset, to practice mindfulness, and to find the “happy” in life again amidst all the unknown swirling around us each day.

After all, in the big scheme of things this moment in history is but a chapter in the larger novel of our lives. Let’s lean into finding what works for us where mindfulness is concerned. It is the time for us to find ways to embrace what is right here, right now in front of us with zero judgment. This is what mindfulness offers. Finding the sweet sauce in the spaces between each breath without critiquing what we experience.

Below I will share six of my favorite mindfulness practices that can take place anytime/anywhere. (Of course breathwork and meditation are at the top of the list!)

Navigating Life Amidst the Amygdala Hijack

First, it’s important to understand the way some of us navigate life, although usually by no fault of our own, is by allowing life events to do what’s called an “amygdala hijack” a phrase coined by psychologist Daniel Goleman.

During this brain hijack,  the amygdala is overactive and we respond reactively rather than from a place of center and calm. It is the amygdala’s job to detect danger, but often it thinks something is dangerous that’s not a threat at all. People who suffer from PTSD or trauma deal with this most often as their sole way of dealing with danger. This is also known as a flight, fight, or freeze response. Unfortunately, this reaction can lead to many health issues and a constant state of high alert.

Learning mindfulness as a way to elevate all areas of life is important.

This is especially important for those who struggle with trauma and PTSD.

The following offers a deeper definition of mindfulness and how this practice can be a game-changer. In my humble opinion, mindfulness should be in everyone’s self-care/wellness tool belt.

Mindfulness is the art of living and being in the present moment.

Mindfulness is also the art of living with complete awareness both mentally and physically while allowing all the emotions, sensations, and thoughts to exist without judgment of self or others. In short, witnessing our thoughts and feelings with objectivity.

The biggest lesson mindfulness teaches is how to truly “just be” without any criticism in any direction (especially self-criticism).

Mindfulness originated with Buddhist and Hindu teachings. In Buddhism, the journey toward enlightenment includes the concept of “sati.” Sati encompasses attention, awareness, and being present. These are the first steps toward enlightenment.

From this term (sati), the word “mindfulness” was born.

Mindfulness practice offers many benefits and is often referred to as a “superpower.”

These are some of the main benefits of practicing mindfulness.

• Reduces anxiety and stress. (Even just one session of mindfulness meditation can greatly reduce anxiety.)
• Upgrades your brain through the rewiring that takes place during consistent mindfulness practices.
• Increases brain functionality, improved immune function, and lower blood pressure and heart rate.
• Improves mental functions by increasing awareness.
• More clarity, focus, calm, and greater feelings of connection.
• Reduces feelings of depression, self-criticism, and increases resilience to difficulties.

This is just the short list of the benefits. The actual entire list is quite long! Ok, now let’s dive into how we can cultivate an at-home or on-the-go mindfulness practice that is guaranteed to introduce you to a whole new YOU.

6 Ways To Practice Mindfulness NOW

1. Pay attention to the way you respond or engage with the world around you throughout the day.

Rather than instantly reacting to a situation, someone else’s energy or the content you consume from a place of emotion, instead, with each encounter you have – remember to take a deep breath, lean into the present moment (stay out of the past or present) drop reactivity and feel and breathe for at least 10 seconds. Allow yourself to respond or react only when you feel a true connection to your center.

2. Engage in a sport or activity that involves mental focus as well as movement.

Ideas for these kinds of activities include: rock climbing, yoga, trail running, martial arts, painting, dance styles like hip hop, tango, salsa, jazz, etc. These sorts of activities demand mindfulness due to the precision and technicality of the activity along with the mind/body connection that is required to master the activity or sport.

3. Create a daily mindful breathing practice that consists of breath awareness exercises.

The goal of this type of breathwork is to get present with the inflow and outflow of the breath by noticing the length of each breath, the sensations of the breath, and all the nuances that take place with each wave of the breath cycle.

4. Practice moving meditations.

Moving meditations are a different style than traditional seated meditation and is done by simply becoming aware of your breath, your surroundings, your senses, and each movement as you engage in any regular activity throughout the day.

5. 5 minute Trail of Gratitude practice.

This is one of my favorites and is part of my daily wellness routine. You can do this seated or lying down – this is how I end each breathwork class I teach and it’s a beautiful way to combine gratitude and visualization (another powerful mindfulness technique)

How to practice Trail of Gratitude:

• Picture yourself in your favorite place in nature, and see yourself standing there .your bare feet firmly rooted on the ground beneath you.
• In front of you is a trail and it’s clear you are meant to walk down it.
• As you stand there, begin to see all of the people in your life that have touched you, changed your life for the better, and/or deeply impacted you. Visualize all the people you are grateful for. See them one by one appearing on this trail of gratitude.
• Walk up to them, look deep into their eyes and say “Thank you, I’m grateful for you.” Give them a big hug for touching your life.
• Continue doing this for 5 minutes or more and see how many people you can call onto this trail of gratitude.
• This practice brings tears every time.

6. Practice Mindfulness in the Shower.

This one is more of just a great wellness and mindful way to start the day. Another of my favorite wellness and mindfulness practices involves combining some of the above (breathwork and visualizations) in the shower.  Add some self-massage for relaxation and stress relief, and affirmations (aka rapfirmations).

How to Practice Stress Relief in the Shower

• Start with some deep mindful breathing.
• Take a breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, making an audible sigh on the exhale.
• Do several cycles of these “deep sigh breaths.” Letting the sighs be freeing, relaxing, and soothing.
• Then do a body scan which is simply starting at your feet and working your way to the top of your head by checking in with each area of your body for any discomfort, stress, tightness, or stuck energy along the way.
• As you move up the body, breathe into each new area. See where you might need to add some self-massage along with the warm water from the shower targeting that area.
• Take a few minutes to massage that area until relief is found and the body scan is complete.
• As a final component to this morning mindfulness and wellness routine, end with 3-5 minutes of affirmations.
• I’ve found that singing or “rapping” them has created more of a connection to my affirmation practice over the last few years. Seriously, give it a try, you’ll see what I mean.

Implement 6 Easy Ways to Practice Mindfulness Now

Start with these 6 ways to create more mindfulness throughout each day. Watch as your connection and interaction with yourself and the world around you begins to transform.

Remember, you are always just one breath away from “happy and healthy”!

Rebecca Kordecki

Rebecca Kordecki is the owner of The Breath Zone and the creator of Booty Slide.  She has enjoyed a very successful 26-year career as a highly sought after celebrity trainer and wellness expert.

Over the past 5 years Rebecca has added Breathwork to her list of expertise after training with Dan Brule and David Elliot.

Rebecca is beyond passionate about teaching people to use breath + movement to get out of their heads and into their hearts and be the boss of their happy and healthy one breath at a time.

She’s been featured on The Today Show, EXTRA, Daily Candy and in Vogue Magazine, Men’s Health and many others.

You can follow Rebecca on Instagram @rebeccakordecki or visit her website www.thebreath.zone to find classes and dates for her upcoming breathwork teacher training.

www.thebreath.zone

The post 6 Ways to Practice Mindfulness Now appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Could something we do every day really be that simple and at the same time complex? Absolutely!

It could be said that the two most important breaths in our life are our first and our last breaths…but what is most important to me as a passionate breathwork and wellness coach is that we remember to pay more attention to all the breaths in between.

That’s what breathing into happy really means for me, helping students and clients remember the magic of breath. To that end, I don’t want this to be just another article that says “Take a deep breath and all will be well again.”

While it can often be that easy, breathwork for everyday life offers much more and has a variety of other amazing health and mental benefits beyond just feeling calmer.

If you are a yoga practitioner and/or a fitness or wellness pro, you may already be familiar with pranayama. Pranayama is simply breath control, breathwork, or breath manipulation, which is done in an effort to deliver desired outcomes.

I love this practice so much. The respiratory system is the one system in our magical, complex bodies that both functions involuntarily all day long. While at the same time, we have the opportunity to harness it voluntarily for our benefit.

Of course, that only happens once we understand the power of using the breathwork for everyday life for mind, body, and soul wellness.

Breathwork? What about BreathPlay!

This may be an area that is new to you, beyond simple meditative breathing. If you are curious to take a deeper dive with me, let’s go deeper into the magic of prana, with what I also like to call BreathPlay.

Global Awareness of Breath

First I do want to call out the elephant in the room. As a breathwork coach and breathwork teacher trainer, it’s not lost on me that in the past year-and-a-half, everything that has occurred via COVID-19 and other socially devastating events, has catapulted the topic of breathing, breathlessness and deep breaths front and center.

We could say one silver lining from the past 15 months is that there is more global awareness now around not only the importance of breath for better health but also the benefits of mental and spiritual wellness.

If ever there was a time to understand how to use the breath, and maximize and harness the gift of breath it is now!

Usually when I describe to people what I do for a living they sort of look at me like I have three heads! I imagine it’s because…well, breathing is something we all “know how to do” and for the most part we all do automatically, even involuntarily, unless of course you’re a “breath holder” but we’ll get into that later.

So how is breathwork as a practice different from just regular daily breathing?

There is so much to this question. I feel that breathwork can be broken down into three main buckets:

1. Breath exercises also called prescriptive breathing.
2. Breathwork styles for transformational healing.
3. Breathwork for optimal health and enhanced sports performance.

In this article, I will share some great ways to play with the breath to affect a physical change in your physiology and mental state.

Here are a few of my favorite breathwork for everyday life exercises and their benefits:

The Cooling Breath

This technique not only cools down the body, but it cools down the mind. It has a calming effect on the blood pressure as well as the nervous system. It stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system by triggering the rest and digest reaction. This technique can also reduce acidity, hypertension, and indigestion.

To start, sit comfortably and close your eyes. Stick out your tongue as far as possible without straining, and roll it so that the sides of the tongue are facing upwards. Inhale for four counts through the rolled tongue, like sipping air with a straw. Then close your mouth and exhale for six counts through your nostrils. This is one round of the cooling breath.

As you inhale, the air is cooled down by the moist tongue, and you’ll feel the air being colder when entering your body. You can continue for 10 rounds to start with, slowly progressing up to 40 or 50 rounds.

Visualizing Breath

As you inhale, envision the air traveling into your nose, through your entire body, and back out again. Imagine it traveling through all your muscles, all the way to your toes and fingers before it comes back out again during your exhale.

Focusing on your breathing activates your parasympathetic system, encouraging it to calm down, relax, and lower your heart rate in preparation for sleep.

4-7-8 Breath Exercise

This exercise is great for both stress relief and grounding. It is also beneficial to practice before a big event, presentation, or meeting. Start with only four cycles to and work up to eight cycles twice a day
Sit with your back straight. Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth.

Keep it there through the entire exercise. You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue. Purse your lips on the exhale. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight. This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four cycles.

Breath Counting

This is a great exercise for those new to meditation and breathwork. Sit in a comfortable position with the spine straight and head inclined slightly forward. Gently close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Then let the breath come naturally without trying to influence it.

Try to keep the breath quiet and slow, but the depth and rhythm can vary. To begin the exercise, count “one” to yourself as you exhale. The next time you exhale, count “two,” and so on up to “five.” Then begin a new cycle, counting “one” on the next exhalation. Never count higher than “five,” and count only on the exhale. You will know your attention has wandered when you find yourself counting higher than to eight or beyond.

Breath of Fire

This breath is great for increasing energy, warming the body, stimulating detoxification, improving circulation, strengthening the muscles in the abs and around the solar plexus, and stimulating the brain.
With the mouth closed, breathe in and out of the nose. Puff out the cheeks on the exhale. Practice quick and short breaths. The breathing should be loud and quick. Pull your abdomen in during the exhale, and press it out during the inhale. Imagine your belly fills up with air during the inhale and use your abdominal muscles to push the air out during the exhale. Do no more than 10-30 seconds at one time and repeat for two to three sets.

Breathwork for Everyday Life

All of the above breath exercises can be used when and where needed to start to foster a deeper connection to your breath. The beauty of these exercises is they are short and sweet yet deliver tangible physiological benefits which in turn impact your overall wellbeing. They can be used anytime and anywhere…thus the beauty of breath.

Until then, remember you are alway just one deep slow breath away from happy.

Rebecca Kordecki

Rebecca Kordecki is the owner of The Breath Zone and the creator of Booty Slide.  She has enjoyed a very successful 26-year career as a highly sought after celebrity trainer and wellness expert.

Over the past 5 years Rebecca has added Breathwork to her list of expertise after training with Dan Brule and David Elliot.

Rebecca is beyond passionate about teaching people to use breath + movement to get out of their heads and into their hearts and be the boss of their happy and healthy one breath at a time.

She’s been featured on The Today Show, EXTRA, Daily Candy and in Vogue Magazine, Men’s Health and many others.

You can follow Rebecca on Instagram @rebeccakordecki or visit her website www.thebreath.zone to find classes and dates for her upcoming breathwork teacher training.

www.thebreath.zone

The post Breathing into Happy: Breathwork for Everyday Life appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.