Mindful Breathing: A Helpful Technique

Have you ever been asked to breathe at the beginning of a meeting or at a moment when you feel stressed or anxious? You may have thought, “I AM breathing!” While breathing is automatic function of the body, mindful breathing is an amazing tool to help calm your nervous system and/or to center or ground yourself in stressful or excited moments. People have been using mindful breathing as a tool to help calm the mind and body for centuries. In fact the concept originated from ancient Buddhist practice. “Breathing is a physical act that realigns the mind-body connection and releases physical and mental tension,” teaches Norma Wong.

At the Vermont Network, we utilize mindful breathing techniques regularly! Some ways in which we have practiced mindful breathing include:

• Facilitating meetings or trainings. Breath can be a great way to settle nerves before facilitating meetings, conversations, or trainings. It can also be helpful during training and after to end the time together.
• Having hard conversations. Breath can be a great tool to regulate or co-regulate our nervous systems during or after a hard conversation. We can use our breath to help re-center and get back into our bodies.
• Inviting connections. Breathing together is also known to help create connection! It can allow us to deepen our relationships as we practice mindful breathing together. 

There are no right or wrong ways to practice mindful breathing! You can simply start by paying attention to your breath as it is at any moment. Once you start to feel comfortable and decide that it’s something you would like to explore deeper, there are many resources on the internet and books to help you get started.

Here are a few easy practices to explore:

• The calm breath bubble is the simplest guided breath practice that is easily accessible on your phone or computer. It’s short and sweet and you can do it any time.
• Box breathing is also a great tool to help manage stress and anxiety. This offering takes a little more time and practice, but a great way to dig a little deeper into other breathing techniques.
• The belly breathing practice is a fun one that we like to share at our trainings, with a familiar and beloved face – Elmo from Sesame Street! It’s also great for young children learning to use breath as a regulating tools.

Below are some tips for success:

• Start simply and slowly by taking time to notice your breath. It’s not every day that we take time to notice where our breath is in our body. Notice what happens to your breath when you are stressed and when you feel calm. This is the easiest form of mindful breathing and requires nothing more than a moment of your attention!
• Check out breathing practices online and try them out.. There may be breathing practices that don’t feel good to you, or you are unable to do but rest assured, there are many options for you to choose from and the internet is a great tool.
• Practice with a friend or colleague. As with any practice, having a support person or someone you can share in this practice with can help to build your confidence in using breathing techniques.

Mindful breathing has been an important tool in our workplace and personal communities. Having practices such as mindful breathing helps us connect and center as we gather to do the important work ahead! We invite you to try out a mindful breath practice that works for you!