People have been breathing all wrong. It's me; I'm people
With never-ending to-do lists, ambitious creative pursuits, and the constant presence of stress, mastering your breath is the ultimate superpower. But do you know how to do it? 🤔
I watched a video on deep breathing last week. I knew I'd be taking a quiz after, so I was in focus mode—pen and notebook (well, iPad and Apple Pencil) in hand, ready to take notes so I could study.
When the instructor started a guided deep breathing exercise toward the end of the video, I almost skipped it to finish my homework.
"I know how to breathe," I assured myself.
But, I committed to going all in on this coaching certification program. I'm not investing hundreds of hours (and dollars) solely for a credential.
This is the first time in years I've had the space to commit to my personal growth after over a decade in corporate. I want to show up with my whole heart, soak up all the knowledge, and lean in to develop new skills.
I submitted to my internal voice of reason and closed my eyes.
"Breathe in, 2, 3, 4…Hold 2, 3, 4…and exhale…"
I followed her direction while wrangling my thoughts back to the present moment. Not noticing a difference, it felt unnecessary, but I continued.
It was several minutes before I noticed my mind begin to quiet. I felt a rush of calm wash over me. My shoulders and chest softened, my muscles relaxed, and my breathing became more rhythmic. I can't remember the last time I felt so at ease.
Turns out, there's a right and wrong way to breathe—and I've been doing it wrong. 🫤
The Anatomy of Breathing
“From the day you're born, you know how to breathe correctly. That means letting the diaphragm—the large, thin muscle just below the rib cage—do the work of drawing air into the lungs and letting it out. It's known as diaphragmatic or belly breathing, and it's the most efficient and effective way to breathe.”—Mayo Clinic
🫁 Breathe In: All cells need oxygen to function and create energy. When you inhale, you pull air into your lungs to transport oxygen to your cells through your bloodstream.
🫁 Breathe Out: Our cells then create carbon dioxide and send it back through our bloodstream to our lungs. When you exhale, you expel the waste gas from your lungs.
Deep belly breathing can help us inhale fully and exhale completely, a critical cycle to our health and wellbeing.
Do's and Don'ts of Relaxed Breathing
Growing up, my mom's go-to remedy for nearly any stressor was to "Just relax and take a few deep belly breaths." As usual, Mom knows best. 😉
Chest Breathing
🚫 Using the muscles in your chest and shoulders to breathe requires more effort. Done too often, it can trigger the fight or flight stress response and cause other issues like tension headaches, shortness of breath, and anxiety.
I've been chronically chest breathing without even realizing it. It's become such a subconscious pattern that every time I brought awareness to my breath this week, I've had to shift mindfully to diaphragmatic breathing.
Check-in with yourself right now. Are you breathing from your chest or your belly?
Diaphragmatic Breathing
✅ Using your diaphragm and abdomen to draw in and exhale air promotes a sense of calm and relaxation.
Deep belly breathing has many psychological and physiological benefits. Research shows significant improvement in anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with Major Depressive Disorder. It’s also improved symptoms for people experiencing GERD, Sleep Apnea, Chronic Pain, and High Blood Pressure.
Periodically check in and bring awareness to your breath. Staying mindful can help you shift problematic breathing patterns you may not have been aware of.
Benefits of Deep Belly Breathing
Deep breathing isn't just about taking in air; it's about tapping into our innate power to find calm, clarity, and resilience within ourselves.
Stress Management
🧘 Deep breathing exercises activate the body's relaxation response, easing muscle tension and effectively lowering levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This natural antidote to stress and anxiety gives us a sense of calm and control.
Enhanced Mental Clarity
🧠 The increased oxygen flow to the brain also sharpens cognitive function and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, creating an optimal environment for creativity, focus, and enhanced mental clarity.
Sustained Energy Levels
🤸🏼♀️ Do you ever feel like you're running on empty? Deep breathing optimizes oxygen delivery to our cells, replenishing our energy reserves and relieving feelings of fatigue.
“A 1-day breathing exercise was found to relieve the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization induced by job burnout.”—Frontiers in Psychology
Heightened Productivity
✍️ In a world that glorifies hustle and grind, deep breathing offers a different path to productivity—one rooted in presence and intention.
Emotional Resilience
💓 Deep breathing stabilizes our emotional wellbeing by offering a reprieve from the daily stressors of life and business, releasing feel-good neurotransmitters like endorphins, and promoting emotional balance.
The L.O.V.E Notes
Takeaways on Leadership, Organization, Vision, and Evidence-Based Practices—for a happier, healthier life and business.
Leadership
🧭 Lessons in leading yourself & others
Deep belly breathing can help you to be a more resilient, positive, and grounded leader. 🧘
Diaphragmatic breathing is a skill you can develop. With practice, you'll become more familiar with deep breathing and more skilled at centering as your mind becomes calmer, more focused, and less reactive.
If you lead others, you can support their health and wellbeing by making deep breathing a positive part of your culture.
Encourage your team to take short, deep breathing breaks throughout the day.
Lead by example and share when you're stepping away to take ten minutes for deep breathing. Update your Slack status and let your team know.
Know your audience, and if appropriate, consider starting meetings or group coaching calls with a grounding exercise.
Promote awareness and share resources on the benefits of deep breathing.
If you have a team, consider a reimbursement program or employee benefit covering the cost of apps with guided breathing and meditations, like Calm or Headspace.
“While there may be concerns that frequent breaks will reduce productivity, current evidence suggests no negative effects of short, regular breaks on productivity (Waongenngarm et al., 2018), and, in fact, they can reduce perceived tiredness, stress, and job errors (Mitra et al., 2008; Taylor, 2011; Randolph, 2016).”
Organization
📋 Organize w/methods & systems
There are formal breathing exercises, like the one at the end of this post, that you can add to your daily routine or use when you need to relax.
You can also practice diaphragmatic breathing regularly by intentionally taking deeper, conscious breaths throughout the day.
Schedule time in your calendar for uninterrupted deep breathing
Set reminders and alerts to check in on your breathing throughout the day.
Recognize when you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed, and take a break for relaxed breathing.
Make deep breathing a habit by pairing it with another habit. For example, I will do five minutes of deep breathing when I put the tea kettle on. 🫖
Vision
🔎 Clarify & connect to your vision
One of the most interesting things I've learned in my coaching classes this year is how critical intrinsic motivation is to the behavior change process.
We can know all the reasons we should do something, but if we don't want to do it, we won't stick with it. Knowing the benefits of deep breathing, what would make you want to make it a habit?
📒 Journaling Prompt: Imagine yourself three months from now. You've made deep breathing a consistent practice. How do you feel? What benefits are you experiencing in your work and life?
Evidence-Based Practice
📝 For a happier, healthier you
I pulled this diaphragmatic breathing exercise from my coaching toolbox to guide you in getting started with deep belly breathing. 🎧
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