| We breathe in and breathe out as regularly as our heartbeats. But did you know that breathwork is an actual thing, and by using the breath to your advantage, you can connect or reconnect to yourself?  Studies show that conscious breathwork will help to reduce stress, create feelings of openness, love, peace, gratitude, clarity, calm, connection, and communication. As a matter of fact, breathwork can stop anxiety attacks, reduce a migraine, alter the PH of your blood, and lower blood pressure. According to the research, breathwork is intimately linked with mental function. There are biofeedback, progressive relaxation, and autogenic training that are bona fide therapeutic ways of breathing. The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the body and a major component of the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the fight or flight response to stress, but it’s the parasympathetic nervous system that thankfully returns us to normal after the fight or flight response.  This ultimately means our breath can actually modulate how we handle life in general. Letting go is an intelligent decision to change. Breathwork aids in letting go by creating an awareness in the body. Breathwork heightens executive function, such as flexible thinking, working memory, self-monitoring, planning and prioritizing, task initiation, organization, impulse control, and emotional control. Breathwork also helps to disconnect as well as connect – going right to the body and breath connection and getting out of your head. And while breathwork may be involved in meditation, you don’t have to meditate to do breathwork. There are several techniques to breathwork, including the one you can make up for yourself. I breathe meditatively and intentionally sometimes, giving meaning to my breath.  Breathe in beauty…breathe out ugliness… Breathe in abundance…breathe out scarcity… Breathe in vibrancy…breathe out apathy…  The point of using the breath is to connect, to let go, and to create new body chemistry. Like meditation, it’s a practice and can be used anywhere – sitting on a train or taking 5 minutes in the bathroom. When we bring awareness to our breath, we can bring calm to any situation.  Navy SEALS practice box breathing to reduce stress, as we’ve discovered previously.  I believe breathwork is one of the most underrated, overlooked methods to create change, AND specifically for the work of letting go. Here’s why:  1. This is how we tap into our higher selves. We are fleshy containers of energy, and breathing opens meridians in our bodies and realigns the energy. Healing can happen without even having to think it through – this is the breath at work.  2. It feels amazing and powerful. It brings back a sense of control and helps with the process of letting go. It’s empowering!  3. It provides an opportunity to release a whole lot of stuff, from anger to trauma to emotional blocks, anxiety, depression, and more. Dr. Joe Dispenza, author of Breaking The Habit Of Being Yourself, says, “Simply observing the breath can damp down stress and open a door to a healthier and mindful lifestyle.” Wise Women know that life is always working on their behalf – especially when we’re in the process of letting go and becoming the vibrant women we’re called to be. |
