Why is breathing always used for Mindfulness?

Explicit content warning

03/15/22 • 6 min

Mindful Hypnosis

Why do we focus on our breathing when it comes to mindfulness? You can’t escape breathing.

It is mindboggling how often we breathe. We might as well be mindful of doing so.

Think of these mind-boggling statistics

You breathe about 16 breaths a minute.
23, 000 breaths a minute
8.5 million breaths a year.

Say WHAT? I told you it was mindboggling!

Breaths are part of our Autonomic nervous system, which means it does it on its own. This is good because if we had to focus on it, we would get nothing done!

BUT when you do focus on it intentionally, it will activate certain places in our brain that increase our attention and our body awareness.

Focusing on our breathing regulates our nervous system which can calm us down and make us feel better.

The anchor

There are a few reasons, but mainly it is what we call an anchor. It’s part of you. You can’t live without it. Because it has the ability to be automatic, and something we can control, it allows us to settle into it.

Breathing is always with us. It doesn't go anywhere. You can't escape it, you definitely need it.

We're always chasing things.

We're trying to move towards something that we want to obtain whether it be a better job or a better life, or we're trying to move away from something like pain or hurt.

Breathing is something that always pulls you back into the present moment.

Again, it is an anchor and it brings us directly into the now. It also brings us into what I like to call body awareness.

When you become more aware of your body, you're not in your head.

You're also not just focusing on your breathing. Instead, you are focusing on the “art” of breathing. The in and out movement.

You become more aware of your chest rising and falling, and the subtle movements of your body as you breathe. You become more interoceptive- aware of your internal body.

This helps to make you more mindful.

It also helps you to navigate the space you are in and the connection to your external world.

You become more aware of the subtle changes in your body which are important for your health and wellbeing.

Want to know more about how to integrate your breathing with your mindfulness practice AND get a nice breathing meditation?

Grab the Breathe video and audio below.

Take a deep breath in and exhale

So, before I go, listen closely and remember this ONE one thing.

Your future is a thought, your past has passed, but your now is always here.

Be mindful-one minute at a time.

Hugs, Cheryl

One Minute of Mindfulness -Shownotes
Breathe Audio and video for you do download for free.
Cheryl J Reynolds Coaching for stress, overthinking, or to develop a Mindfulness Practice.

Why do we focus on our breathing when it comes to mindfulness? You can’t escape breathing.

It is mindboggling how often we breathe. We might as well be mindful of doing so.

Think of these mind-boggling statistics

You breathe about 16 breaths a minute.
23, 000 breaths a minute
8.5 million breaths a year.

Say WHAT? I told you it was mindboggling!

Breaths are part of our Autonomic nervous system, which means it does it on its own. This is good because if we had to focus on it, we would get nothing done!

BUT when you do focus on it intentionally, it will activate certain places in our brain that increase our attention and our body awareness.

Focusing on our breathing regulates our nervous system which can calm us down and make us feel better.

The anchor

Breathing is always with us. It doesn't go anywhere. You can't escape it, you definitely need it.

We're always chasing things.

We're trying to move towards something that we want to obtain whether it be a better job or a better life, or we're trying to move away from something like pain or hurt.

Breathing is something that always pulls you back into the present moment.

Again, it is an anchor and it brings us directly into the now. It also brings us into what I like to call body awareness.

When you become more aware of your body, you're not in your head.

You're also not just focusing on your breathing. Instead, you are focusing on the “art” of breathing. The in and out movement.

You become more aware of your chest rising and falling, and the subtle movements of your body as you breathe. You become more interoceptive- aware of your internal body.

This helps to make you more mindful.

It also helps you to navigate the space you are in and the connection to your external world.

You become more aware of the subtle changes in your body which are important for your health and wellbeing.

Want to know more about how to integrate your breathing with your mindfulness practice AND get a nice breathing meditation?

Grab the Breathe video and audio below.

Take a deep breath in and exhale

So, before I go, listen closely and remember this ONE one thing.

Your future is a thought, your past has passed, but your now is always here.

Be mindful-one minute at a time.

Hugs, Cheryl

One Minute of Mindfulness -Shownotes
Breathe Audio and video for you do download for free.
Cheryl J Reynolds Coaching for stress, overthinking, or to develop a Mindfulness Practice.

Previous Episode

Difference betwwen Mindfulness and Meditation

and Mindfulness and Meditation are similar, but they do have their differences

Mindfulness expands as it’s something you can do all the time.

Mindfulness includes active and passive outlets.

You can be mindful of washing dishes, talking to friends, driving, and exercising. Yoga is also about being in the present moment through movement.

What IS Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a state of when you are completely aware and present in the moment without judgment.

The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.

-Jon Kabat-Zinn

What IS meditation?

The definition of meditation is to think deeply or focus the mind on something for an extended period of time.

Meditation is more “active” in the brain than mindfulness as you may not be “in the present” moment.

It can include contemplation, reflection, chanting, breathing, body awareness, thought awareness- which means watching your thoughts, and it can also, often contain mindfulness.

So, now that you know the differences, what do you prefer? Mindfulness practice or Meditation practice. Or should I say both?

Take a deep breath in and exhale

So, before I go, listen closely and remember this ONE one thing.

Your future is a thought, your past has passed, but your now is always here.

Be mindful-one minute at a time.

Hugs, Cheryl

Sponsors & Links Mentioned:

One Minute of Mindfulness.com
Cheryl J Reynolds Coaching for stress, overthinking, or to develop a Mindfulness Practice.
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Next Episode

Five myths about happiness

25-Should you be happy? The pursuit of happiness is our downfall, here's why.

I want to talk about happiness and the five myths that many people believe.

Everyone's definition of happiness is different.

We have a few beliefs that have been ingrained into our minds and these beliefs might not be all that true.

We all want to be happy.

As Americans in the second paragraph of the first article in the Declaration of Independence contain the phrase "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".

So, we have this, right?

Happiness is what we all want. Ask anyone. I “just want to be happy” is what you hear.

There are almost 1 billion searches on google for happiness and most of us are still not finding happiness. Why?

Here are the five myths

We will start with the first thing I talked about. The pursuit of happiness.

M yth One

Happiness is something you pursue.

When you pursue something, you are trying to chase it, catch it, and/or follow it.

Happiness is not outside of you.

Myth two

I can be happy all the time.

Happiness is not your natural state of being, Mindfulness is. Happiness is an emotion and our emotions change and fluctuate all the time.

The idea is learning to be ok with what is happening in the now; being aware of your emotions. When you are sad, angry, happy, frustrated.

Myth three

I can control how happy I will be.

You can control your outlook, actions, and how you respond to situations.

But our reactions to difficulties or situations can be multifaceted. To ignore the bad, or uncomfortable and try to put a happiness bandaid on top of it will cause more problems.

Myth four

Happiness means feeling good.

You must be overjoyed, excited, and jumping for joy to be happy.

Not everyone feels happiness the same way. Some people are bubby, but some people have a neutral stance.

Myth Five

I’ve never been happy, so I can’t be happy now.

This comes down to understanding what happiness is for you.