Breath and Stress

''As the breath, so the mind, as the mind, so the breath.''

''Deep breath, deep life. Shallow breath, shallow life.''

Those are just a couple of sayings that stuck with me over the years when relating to the power of breath. They so accurately express the positive impact of our capacity to consciously regulate our breath.

Breath truly is the starting point of all transformation. It is that which sets the tone for the way that we engage with life and that which enables us to remain grounded, clear, calm and connected to our core essence. When we lose touch with our breath, our mind fluctuates. When we lose touch with our breath, we are more prone to reacting to our environment. And by reaction, I mean being in automatic reaction, re-acting more of our habitual destructive tendencies.

A lack of connection to our breath drains our energy.

A lack of connection to our breath, makes for a shallow breath. Sometimes even an erratic breath. And pushed to the extreme, it can lead to panic attacks.

This erraticism of the breath translates into erraticism of the mind. When our breath is shallow, our mind is untamed, we cannot discern between thoughts which are conscious choices and thoughts which are automatic responses resulting from societal, family, work, environmental conditioning. When our breath is shallow and unconscious, our mind gets the better of us and drains our pranic energy.

This in turn results in stress, anxiety, feelings of depletion and depression.

Therefore, given the rapid pace of our modern lives, the lack of education about the power of breath unless one deliberately chooses to investigate the subject, it is no surprise that stress is one of the most widespread plagues currently affecting those living in developed societies.

Stress is a manifestation of shallow breathing. And quoting the words of Richard Rudd, founder of the Gene Keys, we can go as far as to say that ‘’stress is a frequency that we allow into our DNA.’’

The yogis say that we are born with a certain allocation of breaths, a certain reserve of prana. What we do with that breath and therefore with prana, determines our longevity, vitality, happiness, creativity and effectiveness.

This is extremely empowering. If we learn to remain conscious of our breath patterns, we can completely shift trajectories.

The teachings of yoga – any type of yoga – give great importance to breath. They revolve around our capacity to connect with our breath. In yoga, breath is fundamental, and any physical posture is merely a way to get breath and pranic energy to circulate to physical and subtle parts of our being so as to expand our energy and consciousness.

When we bring awareness to our breath, follow its flow in our body, we reclaim command over our energy, over where we allow this energy to circulate. And that way, we can start to transform our lives.

Being grounded in our body, through the breath, and bringing our conscious awareness to the breath as soon as we realise that we are unconsciously holding it or breathing erratically, can completely shift our experience and re-write our story.

And that is the promise of pranayama. Through the deliberate control of our breath, we calm the fluctuations of the mind and reclaim our energy. We expand our vitality and capacity to remain calm. We develop an agility to remain calm and grounded even when engaged in demanding, dynamic tasks.

As soon as we get caught up in fear-based thoughts, we leak life force. The moment when instead, we pay attention to the breath, the cells of our body, the nervous system, the heart rate, all start to balance and come into a more coherent state. In that moment, we have reclaimed power over our energy. Fear has dissipated and made space for presence and feelings of connection. And from that state of presence we can deliberately direct our energy.

Regaining command over our breath for me is taking responsibility for our lives at any given time. Command means that we instruct and guide our energy deliberately. It means that at any given time, we have the ability to take a step back, and instead of reacting or being taken through the motions of others, we can attune ourselves to a wider perspective. We can create a break in the subconscious momentum of the mind which tends to lead our lives. We can set ourselves free from the conditioned thoughts which we have picked up over the years and prevent us from being present. All of which then results in a tremendous liberation of energy, which is energy that becomes available for us to create and experience more joy.

Pranayama, the reclaiming of our energy through the practice of breath techniques, has many benefits.

• It helps reduce stress and anxiety – tremendously.
• Helps balance and calm the mind
• Brings clarity and discernment, allowing us to choose our thoughts and actions consciously.
• Supports the deconstruction of limiting beliefs and destructive patterns of thought and behaviour.
• Supports emotional stability
• Liberates energy and brings vitality
• Boosts our electromagnetic field and supports immune functions
• Balances the autonomic nervous system giving us the agility to more from a ‘’fight or flight’’ to a ‘’rest and digest’’ state more deliberately.
• Brings feelings of empowerment, focus and creativity
• Helps us tap into the more subtle layers of our being and access our intuition

They are endless amounts of breath practices one can choose to do from yogic teachings.

Some of the simplest yet very effective tools you can easily implement to relief feelings of stress and deliberately circulate energy include:

• Observing the breath and diaphragmatic breathing. Following the sound and sensations of the breath in the body. If it is not already the case for you naturally, be sure to expand the belly on the inhale, and contract the belly against the spine on the exhale (not the opposite). Such deep diaphragmatic breathing creates more space to pull air into the lungs and oxygenate the body and brain. It is the natural way in which all babies breathe when born, but as we grow, many of us fall into a reversed, shallow breath mirroring the stressed mind, called paradoxical breathing. When we breathe paradoxically, we create a low level anxiety that we are not even aware of.
• Lengthen the duration of your exhale vs inhale to create more calmness in the body.
• Increase the length of our inhales vs exhale to increase our pranic energy.
• Left nostril breathing to balance the parasympathetic nervous system and bring it back into dominance, inviting a calm, intuitive energy. Try for a minimum of 3 min.
• Right nostril breathing to balance the sympathetic nervous system and bring it back into dominance, bringing more energy and focus. Try for a minimum of 3 min.

If you would like to experience more transformative breath practices, head over onto my YOGA TO THRIVE ONLINE STUDIO, where you will find a wealth of classes already available and new content added weekly.

Some of the breath specific classes already available on the platform include:

• Breathe to Release Stress
• Breathe to Centre and Boost Immunity
• Breathe for mental clarity and strength
• Breathe to Shift your Frequency
• Breathe to Rebuild Health
• Breathe to Recalibrate & Rebuild Resources
• Breathe for Inner Peace & Radiating Love
• Pranayama series - activated and calm
• Cool down to sleep

But breath is also weaved into all my yoga and meditation classes, all of which are accessible to all levels.

TO JOIN THE YOGA TO THRIVE ONLINE STUDIO FOR ONLY £20/ €22 per month, click HERE.

Or if you would prefer to work one-on-one with me, online or in person, choose the option which work best for you from my private services available HERE.

What students say about working with me:

"If you are fortunate to have found a spiritual path, Magda’s 1-2-1 online sessions are invaluable to help you understand yourself, your capabilities and potential.

My weekly kundalini practice has made me physically and emotionally stronger and Magda’s inner wisdom and insight have helped me enormously gain confidence in my practice and overcome obstacles thrown at me along the way. I wholly recommend private sessions if you are looking for that personal spiritual guidance."

or

"Magda is an inspirational teacher of Kundalini Yoga.  Having been to her classes and joined her morning Meditation practice, her radiance and passion for Kundalini yoga shines through and she explains the kriyas and the reasons for doing them extremely well.  Magda’s classes are wonderful - afterwards my spirits are lifted and I feel energised after the experience. I highly recommend Magda’s Kundalini classes - she is a gifted and inspiring teacher."

Read many more testimonials throughout my website – magdalenagladstone.com

And watch this video to understand more about why I teach Kundalini Yoga, breathwork and meditation.