Breathe like a baby
Pierre du Plessis makes many great points in his book Train Naked including this one:
Over the past 100 years society has taught that you need a flat belly to be attractive. Since we all (presumably) want to be as attractive as possible, we suck in our gut and keep our belly tight. As a result of keeping a tight mid-section, most of our breathing throughout the day becomes very shallow and happens from our shoulders and upper chest.
When we breathe like this it causes our bodies to go into fight-or-flight mode, releasing cortisol and adrenaline, which cause feelings of fear, anxiety, stress, and fatigue. Before realizing, you start to tense up in the neck, shoulders, and upper back as you subconsciously brace for an attack. Since many of us spend most of our days hunched over in front of a screen, we become increasingly tense and drained, both mentally and physically.
The next time you catch yourself feeling down, stressed anxious or depressed, try the following:
- Sit up straight in your chair, hands in your lap, feet flat on the floor.
- Close your eyes and make a big smile. Make your smile genuine, like you are smiling with your eyes. This is called a Duchenne smile and it is a natural signal of true enjoyment.
- Feel yourself relaxing from the top of your head to the soles of your feet.
- Take three very deep breaths, keeping your shoulders and chest still, while inflating your belly like a balloon. Hold your breath for a couple of seconds and then exhale completely. Think of a baby sleeping on its back. There is no thought of keeping their belly tight.
- After the first three breaths do another three, while slowly rolling your head from side to side, forwards and backwards, stretching your neck and relaxing your shoulders.
- Set a timer on you phone or watch for every hour and repeat the sequence throughout the day. It will take you less than a minute to complete. Or put a post-it note next to your screen to remind yourself to “fill the balloon”.
- Afterwards get up and stretch your legs, arms and back for a couple of seconds.
You will instantly feel more grounded, relaxed, and present in the moment.
The Takeaway
We are breathing all the time. It is important that we do it properly. When we don’t pay attention to our breathing it becomes shallow, causing us to tense up and feel fearful and anxious. Whenever your thoughts start to race or you catch yourself feeling tense, stop where you are, put your feet on the floor and fill your belly like a balloon. Forget about looking sexy for a second and really breathe.
Do you feel stuck?
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