Thank you so much for having me.
Buy five months and get your sixth month free, plus complimentary gifts for your hair.
When you subscribe, you'll also get a Headspace membership included for free.
Visit Nutrafulcom and use code HEADSPACE at checkout for educational purposes only and not medical advice.
If you have medical conditions or take medications or supplements, consult a healthcare provider before using Nutrafol products.
Hi, it's eve here, so all this week i'm exploring different ways that mindfulness can help to calm an anxious mind.
Breathing is something we do all day, every day, but most of the time we don't pay attention to it.
That is until we feel anxious, Maybe your chest feels tight or your breathing becomes shallow and fast.
Or you may even catch yourself holding your breath without realizing it.
So I thought we could start today's episode with a really short breathing exercise.
Because the way we breathe can have a huge impact on how we feel.
And we can actually use our breath to calm the nervous system, which is what you want if you're feeling anxious.
And the technique goes like this.
You take a deep breath in through your nose for four counts and then slowly exhale through your mouth for six counts.
So let's try it together now.
Breathing in for one, two, three, four.
Out for six, five, four, three, two, one.
Let's do that again.
Breathing in for one, two, three, four.
Out for six, five, four, three, two, one.
And noticing if anything has shifted.
Perhaps your shoulders have dropped a little or your jaw has softened.
That's a sign your nervous system is settling down.
And this is an exercise you can do at any time.
So thanks for doing it with me.
Stress and anxiety can really mess with our breathing.
If you've ever seen a baby sleep, their breathing seems so natural and relaxed.
You can see their belly rise and fall in this very smooth and effortless way.
But as we get older and especially when we get stressed, our breathing can become short and shallow and stuck up in our chest.
When we feel anxious, our body thinks we're in danger.
The brain sends a signal to speed up our heart rate and it can make our breathing quick and shallow, getting us ready to fight or flee.
The problem, though, is we're not usually in actual physical danger.
Most of the time, we're just sat at our desks with a giant to-do list, or stuck in traffic late for an appointment, or lying awake at night worrying about all the things we didn't get done.
Unfortunately, our brain doesn't know the difference.
It's just reacting to the signals it's getting, and those signals feel threatening.
That's why when we slow our breathing down, we send a different signal to the brain.
A signal that says, hey, everything's okay.
You can relax.
I find mindful breathing like this really helpful, especially if I'm doing any public speaking which, let's be honest, is one of the most anxiety inducing things you can do.
I was back in the UK recently doing a series of presentations.
Now, I've done a lot of public speaking before, but for some reason on one of the days I was feeling extra nervous.
I knew I needed to get out of my head and into my body.
So I took my own advice and took a slow breath in for four counts and an even slower breath out for six counts.
And I did that a few more times and slowly I started to feel my whole body starting to settle and I was actually able to focus on what I wanted to say.
That's the other thing.
When we're stressed or anxious, the fear center of the brain essentially hijacks the more executive functioning of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for things like critical thinking and making decisions, which is not ideal when you're trying to talk in front of an audience of people.
So if you ever feel like focusing on the breath is challenging, that's okay.
You could direct your attention to what you can see and hear instead.
