Breath Awareness - Why Is It Important?
Observing breath is one of the main practices in meditation and mindfulness. It’s also where you usually first start your journey with any breathwork exercises. And every day on average we take 20k breaths, which gives us quite a few chances to sit down and become aware of our breath.
There are 3 main benefits of practicing breath awareness:
You are here and now in the present moment. Bringing your attention to your breath takes you out of thinking about the past or planning the future. Observing breath is one of the essential mindfulness practices, which are proven to lower anxiety and help improve general well-being.
Improves your concentration skills. In the current, full of distractions, times, having the ability to focus on one single thing at a time is difficult. We are constantly bombarded with messages and our own thoughts, and judgments. But we also continue to breathe through all of that distraction, making our breath an anchor that we can always turn to for focus.
Improve mind-body connection. Bringing attention to your breath means you are also bringing attention to your body. To any subtle sensations, you are physically feeling, like the belly rising and falling or the air tingling your nostrils. The research suggests that improving body awareness helps with emotional regulation, thus feeling calmer.
Sources:
Patrick McKeown, The Breathing Cure, 2021.
Kelly Birtwell, Kate Williams, Harm van Marwijk, Christopher J. Armitage & David Sheffield, Exploration of Formal and Informal Mindfulness Practice and Associations with Wellbeing, 2019.
Thomas Pinna and Darren J. Edwards, A Systematic Review of Associations Between Interoception, Vagal Tone, and Emotional Regulation: Potential Applications for Mental Health, Wellbeing, Psychological Flexibility, and Chronic Conditions, 2020.
