Isn’t it time you started using your superpower?

Despite taking an average of 30,000 breaths a day most of us are oblivious to the fact that we are not breathing correctly – often we breath shallowly, almost panting, throughout the day, engaging the wrong muscles. There’s lots of evidence that shows intentional deep breathing can calm and regulate the autonomic nervous system, reducing stress and promoting calm.

It was only through an act of desperation that I discovered my superpower …. deep breathing. I was about to have a baby and had to contend with a very low pain threshold and an overwhelming fear of childbirth, which I attributed wholly to the Channel 4 program “One Born Every Minute.” I was addicted to watching women scream in a primitive agony and horrified by the partners’ state of unforgettable trauma. I had to avoid that at all cost!

It was at this point I knew I had to do something… anything… that could help. The universe aligned and I had the great fortune in meeting Mandy Mole a midwife running her own company helping women prepare for childbirth: Fit2drop. Hypnobirthing classes changed my perceptions around breathing and I started to realise it was a super power that we all head but very few realised how to use properly.

It is fear that causes pain and tension in childbirth. Short shallow breathing using only muscles in the neck shoulders and chest sends messages to the brain and nervous system that you are at risk of danger. Through self hypnosis, special breathing and visualization, Hypnobirthing teaches you to release all prior programming about birth, how to trust your body and work with it and how to free yourself of harmful emotions that lead to this pain-causing fear and unyielding muscles.

As a diligent student I practised deep breathing daily. It often took me to meditative states of deep relaxation. I also recited positive affirmations every day before the birth. I love sharing how I breathed out my very large baby without any screaming, clenching or pushing, let alone drugs.

Breathing is not just for child birth, my husband had to have a gastroscopy, rather than opt for the throat anaesthetic which meant he would not have been able to drive home afterwards, he chose to use Hypnobirthing technique throughout the procedure, much to the surprise of his consultant. He has been a convert ever since.

More people are embracing the power of breathing exercises. 2019 saw a whopping 219% increase in Google searches for breathing apps. How do we breathe better? Slow, deep breathing stimulates the vagus nerve, telling your brain that you are relaxed. Here are some simple breathing exercises that you could try out:

💙 Square breathing or box breathing

Step 1: Sitting upright, slowly exhale through your mouth, getting all the oxygen out of your lungs. Focus on this intention and be conscious of what you’re doing.

Step 2: Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose to the count of four. Cunt to four very slowly in your head. Feel the air fill your lungs, one section at a time, until your lungs are completely full and the air moves into your abdomen.

Step 3: Hold your breath for another slow count of four. #

Step 4: Exhale through your mouth for the same slow count of four, expelling the air from your lungs and abdomen. Be conscious of the feeling of the air leaving your lungs.

Step 5: Hold your breath for the same slow count of four before repeating this process.

💙 7-11 breathing

Breathe in for a count of 7, then breathe out for a count of 11. Make sure that when you are breathing in, you are doing deep ‘diaphragmatic breathing’ (your diaphragm moves down and pushes your stomach out as you take in a breath) rather than shallower higher lung breathing.

💙 Make your exhalation (out breath) double your inhalation (in breath)

💙 Diaphragmatic belly breathing has been found to lower cortisol levels. Simply sit or lie down and put one hand on your belly and one on your chest. Breathe in deeply allowing the air to fill your belly rather than your chest slowly exhale through your mouth. Repeat 3 to 10 times

Breathing techniques without a doubt promote well-being. Breathing deeply engages the nervous system to switch to rest mode and provides an anchor on which to rest are busy minds. But like all super powers their development takes time, practice, and patience. When I feel myself tense up, I remind myself to breathe, then I notice the sounds around me in my environment, and the sensations in my body, and I feel present in the moment. Just remembering to breathe from my belly is the greatest superpower.