you’ll learn everything from how to sit when you meditate to creating a tailor-made, one-day retreat. Learn the key to introductory mindful breathing exercises.

you need to become familiar with mindful breathing techniques, then put what you’ve understood into practice as you find out how to apply mindfulness to specific situations such as meeting your goals or managing stress.

First, discover how your breath not only soothes and calms you but also brings you instantly back to the present moment.

Then, learn what you need to begin your mindful journey and how to connect with the community of like-minded people traveling with you.

Making a start mindful breathing well

Connecting with your breath will always bring you back to the present moment on mindful breathing exercises.

The simplest way to bring more mindfulness into your life is by observing your breath. It’s your direct link with the present moment and brings you back to yourself.

points out that the process of breathing is so inseparable from who we deeply are, it has even permeated our language – ‘to inspire’ is both to inhale and to touch someone’s heart.

Japanese, ‘Ki’ means both air and spirit; in Chinese the three characters for breath, ‘tsi’, translated as ‘of the conscious self or heart’. So what happens if we don’t breathe as well as we could?

Most of the time, we are unaware of how we breathe. Whether from stress, inattention or simply habit, rather than nourishing ourselves with deep,

full breaths, we subconsciously choose to breathe too fast, too shallow, or just take quick, superficial ‘gasps’ into the top of our chest.

This, in turn, means we’re not only losing out on a host of physiological benefits – deep mindful breathing has been shown to ease headaches, high blood pressure, asthma, and anxiety.

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but we’re also less aware of what we are feeling in the moment. Our breath brings us back to our true selves. It teaches us to be more mindfulness exercises.

In order to breathe well, it helps to have a little understanding of mindful breathing anatomy. The main muscle that controls your breath is the diaphragm.

It’s a dome-shaped muscle that covers the entire floor of your chest cavity. Think of it as an umbrella that flattens and opens out as you breathe in, closes inwards and upwards as you breath out.

If you place your hands on your ribs, it’s the diaphragm that causes them to expand as you inhale and contract again as you exhale.

To breathe fully and deeply, it’s important to allow your diaphragm to expand in all directions, to the front, back and sides.

Breathing of mindful with your whole body

This mindful breathing exercise will help you become more familiar with your own breathing pattern and teach you how to expand your breath at will.

so you can switch to deeper breathing wherever you are and whatever situation you’re in.

Switch off all distractions, make sure you’ll be warm enough and allow yourself 15 to 20 minutes.

Direct your breath, first filling your abdomen, then your ribs and finally your upperchest…as you exhale, reverse the process

Lie on your back, gently close your eyes and take a moment to let your mind settle. Breathing in through your nose, exhale through your mouth with an audible sigh,

releasing any tension in your body on your out-breath. Do this twice more, letting go of any thoughts as you exhale, and surrendering your body into the floor.

Without trying to change anything, notice how you are breathing, becoming aware of the movements in your body as you breathe.

Does your lower belly rise and fall?
Can you sense your ribs expanding and contracting?

Maybe you feel your back compress against the floor as you inhale.

After a few moments, place your hands on your lower belly, with your fingertips touching and the heels of your hands out to the sides, and see if you can notice it rising as you inhale and gently falling as you exhale.

Gently slide your hands to rest on your side ribs. Can you sense any movement beneath your hands?
Finally, slide to your upper chest. Can you feel any micro movement beneath your fingers?

Your lungs reach right up to your clavicle, but we rarely use their full capacity.

See if you can direct your breath, first filling your abdomen, then your ribs and finally your upper chest, as if you were filling a vase with water – first the base, then the middle, and finally the neck.

As you exhale, reverse the process, emptying from your chest, then your ribs, and finally your belly.

Like the vase, your diaphragm and lungs are three-dimensional, so allow your breath to travel to the back and sides of your body as well as the front.

Continue in your own rhythm for a few breaths, then gently let your breathing return to normal.

Keep a mindful breathing journal

Noticing how you mindful breathing throughout the day will help transform your relationship with your breath, making it easier to sink into a deeper, more mindful breathing at will.

Simply check-in three times a day, bringing your awareness to your breath and noticing how it is. Are you taking short, shallow breaths, or are you breathing deeply and evenly into your belly?

Where are you breathing from – your abdomen or your chest? Perhaps you’ve even been holding your breath. After a week or so, read back over your entries and notice if a pattern has emerged.

Maybe you tend to hold your breath when you speak to your boss, or you only really breathe evenly and fully when you’re alone. Notice in which situations you find yourself taking shallow breaths.

When do you take deep, easeful breaths, and how does that make you feel? Often, simply bringing your attention to your breath opens the door to change.

When you notice your breath has become fast, shallow, or even held, if you can, take a few moments out to allow any tension in your jaw, neck, shoulders and upper body to release, then invite the breath deeper into your belly.

That is for now…

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If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of mindfulness and meditation or getting some additional tips and some tips and tricks to cultivate mindfulness, check out these books: