Stop - Take a Breath

Words Venetia Moore Photo Kelly Ryan Creative

Have you ever thought, ‘Stop the world, everything is moving too fast?’ This article looks at how some simple mindful breaths can slow your world down so that you make clearer, more relaxed, healthy decisions in your everyday life, and as a result, feel more confident.

Parenting can be a mixture of joys and challenges, and you may be feeling that it’s proving to be far more challenging than you expected. No one can really prepare us fully for the complexity of parenting; there’s no college or university course to enlighten or equip us in advance. We can read all the books, google and talk to other parents, but the truth is we just have to jump in and experience it to truly learn how to be a parent.

In reality our days can be a jumble of practicalities, surprises, chaotic spins, and extraordinary heart-warming moments. Becoming a parent opens us up to a new chapter in our lives; as our children grow and develop, so do we! Situations arise, giving us an opportunity to discover new depths within us, of emotions, joys, strengths, and sometimes exposing aspects of ourselves we just don’t like!

There is such pressure today to be a ‘Super Parent,’ to efficiently juggle work, the home, and relationships while finding time to document it all on Facebook and Instagram! It is no wonder so many people are feeling so stressed and overloaded. Being a new parent means leaning into the mystery of life, the unknown, which can sometimes make us feel disorientated, and anxious. If you do, you are certainly not alone! Everyone is different, and time and space is naturally needed for things to change and settle.

The general pace of life has sped up to a point that stress is now an habitual part of it. When we feel anxious or stressed, physiological and psychological responses automatically occur in the mind and body, these are referred to as ‘fight, flight or freeze.’ Such as: » Adrenaline is released into the bloodstream » Heart rate increases » Cytokines proteins are produced causing inflammation » Cortisol levels impair clear thinking, and it’s harder make good decisions » Feelings of irritation and anger » Feeling overwhelmed, tearful and anxious » Persistent stress can lead to higher risk of cancer, heart disease, accelerated ageing and depression.

Taking responsibility for our health and wellbeing means it is time for us to consciously slow things down and make a little space for a moment or two. In doing so, we can feel more in charge of ourselves in different situations, more grounded and confident with any parenting decisions. Taking a couple of simple mindful breaths can help us to do just that!

HOW TO TAKE MINDFUL BREATHS

» Stop, be still » Take a breath in through the nose, breathe out with a ‘sigh like’ breath through the mouth » The key is to focus on your breath coming in and out of your body » Repeat once more » Two breaths are sufficient to help you to calm and focus, but if you feel you need to take a couple more, leave a gap before repeating another two.

HOW DO THESE BREATHS HELP?

They are simple but effective. A mindful breath helps to: » Calm our nervous system » Bring more oxygen to the brain helping clarity of thought » Make better decisions » Connect us to our balanced, loving self » Tune in to our intuition, our sense of knowing, inner wisdom and guidance » Be more positive » Focus on the present moment » Be less reactive and more able to hear the needs of our child » Be more compassionate and kind toward others and ourselves » Prevent or reduce levels of damaging stress hormones in the body If you are faced with a challenging situation take a couple of these breaths. They will help you to STOP before reacting in an unloving, ineffective way. All that we think, do and say has an impact on ourselves and others and a breath helps us assess the situation more clearly and thoughtfully helping create a much better outcome. The calmer you can feel inside the likely your baby will settle sooner as there is a strong, energetic bond and link between you both. Consciously taking a couple of mindful breaths throughout the day, especially when engaging in a new task, can help our general focus, concentration and energy, meaning things can be done more smoothly and efficiently. These breaths help us to connect our minds to our bodies so that we become more in the moment, more in the now. Negative thoughts and feelings distract us, dampen our energy and influence decisions. A medicinal breath can help those unhelpful thoughts and feelings to be quickly defused, leaving more space for us to feel brighter, and notice all the positives and joys that we do have in our family life. true-nature.co.uk facebook.com/truenaturecouk “Parenting can be a mixture of joys and challenges.”