April is Stress Awareness Month
Before You Lose Your Mind, Breathe…….
We all experience stress both the good and the bad versions. For me it can be the never-ending email chains, the WhatsApp and Teams group chats, my teenage son who insists on asking 57 times “Where is my stuff?” before 8am even though he was wearing it, not me, or that one colleague or family member (you know the one)... stress is a familiar little gremlin.
So, while we can’t always control what’s coming at us, we can control how we respond and that’s where the magic of breathwork comes in.
Now, before you roll your eyes — trust me. I used to think, “Erm, yes, breathing is great… I do it every day, so thanks but no thanks.” But always one for being proven wrong, I gave it a go, and now I use it all the time as a simple reset because things shift when you breathe with intention. You shift. You find calm where chaos once reigned. And that’s not woo-woo nonsense, it’s neuroscience.
The Power of the Breath
This month at BMR, we ran a free webinar: “Introduction to Meditation and Breathwork: How to Reduce Stress, Improve Focus & Feel More Human Again.”
We weren’t sure if we would get much interest but we had a higher than usual number register for the session which goes to show that people are interested in learning how to reset.
When you're stressed, your breathing becomes shallow, your nervous system goes into fight-or-flight, and your brain fogs over like a bathroom mirror. But with just 60 seconds of conscious breathing, you can flip the switch and bring yourself back to clarity and calm.
So what’s the science behind it?
When you’re stressed, your sympathetic nervous system takes over — that’s your “fight or flight” mode. Your heart rate increases, breathing gets shallow, cortisol floods your body, and your brain starts firing off worst-case scenarios faster than you can say “I’m fine.”
But with just 60 seconds of conscious breathing, you can switch gears. Slow, controlled breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system — the one responsible for “rest and digest.” Your heart rate slows, cortisol drops, and your body gets the message: you’re safe. Your focus improves, your emotional regulation kicks back in, and your brain fog starts to lift.
It’s like giving your nervous system a cuppa tea and telling it to take 5.
A Simple Technique You Can Try (…for the next time you feel yourself about to blow!)
Box Breathing: Here’s how it works:
Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds
Hold your breath for 4 seconds
Exhale slowly through your mouth for 4 seconds
Hold again for 4 seconds
Repeat for 4 rounds (or more if someone is really pushing your buttons)
You can do this in the car, at your desk, hiding in the loo... wherever your patience is hanging by a thread.
Are You Interested in a Session for Your Team?
Also, don’t forget to sign up to our newsletters. We will send you details of the free wellbeing webinars that we run every month, open to all. So, just remember, if you want to calm the chaos and reclaim your peace of mind, just take a deep breath and drop us a message.