Want to know the single most important thing you can do for your health today? It's free and you can start right now.
Breathe.
Most of us are so busy running around, trying to cram as much as possible into our day, always worried about the next thing we need to do, that we forget to breathe. By this, I mean taking in a proper deep breath, allowing it to fill our body, and then, slowly releasing it.
Instead, when we run around stressed and overworked, we take in short, sharp, shallow breaths. We don't have time to take in a deep breath and relax, there's still so much to do! But this type of shallow breathing triggers your brain's fight or flight response. Your mind actually thinks you're in danger and gets the body prepared for action by releasing adrenalin and cortisol (the body's stress hormone). This is because when we're in danger, it's a time for action, not a time to relax.
This is one of the reasons why so many of us suffer from anxiety, have racing hearts and have trouble switching off. We're not breathing properly, we're pumped full of adrenalin and cortisol and we have nowhere to run to burn it off, so we sit there, feeling more and more stressed and overwhelmed.
The only way to signal to your brain that you are safe, is to breathe. This stops the overflow of adrenalin and cortisol so you can come back to a state of calm and balance. Try and return to your breath as you go about your day. Whether you're driving, sitting in front of the computer or running errands, breathe. This gets you out of your head and brings you back to your body.
Follow the guided animation, breathe in, breathe out, repeat a few times and feel the difference today.