Move, Pray and Breath.

A new Stanford Study offers some suggestions to be stress free in 2023.

A new study released by Stanford offers the following highlights to make your life a little less stressed and more peaceful:

1. Daily 5-minute breathwork and mindfulness meditation improve mood and reduce anxiety
2. Breathwork improves mood and physiological arousal more than mindfulness meditation
3. Cyclic sighing is most effective at improving mood and reducing respiratory rate

Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal

For many, mindfulness meditation is praying. It’s a time to empty our mind and fill our soul with quiet and peace.

What if we combine Meditation/Pray with breathwork?

When I have issues with falling asleep or waking up, my go to is the rosary. As I pray the Our Father and Hail Mary’s, I also utilize box breathing to pace out the prayers and also to help put my mind at ease.

What if you combine meditation/pray with box breathing?

I’m not as familiar with “Cyclic Sighing” as a tool, but look forward to trying this. The following is a how to guide.

1. Inhale slowly through the nose, and then take another shorter breath to fully inflate the lungs.
2. Then exhale from the mouth for as long as possible, ideally doubling the length of the out breath.
3. Repeat for 1–5 minutes.

Yoga uses a similar breathing technique, but combines breath with movement.

Maybe the next study will combine both prayer/meditation/movement with breathing to show an even more effective way to reduce stress and bring light and love into your heart and soul?

I invite you to let me know what works for you so we can grow stronger and calmer together.