top of page
Blog: Blog2

Just Breathe

Updated: Jun 21, 2021

I cannot believe I spent an entire day doing absolutely nothing!!! Why am I such a failure? Everybody else is doing something with their lives, moving forward, while I am sitting at home…. how do I live with myself? These are few of the many thoughts that have been living in my head rent-free for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I always had an abundance of energy that I did not know how to channelize. Physical activities like sports and dance helped, but the moment they stopped, I started feeling agitated, restless even, as I was clueless about what I was supposed to do with all this energy and time that I had on my hands. To this day, even though on a much lesser scale, I still experience anxiety when I go for a few days without doing anything, and COVID has certainly not helped.


Anxiety is believed to increase the level of adrenaline in your body. If gone undetected, it can cause you to worry excessively about things that are not in your control, such as a student worrying about whether the international borders will open for travel so that he/she can attend university. The wait can seem to go on forever.

What can be done to channelize this energy into feeling good about yourself? My personal mantra is “just breathe”. I know what you’re going to say now, it is easier said than done. But what I would like to say to you is, it will always remain “easier said than done” if you never try.


I have found that merely focusing on my breath coming in and going out can help me come back to the present moment. Also known as mindfulness, this method helps me become aware of what I am doing in that moment. It makes me realize that I have been worrying about things that do not exist in the present, rather, they are future possibilities (not certainties), which is one of the main characteristics of anxiety.

Mindfulness also works toward improving one’s self-esteem and self-acceptance. The mere act of focusing on my breath has helped me view myself as a person and not a machine, meant to only work and not enjoy the nuances of life. I have now learned to enjoy just sitting by the window and enjoying the light breeze that plays with my hair, reading an article and actually understanding what it is trying to say, rather than just staring at the screen and thinking of how I have nothing else to do right now.


Can it work for different people? Of course it can, as it has a scientific explanation to it. Research has found that mindfully attending to any activity you are doing daily, for example brushing your teeth, sipping on coffee, or like I mentioned before, breathing consistently for a few weeks or months can lead to the physical restructuring of your brain, a.k.a, neuro-plasticity. Being completely aware of what you are doing in the present moment leads to an increase in the grey matter in your brain. As grey matter is important for cognitive functions such as memory, speech, motor control, decision-making and emotion regulation among many other functions, it is beneficial to increase the amount of grey matter I your brain. The reason that I, and most people practicing mindfulness focus on breathing is that grey matter expands more when more oxygen reaches the brain. Also, 95% of the oxygen that reaches the brain goes directly to the grey matter.


Stepping out of the scientific explanation, breathing and being aware of yourself in the present moment helps you take one step at a time, instead of staring at the big picture and the “what ifs” for a while, which I think people need in their lives.


So all I have to say is, think about it, give it a go, all you have to do is, just breathe…….




About the Author

Kanak Dixit is currently pursuing her Master's in Counselling Psychology from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. She is keen on working with people suffering from body image issues as it is a very commonly experienced yet hardly ever discussed topic. She wishes to better people's perceptions of their bodies and how they are beautiful for who they are and not how they look. Kanak has trained in Bharatnatyam for 15, years under Mrs. Swati Daithankar and is now pursuing training in western dance styles- Jazz, contemporary and modern dance for the past 5 years.


0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


Subscribe Form

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

©2024 by The Secret Ingredient

TSI MENTAL HEALTH LLP | LLPIN/CIN/DIN: ABB-3603

Regd. Address: PL 107, S. N. 26, Kshitij Apts, Dahnukar Colony, Kothrud, Pune- 411024

Contact: Abhishek Bhave +91-9921734200/ +91-9049568676 | Email: info@tsimentalhealth.com

bottom of page