Post by Mindfully Empowered in partnership with Words Alive!

Mindfulness trains us to pay attention to what we are experiencing in the here and now. One of the most powerful ways in which we train our attention in this way is by learning how to follow and focus on our breath - otherwise known as mindful breathing. As Jon Kabat-Zinn says: “If you’re breathing, there’s more right with you than wrong.” Our breath can be a powerful tool when we are stressed, worried or angry in helping to calm our minds so we can respond in a thoughtful way rather than react in a way we later wished we hadn't.

With this in mind, we would like to introduce you to a few mindful breathing exercises in the video. These exercises include counting breaths, 4-4-8 breathing, and 5 finger breathing.

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Reading Extension:

“Keeping Quiet” by Pablo Neruda

Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.
For once on the face of the earth,
let's not speak in any language,
let's stop for a second,
and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines;
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves
with death.
Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead in winter
and later proves to be alive.
Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.

Writing Response: After trying these mindful breathing exercises, what do you notice? How did it feel to pause for a moment to “keep quiet”? Which breathing exercise feels the most comfortable for you? How can you plan to use the breathing exercises in the future? If your mind wandered while trying to “keep quiet,” what did you think about? How did you refocus your mind and “keep still”? What other things can we learn from the earth and nature?