By  our breathwork guru Lynsey Chan

The stress epidemic

Let’s face it, we are living in massively stressful times. Life is busy and we are feeling the crunch! Being “stressed out” is a standard response to being asked “how are you” these days. Even the World Health Organisation formally recognised ‘burnout’ as a medical condition.

No wonder burnout is at its peak, and stress, anxiety and overwhelm is so prevalent. The modern day professional/family person has so many hats to wear, so things to juggle and never enough time to just “chill out!” Sound familiar?

What if stress is just energy?

Most of us know that stress is an accumulation of hormones, chemicals and energy in our body that hasn’t had a chance to work through our system, to be processed or released. It is easier to let go of stress when we have the tools and time to do it. As humans we have an amazing capacity to hold stress and still function and perform but ultimately if we aren’t finding a way to “let it go”, chronic stress or burn out is certain to happen! The question is, will you prioritise yourself?

The answer lies in our breath

Our breath offers us the quickest way to access and control our energetic system. Through the breath we are able to change our mental, physical and emotional states of health in the moment. Not only are we able to let go of things more effectively and calm our system, we are able to respond more appropriately and in calmer ways in situations that may otherwise have ‘triggered’ us, we make better decisions, our energy increases and we keep ourselves much more focused.

Choosing to let go right now

Our exhale is our quickest way to “let go” in any given moment.

We invite you to take 10 big, long exhales to let go right now. Breathe in fully, shoulders are relaxed. Exaggerate the sigh as you exhale (make a noise if it comes!) and let your diaphragm fall on the exhale as you let go completely and deeply. Make sure your belly is fully relaxed as you exhale and notice your energy move from your chest to your belly. Imagine energetically letting go of whatever you need to as you relax further into each deep exhale.

Feels good right? This is just one quick and very easy way to “let go” and change your state in the moment.

There are many more techniques and practices that we offer that will help take your practice much deeper. Conscious Connected Breathwork is another powerful technique and is used to intentionally move and re-balance energy. It provides us with an incredible opportunity to release stress and have some “big shifts” that we often need.

Come along to a group Breath-work event or book in for a 1:1 guided Breath-work & Mind/Body Therapy session. Contact Lynsey directly for more information [email protected] and visit her website to keep updated with all things breath and wellbeing related!