This week’s tip is all about the power of belly breathing.
I know, I know. When I first heard about it I dismissed it because it was so low tech. I wanted something higher tech than breathing.
But you see, nothing communicates to our body, more eloquently than our breath, that we are safe.
Breathing literally calms us down.
It brings us back to good.
What do I mean by that?
Your body is incredibly wise.
One of her intelligent design features is that when you’re feeling stressed, she wants to run away from the stressful situation.
We’re simply not designed to eat while stressed. And if we do eat while feeling stressed—worried, busy, anxious—our digestive system shuts down, which leads to a poorly digested meal.
But, by breathing deeply 10 times before eating anything, it remedies this stress.
It communicates to your body that you’re safe.
It literally changes the biochemistry of our body by expelling the adrenaline, so we feel calm. It reminds you that the sabre-tooth tiger is extinct. There’s no famine either.
You’re safe. Really, you are.
This feeling of safety is vital, as it allows your body to break down and absorb nutrients and process the food.
So please, before eating anything, I encourage you to take the time to breathe deeply 10 times.
Why not incorporate deep breathing into your eating mindfulness practice?
You can always choose to feel stressed after your 10 breaths, but you probably won’t because you’ll be back to good.
I hope you found that helpful.
Please feel free to join me next week for more weekly tips and ways to make peace with food.
Have a super day!
