Inhale, hold, and exhale: How does this breathing technique impact your overall well-being? [Fridays: Mindfulness by Miles]
Miles Everson’s Business Builder Daily speaks to the heart of what great marketers, business leaders, and other professionals need to succeed in advertising, communications, managing their investments, career strategy, and more.
A Note from Miles Everson:
Hello!
Welcome to today’s edition of “Mindfulness by Miles!”
Every Friday, we talk about topics related to wealth, health, and our overall well-being. Our goal is to help you apply these topics so you can further improve your career and personal life.
Today, we’ll continue on with our topic on forming good habits, with a focus on a specific breathing technique.
Continue reading to know more about this mindful breathing exercise and how it can positively affect your well-being and overall response to stress.
Miles Everson
CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute
Mindfulness by Miles
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
Did you know breathing plays an important role in your overall well-being?
It helps bring your body into a state of relaxation, allowing you to replenish your oxygen levels.
Today, we’ll focus on a particular mindful breathing exercise. It’s called…
The 4-7-8 breathing technique!
Photo from ArtofLiving.org
The 4-7-8 breathing exercise is a breathing pattern developed by Dr. Andrew Weil, an alternative and integrative medicine practitioner. The technique is based on pranayama, an ancient yogic practice of controlling one’s breath.
In this type of breathing, a person is required to focus on taking long, deep breaths in and out. When done properly, this helps with:
- Reducing anxiety
- Falling asleep more easily
- Managing unhealthy cravings
- Controlling negative thoughts and emotional responses
It’s no wonder Dr. Weil calls the 4-7-8 breathing technique the “natural tranquilizer for the nervous system.”
How the 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise Works
MBO Partners’ CEO Miles Everson says when he read about this breathing method for the first time, he got curious enough to try it and see if it’s truly effective. Lo and behold, the 4-7-8 breathing method truly worked wonders in his body!
After doing it several times, he noticed positive changes in his overall well-being. He felt better in terms of managing his body’s fight-or-flight response, combating fatigue, calming his mind, etc.
That’s why he’s sharing this discovery with you!
He hopes you’ll feel compelled to try this breathing pattern too so you can also experience the health benefits he has experienced.
Here’s how to do the 4-7-8 breathing technique:
- Find a peaceful place to sit or lie down comfortably. Make sure to practice good posture when you’re trying out this exercise for the first time. If your goal in doing this is to fall asleep, lying down is the best position.
- Part your lips. Then, make a whooshing sound while exhaling through your mouth.
- Purse your lips. Afterwards, inhale silently through your nose as you count to 4 in your head.
- Hold your breath for 7 seconds.
- Part your lips again then make another whooshing exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds.
Repeat these steps for at least 4 full breathing cycles. You’ll see, doing this will help you experience a state of deep relaxation and give your body organs and tissues their much-needed oxygen boost.
—
Everson says breathing techniques are designed to calm the body and mind. These practices also help bring your body back into balance and regulate your responses whenever you feel stressed.
The 4-7-8 breathing method is particularly helpful for those experiencing sleeplessness due to anxiety or worries about what happened in the past, or what could happen in the future.
So, if you’re recently struggling in this area, Everson encourages you to try this breathing exercise! He has experienced its benefits, and that’s why he can confidently say that the 4-7-8 breathing technique will help you lessen the swirling thoughts and concerns that keep you from being able to rest properly and well.
We hope you find today’s topic interesting and insightful!
Incorporate the 4-7-8 breathing practice into your habits, and preferably do it at least twice a day. Whether it’s when you wake up, sign out from work, or prepare for bedtime, setting a time for this technique will help you adopt it as an ongoing practice.
Besides, it doesn’t matter much when you do it; it matters more that you actually do it. Everson states once you’ve gotten used to the 4-7-8 breathing exercise, you’ll be amazed at how easily you can experience lower blood pressure, improved sleep, less pain, and better concentration.
For those of you who’d like to talk to Everson more about this breathing technique, feel free to connect with him via his LinkedIn account. You may also subscribe to The Business Builder Daily to receive more mindfulness tips from him.
Have a happy and meaningful Friday, everyone!
(This article is from The Business Builder Daily, a newsletter by The I Institute in collaboration with MBO Partners.)
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Fridays: Mindfulness by Miles”
High-performance businesses are run by people who think and act differently.
In other words, these are people who are high-performing individuals.
Companies and individuals of this kind have found ways to escape the grind of commoditization and competition by focusing on the RIGHT goals.
High-performing businesses and individuals are also “return driven” businesses and “career driven” individuals. They conscientiously develop unique capabilities and resources that allow them to deliver offerings in ways no other firm or individual can.
Every Friday, we’ll publish tips and insights from MBO Partners and The I Institute’s “The Business Builder Daily” newsletter.
These will help you gain knowledge on the things that Miles Everson, the CEO of MBO Partners, often talks about regarding the future of the workforce.
We’ll also highlight other mindfulness advice on how you can be a high-performing individual both in your career and personal life.
Hope you’ve found this week’s insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s “Mindfulness by Miles!”
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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