Building resilience is an ongoing process that takes time, but small, consistent efforts can lead to significant changes in your ability to cope with life’s challenges. If you engage in mindfulness exercises, such as meditation or breathing techniques, at least 5 minutes each morning before you start your day can have a significant impact on your mental wellbeing.
You may have heard meditation and breathing exercises help manage your emotions in stressful situations. However, do you know how it works? Deep breathing directly influences the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is a part of the autonomic nervous system that helps the body relax and digest. It's also known as the "rest and digest" system and is slows down or shuts down when your body is under stress. Stress generally indicates to the body to either fight, flight, or freeze to survive dangerous situations.
If your body stays in prolonged states of high stress (fight, flight, or freeze) then your hormone (such as cortisol) levels can cause health issues such as basic weight gain to extremes, such as autoimmune and even cancer. No one consciously chooses to develop horrible illnesses, even though our life choices influence them.
Mindfulness practices like breathing exercises and meditation help us to focus on the present moment to reduce anxiety about future uncertainties. Living in fear such as worrying about all the possible “what ifs”, is the #1 source of stress and suffering. I heard something recently, “Fear and faith are both invisible, so we may as well believe in faith.”
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