This week: We’re talking about the benefits of breath work. These simple strategies can help with stress and increase productivity. The beauty of breath work is the fact that it’s always readily available to us if we just know how to tap into it. We take over 23,000 breaths per day, which means there’s tons of opportunity to practice and get better at all the benefits that breathing has to offer. The more we practice deep belly breathing, the more likely it will become to combat stress and increase productivity.

Find balance

Our minds are often all over the place, jumping from memory to memory. It can be hard to stay in the present because our minds are cluttered with so many elements of our lives. Regulating your breath has a direct correlation to finding a balance between body and mind. To start, simply try a deep, slow inhale for 5 seconds, then a slow exhale for 5 seconds. This grounding exercise is made to bring us back to the current moment, which can be especially helpful when the world around us feels extra overwhelming.

Reduce stress, anxiety, and grief

Think back to those deep, steady, and slow breaths you have right after a nap when you’re totally relaxed. This deep, belly breathing stimulates the vagus nerve which runs from the neck to the colon, which activates relaxation and lowers our heart rate and blood pressure. The more you practice belly breathing, the easier it becomes to discover feelings of calmness. When stressful situations arise, it’s nice to have this skill in your back pocket to combat the anxiety you feel rising.

Fix your focus

Staying focused at work isn’t as easy as it sounds — especially with a world of distractions right at our fingertips. To steer clear of burnout, make your day more efficient, and keep wandering minds in check, breathing is a simple solution to boost your productivity. Proper breath work exercises have the ability to help clear your head and improve your energy because it increases the airflow of oxygen going to your brain.