An Introduction To Breath Work
This post is in partnership with AXA PPP healthcare, whose mindfulness event I was kindly invited to attend.
Having been a yoga teacher since 2015, and a yoga student since many years prior, breath work is an essential part of my daily life. It helps me to slow down, to avoid exploding with emotion in stressful situations, and to be content with the present despite external factors.
When I was teaching regularly (I haven’t taught much since having a baby!), I used to get asked at the end of almost every meditation class, “How can I meditate at home?” …and I used to direct people to videos scattered across YouTube, demonstrating various breath work practices.
Well, now there’s a better destination for all things breath work! On Wednesday, I attended a #Headstrong mindfulness event with AXA PPP healthcare and their wellness guru, Richie Norton. We flowed through a slow movement meditation, and at the end of the class we learned all about the videos that they’ve put together in order to help people take an active approach to mental health.
What is Headstrong?
Headstrong is an initiative developed by AXA PPP healthcare to help combine the worlds of mental health and physical health, focusing on ‘complete health’ through treating our minds in the same way we treat our bodies in order to stay healthy: with attention, activity, nourishment, and rest.
The series of Headstrong videos is accessible to beginner meditators, as well as helping more seasoned yogis (like myself) to reconnect with visual and aural reminders of how to reset with short stints of mindful practice - ideal for me at the moment, as time is so short with a messy toddler running around!
Videos include:
An Introduction To Breath Work
Breath Work Basics - Balanced Breath
Breath Work To Help With Sleep
…and many more!
Feeling a little lighter after the #Headstrong 1-hour session
I’ve linked to one of the #Headstrong videos below - An Introduction To Breath Work, with Richie Norton. I figured this would be the best one to introduce you to the series, and if you find it as engaging as I did, you can go from there and watch the rest of the series in your own time.
