Hello and welcome to this neuroplasticity and breathwork session.
Just a quick introduction.
Our brains retain the ability to change and form new connections throughout life,
A quality known as neuroplasticity.
We can change our personalities and our responses to the environment,
As quoted by neuroscientist Daniel Levitin.
This highlights personal growth and new thought patterns are possible at any age.
Breathwork is a powerful tool to facilitate this change.
Conscious breathing techniques can quickly shift you into a rest and digest mode,
The parasympathetic state,
By stimulating the vagus nerve.
Slow gentle nasal breathing with light volume and brief breath holds increases carbon dioxide in the blood,
Which sends your body to relax.
In this state,
Your mind becomes more receptive,
Allowing you to introduce and reinforce positive thoughts and affirmations that,
With repetition,
Will rewire your brain over time.
Consistency is key.
Even a few minutes of daily practice can lead to lasting mental and emotional shifts.
Now let's begin with a quick warm-up exercise to prepare your breath.
Place one hand on your abdomen,
Close your mouth,
Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth,
And breathe in and out slowly through your nose.
Breathing in,
Drawing air into your belly,
Feeling your abdomen rise and expand under your hand.
Then,
Exhaling through the nose,
Feeling the tummy empty.
Keep doing this.
Now,
Imagine there is a feather underneath your nose.
Breathe in and out your nose,
As if not to disturb the feather.
Low,
Slow,
Gentle.
This is bringing down the volume that you breathe in and out,
And allowing carbon dioxide to build.
The carbon dioxide triggers the vagus nerve,
Slowing your heart rate.
It also triggers the release of more oxygen molecules off your haemoglobin into your tissues,
Increasing oxygen absorption.
You are also breathing in nitric oxide,
Which is produced in the nose,
Which allows for smooth muscle relaxation,
Opening up all your blood vessels,
And dropping your blood pressure.
This is all calming the mind,
Bringing you into rest and digest.
Notice warmth in the hands,
And increased saliva in your mouth,
Indicating rest and digest.
This state will allow you to be more creative in changing your neuroplasticity,
And changing your thoughts to positive ones.
Now,
Let's shift the focus from the breath to the mindset.
We all operate under certain paradigms,
Habitual thoughts or beliefs that influence how we act.
Some of these paradigms,
Like I can't speak confidently,
Or I'm not good enough,
Can hold us back.
The good news is,
Just as you've practiced physical exercises to improve your breathing,
You can practice mental exercises to change these limiting beliefs.
One effective exercise to reframe a limiting belief into an empowering one.
We're going to do this.
Simply fill in the blanks activity.
Identify an old paradigm.
Now imagine and say it to yourself in your mind.
I used to believe.
.
.
Then,
Something like,
I used to believe my voice wasn't strong enough to speak in public.
Flip that around,
And change it,
And repeat to yourself over and over.
My voice is strong enough to speak in public.
This is just one example.
Think of a belief you have that is negative.
Turn it around.
Now say it to yourself,
Repeating over and over for the next 30 seconds.
The same paradigm,
But in reverse.
Turn it into a positive.
Combining this breath work,
And repeatedly saying to yourself in your mind,
A positive statement,
Will eventually change that paradigm.
It won't happen instantly.
Just like strengthening a muscle,
It takes repetition.
Try to incorporate this reframing exercise into your daily routine.
You might need to journal the statement as well,
Every morning,
And use it as a mantra during your breath work.
The more consistently you declare your new paradigm,
The more you reinforce a positive mental pathway in your brain.
Over time,
Your mind will start to adopt this new belief as its default,
Especially when you back it up with action and practice.
Remember,
Nasal breathing only,
Bringing you in to a parasympathetic state,
Rest and digest,
Where the brain is calm and focused.
Then,
Whatever the statement may be,
Repeat it to yourself over and over as you do the breath work in your mind.
It takes repetition,
It takes time,
But you can change negative thoughts into positive ones,
And then change the environment around you for a more positive result.
