Basics Of Breathing

In this introductory exercise, we introduce mixed martial artists to the basics of breathing. A fundamental technique for strengthening mental mindsets.

Transcript

Hello,

And thank you for taking the time to download this guided meditation.

My name is Michelle,

And I will be your guide through this introductory breathing exercise.

Think of this like a mental workout,

An important part of training for combat sports.

First,

I want to explain that mindful breathing is one of the most fundamental exercises that cage fighters can use to change their mindsets.

Breathing exercises alone can have profound benefits by creating new neural pathways and strengthening old ones related to focus and attention.

These exercises are also the gateway to more advanced mental training.

For this reason,

We highly recommend becoming familiar with breathing exercises before proceeding to more advanced mental training.

Before we begin,

I want to reiterate what we're doing when we engage in mindful breathing so that you are aware of what's happening.

After all,

You breathe in and out anywhere from 15 to 25 times per minute without even thinking about it.

It just happens.

In actuality,

Breathing is controlled by your autonomic nervous system,

The part of your body responsible for other things you don't consciously think about,

Like heart rate and digestion.

What's different,

As you'll see,

Is that these exercises involve directing your attention to the breath and then bringing your attention back to the breath when the mind begins to wander,

Which it inevitably will.

That's it.

That's the stupidly simple difference between this kind of breathing and all of the other breathing you do.

And by doing these exercises,

You can change the way you react in stressful situations,

Responding calmly and strategically.

It may seem simple,

And it is in principle,

But if you're just starting out,

You'll see how truly challenging it can be in the beginning.

Once you master breathing techniques like these,

You will be able to activate,

Build,

And strengthen neural pathways associated with controlling your thoughts and emotions.

If not already apparent,

The connection between what we're doing and elite performance will become evident as you progress.

Now let's get started.

Find a comfortable sitting position in a chair or on the floor.

Position yourself with your back straight,

But comfortably so.

Picture your spine stemming straight up from your tailbone to the base of your neck,

With your head sitting softly and gently at the top of your spine.

With your body aligned,

Turn your attention to wherever you can most clearly feel the sensations of your own breathing.

Drawing your attention to where you notice the air passing in and out of your nose,

Perhaps where your chest rises and falls slightly with each inhalation and exhalation.

Or maybe your belly,

Where there are slight movements with the rhythm of your breathing.

Wherever it might be,

Bringing your attention now to this place and simply noticing the sensations of breathing in and breathing out.

When you're comfortable,

Close your eyes.

I personally find using a blindfold helpful,

But it's not necessary.

Do whatever works best for you.

By training your attention on your breath,

You'll begin to strengthen brain regions associated with focused attention.

This exercise fires neurons in brain regions that are not engaged in the same way during normal wakefulness.

Strengthening these regions of your brain will promote calmness in the cage.

Training on your breath without trying to change it in any way or manipulate your breathing or control it.

Training your brain to be less distracted by external stimuli and reducing your tendency to react emotionally.

Improving your ability to think quicker and more strategically when under pressure.

Simply observing your breath.

Befriending your breath.

Following it closely with your awareness.

Following the in-breath from its beginning to its end.

And following the out-breath from beginning to end.

Establishing your breath as an anchor to the present moment.

A way to connect with your experience right now.

With practice,

The breath can be used to trigger a relaxation response useful before and during a fight.

Continuing to follow the breath.

Focusing a slight pause at the end of the exhalation.

Just before your body starts to breathe in its next breath.

And staying in touch in this way,

Breath by breath.

Moment by moment.

You may notice from time to time that your mind is wandering,

That you are no longer focused on your breathing,

That your mind has become lost in thoughts,

Fantasies,

Anticipations of the future,

Worrying,

Memories.

Realizing that when this happens,

It is the nature of the mind to wander.

And without criticizing yourself,

Without judgment,

When you notice that your mind is wandering,

Simply note,

My mind is wandering.

And gently return your attention to your next breath.

Don't be frustrated when you become distracted.

Rather,

Be thankful for noticing and being able to redirect your attention to where you choose.

The breath.

There is no need to get caught up in the content of the thoughts,

The storyline in the life of a cage fighter.

Simply notice that you are thinking,

That you are no longer with your breath.

And very gently,

Redirect your awareness and your full attention back to your breathing.

Letting go of any thoughts of how long you have been sitting here or how many minutes might be left in this session.

That just simply staying with your breathing.

Approaching the next breath with fresh interest and new awareness,

As if it were the first breath of this sitting.

Each in-breath,

A new beginning.

Each out-breath,

Another opportunity to let go of the past and the future.

And following your in-breath and your out-breath,

One breath after the next,

From moment to moment.

As the meditation ends,

Give yourself credit for having spent this time developing the mental side of your game.

Feel grateful for being able to spend the time building the neural networks associated with being a next-generation cage fighter.

When you are ready,

Open your eyes and return to the present moment.

More relaxed,

More aware,

And more in control.

As you move back into the present,

Allow the benefits of this practice to expand into every aspect of your life.

More calm and focused.

Breathing exercises are the foundation of mental training.

Return to and repeat this and other breathing exercises as often as you like.

For more mental training exercises,

Including more advanced ones,

Please visit www.

Mymmabrain.

Com.

Reviews

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T 549-9525 544⁵6t5⅚ v+

Just the right amount of explanation and guidance, just as useful for a non-fighter.

Black Belt testing at my dojang end of this month. Will need to be in shape for the student candidates. Thank you! Keungye!

Thank you
This is amazing
👊🏻🤛🏻🤜🏻👏🏻👋🏻👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻🤛🏻

Strong and confident making! Love it. Thanks

Very basic, standard mindfulness breathing, but from a more interesting (for me) pt of view.

Great technique, not a cage fighter, but I am a golfer... Thanks!

Used a blindfold and indeed set my brain to concentrating on my breathing...not on blankness but on breathing...a worthy start! Thank you!

Simple and easy to follow. Highly appreciated.

Good,clear instractions,easy to follow,right amount of time. Thank you.

Really good! Thank you

I'm not as bothered by others that this was designed for Cage fighters or MMA. High performance focus CAN benefit other things, you don't have to subscribe to MMA. I dare say if people realised the actual origins of yoga, they'd spit out their gluten free, flax seed, organic latte in utter shock. (Hint: it was to ready Arjuna for war). Good intro to technique, speaker is very clear and unobtrusive.

A great training excercise to do regularly which will help with all meditations. Many thanks