There’s this euphoric feeling that comes after a good hike.
When you’re living the day to day rat race of life – you know, work, school, busyness, keeping up with everything and everyone – walking in nature is like a big breathe of fresh air. Hitting the trails, even on the weekends, is enough to wake us up to different areas of our lives that causes us to live surface deep. Kinda like breathing shallow.
Within our society there’s this survival mentality with a “more more more” attitude. And as technology develops and we become these masters of doing a million things at once – we may start to believe this is living. But truly living isn’t just about getting by. Rushing through the days. Wishing for a holiday 350 days of the year. Filling our time with people we really don’t feel we can be ourselves around. Never reaching beyond to see what else we have within us. And you may wonder – what does this have to do with breathing?
Breathing is something we do without consciously thinking about it – it’s what gives us life. In the hustle of the day to day, it’s challenging to stop and be conscious of how we are breathing. However, how we breathe from day to day can influence how we feel (hello, anxiety!) and our immune system. We’re not saying – quit your lifestyle. Quite the opposite actually. Being aware of how you breathe – shallow or deep – can make a difference in how you feel and perform in everything you do.
Check out this episode with Russel Brand, and the Ice Shaman, Wim Hof discussing the power of breathing on the brain.