STOP ! Take a breath. Consciously Inhale. Then exhale. You just used, in my humble opinion, the most powerful tool your body has.
Breathing is the most basic thing we do. It’s automatic like blinking, digestion or our heartbeat—but the way we breathe has a huge impact on our energy, focus, emotions, and stress levels. When we breathe efficiently, we optimise our health and wellbeing, when we don’t, it can directly impact our long-term health. Once you realise that, breathing stops being boring and starts being a quiet superpower. Trust me I know.
I started breathing very inefficiently and noticeably in my late 40’s, just as I went into peri-menopause. It started with not being able to draw a full breath quite often throughout the day and was really unnerving. I was diagnosed with ‘air hunger’ and had breathing physio sessions. These were great, but did not fully resolve the problem until I did a breathing course with Functional breathing Practitioner Dr Louise Oliver. This single handedly made my breathing efficient, controlled and in turn my sleep, energy and focus has improved dramatically. Menopause can really affect the way you breathe and it’s really important to be aware and informed of that.
Breathing Is the Remote Control to Your Nervous System
Your nervous system has two main modes:
- Fight or flight (stress, anxiety, urgency, sympathetic drive)
- Rest and digest (calm, recovery, clarity, parasympathetic drive)
Breathing is considered one of the fastest and most direct way to consciously switch between these two states
Shallow, fast breathing tells your body, “Something’s wrong.” Your heart rate climbs, muscles tense, thoughts race. Slow, deep breathing sends the opposite message: “You are safe.” Your heart rate slows, cortisol drops, and your mind clears.
In other words, your breath is a direct line of communication with your brain.
Many of Us Are Breathing… Poorly
Modern life quietly trains us to breathe inefficiently. The pace of life is fast, ‘tech driven’ with a lot of time hunched over screens, and we tend to live in a permanent state of low level stress. The result can be short, shallow breaths using the chest and shoulders instead of quiet, nasal breaths using the body’s breathing muscle, the diaphragm.
This kind of breathing keeps the body stuck in survival mode. You might feel:
- Tired but wired
- Anxious for no obvious reason
- Foggy or unfocused
- Emotionally reactive
The problem isn’t you—it’s the pattern and the good news is it can be retrained, as I did, very effectively.
Breathing also has another underrated Superpower: it pulls you into the present moment. You can’t breathe in the past or the future. Each breath happens now. When your mind is racing, focusing on the sensation of air moving in and out of your body gives your thoughts an anchor point, something steady to come back to.
Mindfulness practice, from meditation to yoga to martial arts, starts with the breath. It’s based on science and it works. Try this, just a few intentional breaths and see how you feel.
- Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, pause for 2 seconds
- Exhale slowly through your mouth with lips slightly open for 6 seconds
- Do this 3–5 times.
Have you noticed your shoulders have dropped, your jaw has unclenched, and your thoughts have slowed down? That’s your parasympathetic nervous system responding in real time. Breathing can calm and relax you, but it can also energise you.
Athletes use breath control to improve endurance. Singers use it to project power. Public speakers use it to steady nerves. Even a few strong nasal breaths can sharpen focus and wake up a sluggish mind.
Breathing is always available. You don’t need equipment. You don’t need perfect conditions. Just breathe.
Breathing won’t magically fix everything—but it helps creates space. Space between stimulus and reaction. Space between stress and response. That person thats annoying you, that irritating email, that waiting on hold on the phone – breathe and then choose how to respond.
Love Ginny