digitaldetoxprojectdigitaldetoxprojecthttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/blogSocial media: Is it really the brain-killer we fear?]]>Sharon Harveyhttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2017/04/23/Social-media-Is-it-really-the-brain-killer-we-fearhttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2017/04/23/Social-media-Is-it-really-the-brain-killer-we-fearSun, 23 Apr 2017 04:52:25 +0000
Article written by Tianna Nadalin, BodyandSoul, February 4, 2017
THERE’S something about that little red bubble that pops up whenever you have a new notification on social media.
Before you have time to register, your thumbs are keying in your phone’s pin code and you’re refreshing your screen to find out how many people have liked that oh-so-witty status update you made about that neighbour’s Halloween costume which turned out not to be a costume at all.
This obsession with monitoring social media, even despite the fact that it brings no joy and, in many cases, even produces negative emotional outcomes, has given rise to a new class of virtual dependency.
“On social media you don’t have body language or voice tone or eye contact.”
AN ADDICTION?
Dopamine, often referred to as the ‘motivation molecule’, is the neurotransmitter in charge of the brain’s reward centre. It allows us to have feelings of joy (in some cases, even euphoria) and is responsible for that rush we get when we achieve a goal.
Also often associated with addiction, it’s the chemical the brain releases when people take drugs, have sex, eat chocolate, shop, gamble or, in the digital age, log on to Facebook or Twitter.
“When you use social media, your brain releases dopamine, which is like a fountain in the brain that accesses and puts the brain into a state of pleasure,” Susan Greenfield, neuroscientist and author of A Day in the Life of the Brain, says.
“The mistake is when it becomes the alternative to real communication.”
“Many people appear to be, by definition, addicted to social media; they need constant stimulation.”
It’s this constant need for stimulation, coupled with decreasing attention spans and a human tendency towards self-aggrandisement, Greenfield explains, that’s changing the way we communicate and behave in the real world. And it’s the younger demographics, she warns, that are most at risk.
IDENTITY CRISIS
Over the last decade, Greenfield says social media has started to impact interpersonal communication and identity.
“On social media you don’t have body language or voice tone or eye contact - all those things are really important for establishing empathy with people,” Greenfield says.
“You’re missing out on a fundamental dimension of communication that humans have had for centuries.”
“Nowadays, people are just subjected to an onslaught of second-hand images from someone else.”
Greenfield says many of the obsessive-compulsive behaviours people exhibit on social media - such as a lack of empathy, constant need for feedback and, ironically, a decrease in social skills - have some parallels with “autistic-like” behaviours.
The bigger issue, Greenfield says, is the way social media is affecting identity — or construction of the self.
She adds that construction of the self begins in childhood and believes early exposure to social media is, at least in part, why we’re seeing increasing numbers of children suffering from serious issues such as depression and anxiety.
Having days or times to go offline gives your brain a chance to reboot.
“As a child, the box didn’t ask you to climb into it,” she says. “It was just a little bit of cardboard that you wove a story around.
“You were in control; using your imagination to generate a story.
“Nowadays, people are just subjected to an onslaught of second-hand images from someone else. They’re no longer making up the story.”
By encouraging children to embark on creative activities away from the cyber realm, they can express themselves beyond just ‘liking’ the posts of others or worrying if they measure up.
“In so doing, they begin to develop a sense of self that’s autonomous and more grounded than in often unrealistic cybersphere.
Maintaining a sense of “real” communication beyond social media is essential.
“The best we can do for our children is give them resilience and confidence and that’s difficult to achieve without an identity,” Greenfield says.
KEEPING IT REAL
“For people who have a solid background of real friends in real life, social media can be hugely beneficial, as long as it’s used as an adjunct to your real life,” Greenfield says.
“The mistake is when it becomes the alternative to real communication.”
4 WAYS TO .BREAK THE HABIT
1 Have detox times
Allocate days or time where you go offline. This gives your brain a chance to ‘reboot’ without constant distraction.
2 Family meals
Eating together will remind you of how it feels to communicate with words rather than keystrokes.
3 Get outside
Burning up kilojoules is good for your health and being in nature will help you reconnect to the real world.
4 Read stories
This will divert attention span and imagination in a way that the screen never will.
]]>Get off your phone! Do you need a Digital Detox?]]>Sharon Harveyhttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2017/02/16/Get-off-your-phonehttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2017/02/16/Get-off-your-phoneThu, 16 Feb 2017 04:55:52 +0000
Have you been out for a meal lately and noticed couples, parents and kids paying more attention to their phones than each other?
I was at a fabulous new Brisbane restaurant last night and watched in fascination at a young couple scroll more than speak. If they spoke, it was to share something on their phone.
I went to an incredible concert a few weeks ago - an amazing quite emotive concert - and watched more people filming than experiencing. Were they going home to watch the concert on a small screen? There is no way you can truly lose yourself in the music if your brain is trying to focus and frame the shot. I know - I tried. Why? To share, to boast, to prove I go out (occasionally) and am still cool (sometimes)....it's nuts!
Recently a daycare centre in Houston wrote a notice to parents telling them to get off their phones because it was negatively affecting the lives of their children – it went viral. The irony!
It's so hard not be be distracted all day, it's like a constant poke on the shoulder; news alert! shopping alert! email alert! friend alert! time to go here! time to do that! time to check in on the complete stranger I'm following on instagram!
The world has gone crazy and I am going cray cray with it!
As adults, parents and employees many of us rely on technology to run our busy lives and at times our use of technology can get the better of us. As we grapple with our own problematic use of technology and 24/7 connection, we watch our children's fascination with digital devices and, at times, obsession with games, social media, apps & selfies.
We are constantly reminded about the concerning statistics around technology use (did you know that in Australia, 13.4 million Australians are now spending 18.8 hours per day online), the pace of change – new apps, new sites, new devices, and technologies association with existing and new mental and physical health conditions and social media tragedies.
On the flip side, we also know that technology can have amazing benefits and will continue to enhance our lives in ways we are yet to understand.
Is it time for a digital detox?
If you feel like you or your're family are losing grip with the real world - real world interactions, conversations, activities - how about booking into an Unplugged Camp and come away with some strategies and techniques on how to have a healthy relationship with technology.
The Unplugged Camp is one initiative from The Digital Detox project, which aims to create space away from the everyday which is fun, challenging, inclusive and activity based. The Unplugged Camp for Families gives families the opportunity to take time out to create and embed helpful technological boundaries, re-establish family connections, develop a more in-depth understanding of the interface between technology and human behaviour and have fun!
Our relationship with our family is our first, often most enduring, relationship so perhaps we should give ourselves the gift of family connection at a camp before re-connecting in a new and healthier way on our return to our busy, data-driven lifestyle
The next Unplugged Camp is on March 17-19 March 2017. The Camp includes 2 nights accommodation, all meals and healthy snacks, daily kids & adult yoga/meditation, campfire, workshops and adventure activies such as kayaking, a 100m flying fox, raft building, a family challenge. On the more relaxed side there is hiking, biking or just floating in the river.
Who would be most likely enjoy the camp?
Families with children (the sweet spot is 7-15 years) who are looking for an opportunity to pack the digital devices away for a weekend (parents included!) and re-discover the outdoors as a family in a outdoor education environment without the tents, the packing and unpacking, or cooking but with all the activities to stay busy or chill out.
Click here for Enquiries and Bookings
About the Digital Detox Project
The Digital Detox Project aspires to transform our communities’ relationship with technology. We support our community to create space in and away from the everyday, to foster awareness of what is important and the interplay between this and our use of technology. We share empowering and pragmatic ways to make conscious choices as to how we want to live our lives, connect with our families and lead our businesses.
]]>A forced digital detox - my personal nomophobic experience]]>Sharon Harveyhttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2017/02/13/A-FORCED-DIGITAL-DETOX-E28093-MY-PERSONAL-NOMOPHOBIC-EXPERIENCEhttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2017/02/13/A-FORCED-DIGITAL-DETOX-E28093-MY-PERSONAL-NOMOPHOBIC-EXPERIENCEMon, 13 Feb 2017 08:02:54 +0000
NOMOPHOBIA – nō-mə-ˈfō-bē-ə – an irrational fear of being without or unable to use your mobile phone.
I’ve been on Facebook since 2007, initially using it as a tool to keep connected with friends & family while living in India. But it is only lately – 9 years later – Facebook, Instagram and other social channels have become my little obsession. There is so much to read on topics of interest, so many people that inspire and motivate me and the connection to friends old and new is quite amazing (albeit a little voyeuristic). I flick constantly from topic to topic, picture to product and from one social channel to another.
The more powerful these phones get, the more we use and depend on them, and the more compulsive and nomophobic we become. — Jay Fidell, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 24 Dec. 2013
The irony is, I am embarking on a new project – The Digital Detox Project – and I am a prime candidate for the workshops I’m co-creating.
After all I have learned recently, I recognize I have a growing addiction – albeit mild in the scheme of other addicts. There are many of us who have this addiction to our devices yet haven’t labeled it and others remain completely and blissfully unaware.
The Forced Detox
The night before delivering our first workshop, I dropped my phone down the toilet. It died a slow death over the next few days (despite being immersed in rice). My Digital Detox Project partner seemed to delight in this tragic event, for she saw not only the irony and hilarity of it, she knew what would follow would create great content.
I was totally unprepared for the range of emotions that ensued, and ended up prolonging my forced digital detox so I could experience the whole gamut of reactions. I genuinely didn’t recognize how much I had come to rely on the device to feed activity for my brain.
Emotional Change
Panic
Firstly there was panic. Did I back up? What if I didn’t, how would I start again? What have I lost? My life was in that little piece of technology.
Anxiety
I then became quite fearful and anxious. I was driving out of town for the workshop, how would I be contacted if one of my children hurt themselves? What if the car broke down and I was stranded on the side of the highway (and subsequently smashed into by someone texting – it happens), or, what if I got lost and couldn’t use Google maps to get me to my workshop (which was somewhere in the boondocks) on time?
Insecurity
After the fear subsided which it did quite quickly, I was left feeling insecure. “No one could contact me, everyone will forget me, think I’ll eat some worms”. Poor me. I guess that is FOMO setting in – the Fear Of Missing Out – for those not in the know. I was unable to contact anyone when I needed them, nobody could contact me when they wanted me, and I would surely miss major world events as they unfolded and – I wouldn’t be able to comment!
Irritated
I became irritated over the next few days, as I realized my phone wouldn’t come back to life and I had to get a new one. I was irritated by having to queue at the service station and forced to look out the window instead of doing a sneaky swipe on my phone to see if my favourite Instagram mama had her third baby yet. (Yes I am acutely aware that I am not meant to use my phone at petrol stations). Irritated that I couldn’t check the radar to see if the storm that was brewing would hit where I was and irritated at the car GPS which didn’t recognize the Go Between Bridge and thought I was driving into the Brisbane River.
However, the negative emotions were slowly replaced with positive ones.
Acceptance
The panic, fear and anxiety subsided quite quickly as I began living the mantra ‘what is is – because it is – so let it go’. It was time to move on and accept the situation for what it was. I simply had to be organized – like back in the olden days. I could always be contacted by leaving someone else’s number or a landline. I could always find a phone or computer if desperate.
In Control
The insecure feeling of not being in control and contactable lead to a powerful surge of being in TOTAL control. I controlled who could reach me, when and how. I didn’t feel at all compelled to share my life for the sake of just sharing. I still had the ability use my laptop to check social media – if I wanted to. But after a few days I lost the urge to check on it frequently – I still did of course but it was scheduled, and fitted into tiny time slots when I could log on.
My brain seemed to calm down and the need to be constantly fed information subsided – I searched for it if I needed it, rather than it find me overloading me with irrelevant rubbish. I found focus when I was doing actual work online. The urge for the pleasure impulse I gained from checking my feeds faded – which is the dopamine hit we repeatedly and subconsciously crave. I became serene like the yogi when on the mat, I found clarity in my thoughts and I did way more exercise. (I went to bed earlier and slept more soundly, so got up earlier)
The blissful flow and creativity boredom brings is going to be lost on our children – the poor digital natives. Their brains will be naturally wired to constantly seek.
While being forced to look out of the window while waiting forever to fill up at the service station, I noticed a little sparrow. A sparrow! Sparrows are being chased out of Brisbane by those awful Myna birds and I haven’t seen one for ages.
Thus began the journey of really noticing things once again, in nature, in others and in myself. I felt surprisingly calmer.
In saying all of this however, as the weeks drifted by, I did get frustrated at not having access to some of the useful systems and apps and I did miss the online connection of a few close friends and family who live abroad. I also missed a bunch of school reminders that are sent only online and got into a lot of trouble from my children.
I am in the process of creating healthy habits with my brand spanking new smart phone. My commitment is to be in control; I will not allow my phone to control me.
So, I bid you farewell, it is time to sign off from anything that glows blue (yellow is OK) and transition into a blissful slumber.
About the Digital Detox Project
The Digital Detox Project aspires to transform our communities’ relationship with technology. We support our community to create space in and away from the everyday, to foster awareness of what is important and the interplay between this and our use of technology. We share empowering and pragmatic ways to make conscious choices as to how we want to live our lives, connect with our families and lead our businesses.
]]>Who would you unplug for? 4 ways to make the gift of renewal a reality.]]>Elizabeth Hugheshttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2017/02/07/Who-would-you-unplug-for-Four-ways-to-make-the-gift-of-renewal-a-realityhttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2017/02/07/Who-would-you-unplug-for-Four-ways-to-make-the-gift-of-renewal-a-realityTue, 07 Feb 2017 01:37:59 +0000
This morning when reading a number of LinkedIn posts I was reminded about the importance of fostering resilience in our lives as human beings, parents and leaders. Not the type of resilience that is about preserving at all costs, (better described as stoicism) but resilience that is built on renewal. No matter how great we believe we are or want to be in our roles, our relationships or in “powering through” – we need a break and, more often than not, in todays data driven and digitally connected world - a break from our digital technology.
Equally, the more conversations I have about the use of technology, I am reminded of the “tell him he’s dreaming” quote from The Castle. Having a break from technology is great in theory but HOW do I make it happen??? To start the conversation, I have four ways to help you make this gift of renewal a reality!
1. Be Honest – What is important to you?
Like our love of chocolate, a quiet drink after work or the soft cushions on our couch, sometimes digital technology can get in the way of other activities or relationships, which we or others believe would be better for us. These social expectations often contribute to the “should’a/could’a/would’a” list! Dump the list and be honest with yourself - what really matters to you and is your use of technology impacting on it? If it impacts on “real time” relationships that are important and you are ready to take time to work though the obstacles to renew these relationships (with self or others!) – move to step two.
2. Take baby steps…
Research shows that it is unplanned separation from our devices, which causes us the most anxiety. However, most of us – we are talking 60% - just don’t like giving up our phone. While a digital detox can create much needed space in our lives, some of us will need to learn to start digitally detoxing with small increments. If you need “baby steps” then start with proving you can do 15 minutes without technology then move to 30, 60 minutes, up to a couple of hours. Just taking these steps will help you become aware of your digital device autopilot and how much you do check your phone or use digital technology. To master these incremental changes you may need to be kind to yourself to “try, try again”.
3. Put it on the calendar
Whether you are going for increments of digital silence, meditation practice, sunset blackouts, a rest day, or your unplugged weekend off, put them in the diary like any other appointment. You will begin to learn the ins and outs of what you need, and it will become easier to tell when you need more or less unplugged time. It will also help you understand your current boundaries and manage the expectations of others. While many of us say it is our jobs, our work-obsessed boss or family commitments that we cannot safely disconnect – putting unplugged time on the calendar can help us notice where the real obstacles & expectations exist and manage them more effectively. You may even wish to make it fun and bring a friend, family member or your team along for the ride.
4. Get your affairs in order!
Before you plunge into any planned off-line time (usually 24 hours or more but that will depend on your current habits), getting your immediate affairs in order can make an enormous difference to your stress and anxiety levels. The five simple steps below puts you on track to making your unplugged weekend a reality.
Do a brain dump the day before to alleviate any stress and tension in your mind.Get in touch with your family, friends or work colleagues who usually expect an immediate reply and let them know how long you will be “unplugged”.Set an email auto replySend a temporary social media farewell (if this is your thing!)
The Gift of Renewal
The gift of renewal can come in many different ways, one of which is an unplugged weekend away. The Digital Detox Project’s first residential event - Camp Unplugged will be held at Garapine situated in the Mary Valley, 2 hours north of Brisbane over the weekend 17-19 March 2017. This weekend has been designed for family members who would love a weekend away from the everyday, with nature, adventure activities, craft and workshops and time out with the people who are important to them but without the distraction of digital devices or the chores of cooking or setting up tents.
Now you know how - Who would you unplug for?
Come and join us with your family in swapping virtual tweets with real ones and we'll send you back renewed and ready to return to your daily life with new strategies and habits to reclaim your life in the digital world.
For more details on Camp Unplugged at Garapine visit Camp-Unplugged or contact us today on info@digitaldetoxproject.com.au or call 0439 461567.
Elizabeth Hughes and Sharon Harvey
Co-Creators, The Digital Detox Project
About the Digital Detox Project
The Digital Detox Project aspires to transform our communities’ relationship with technology. We support our community to create space in and away from the everyday, to foster awareness of what is important and the interplay between this and our use of technology. We share empowering and pragmatic ways to make conscious choices as to how we want to live our lives, connect with our families and lead our businesses.
]]>Reclaim your life 24/7 in 2017! Join us at The Digital Detox Project]]>Elizabeth Hugheshttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2017/01/17/Reclaim-your-life-247-in-2017-Join-us-at-The-Digital-Detox-Projecthttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2017/01/17/Reclaim-your-life-247-in-2017-Join-us-at-The-Digital-Detox-ProjectWed, 18 Jan 2017 04:08:57 +0000
Digital technology creates so many exciting and inconceivable benefits and possibilities. As a result, people worldwide are finding it difficult to unplug. To thrive at work and at home in this fast paced, data driven world we need to build and sustain a healthy relationship with our technology, before it’s too late!
Today we invite you to join us and Reclaim your life 24/7 in 2017 in what will be an enlightening and inspiring journey.
Like any relationship - Sometimes we take it for granted!
As we are swept up in our roles as corporate employees, business owners and parents we often take our relationship with technology for granted with a raft of beliefs, reasons and justifications as to “why” it is what it is! With this internal conflict and myriad of external expectations it is difficult to STOP and notice exactly how it impacts on who and what was important to us. While we are looking for a level of peace, simple productivity, and human connection, one thing that is getting in our way is not our technology itself but our problematic use of it. This can be as simple as the use of our mobile phone, multi-tasking across multiple devices or a much higher dependence on connectivity. At times, we may feel anxious that if we disconnect from the chatter, ping, ring and buzz of our devices our incredibly noisy world might just collapse!
What’s happening at home and aboard?
In Australia, 13.4 million Australians are now spending 18.8 hours per day online, more than one in ten of us (12%) report “keeping up with social media” as a source of stress and the average person looks at their smartphone 221 times per day - once every 4.3 minutes! Psychologists are scrambling to keep up with problematic Internet use, which for some is morphing into digital technology addiction.
It’s not just in Australia, U.S. and Europe show that between 1.5% and 8.2% of the population suffers from some level Internet addiction. One in eight Americans suffers from problematic Internet use, according to a study published in The International Journal of Neuropsychiatric Medicine, and rates are even higher in many Asian countries. An estimated 30 percentor more of the Chinese population is classified as highly addicted to the Web.
It’s not simply the amount of time spent with the digital device that defines an addict, though, but how an unhealthy relationship with technology adversely affects someone’s mental and physical health, daily life, relationships and academic or job performance.
Impact of digital technologies on wellbeing, productivity & relationships
While it is an emerging topic and conclusions from the research investigating the impact of digital technologies on human wellbeing is yet to be agreed upon, research is showing that children who suffer from Internet addiction have an increased risk of depression, problems at school, obesity and carpal tunnel syndrome. There are new neurosis or conditions – like the fear of being separated from our mobile phone– nomophobia.The increase of depression and anxiety, ADHD and other attention deficit disorders and loneliness can have traces back to the use of technology depending on the individual affected.
From a health perspective, the use of digital technology can be exhausting for the mind, leading to burnout, anxiety and sleep disorders. Socially, the connectivity can impact on our relationships at home, at work and our relationships on-line can take on a life of their own. Productivity, learning and creativity can also be adversely affected. So to create this healthy relationship we need to ensure we can integrate technology into our lives in ways that we can get focused on what is important, stay calm, and build real relationships, which nourish and support us to adapt and flourish in our unchartered environment.
The “So What!?” or “Who cares?” factor
To reclaim your digital life, start with the question – “Why does having a healthy relationship with my digital devices matter to me?” If you have gotten this far in our article you probably already have a good idea, even at an intuitive level. However, we are not talking about what your boyfriend, wife, parents or boss say or the work or life goals you are using your digital technology to achieve – we are talking about what really matters to you. With this in mind, how does the way you use digital devices impact on this? For example, your family may be who matters most to you, notice how you use your technology around them – does it help foster your relationship with them? Or does it create conflict? Maybe it has no impact? Your answer is your “so what factor” and why you will want to make a sustainable change to how you use technology!
Mindfully engaging in technology use
The Digital Detox Project is not anti-technology; digital technology is a tool, which we use in our lives and work, in a digital age. We are about the mindful use of technology. When we engage in digital technology mindfully to assist with our mental health and well-being, relationships and productivity a different path emerges. For example, virtual reality has been identified as a potential useful option in the field of clinical psychology to treat post traumatic distress disorderand there have also been mental health benefits of gaming, including improved mood by triggering intense positive emotional experiences. E-based behavioural therapy such as The Mood Gym are designed to treat more than one difficulty at the time and they are relatively low cost, unobtrusive interventions, which can support primary care mental health services. However many of us are more familiar with meditation apps such as Head Space or Smiling Mind, staying in contact with family and friends across the globe with WhatsApp, the crowd funding capabilityof social media and the power ofonline communities for support
.
How to break the dependence on connectivity
There has been consensus in the field of psychology on the benefits of using mindfulness to treat problematic behaviour and addictions. Experts in the field say in order to treat technology addiction with mindfulness, the first step is to pay attention to when you use technology mindlessly and be non-judgmental about the behavior. Then reflect on the helpfulness of the device, and notice the benefits of disconnecting. As the three keystones of mindfulness are: Intention, Attention and Action, technology is said to interfere with mindfulness by causing the individual to forget what matters (intention), distracting them (attention), and then keeping the individual from taking action. With our mindless use of technology we are actually becoming less mindful and now is the time to take action!
What if I am concerned about this?
Let’s not beat around the bush here - if you’re concerned that you or someone close to you may be on the verge of crossing into digital addiction, don’t get feisty – get help! There are courses, camps, on-line and real timeseminars and on-going support. If it is time to reach out to a health care professional or psychotherapist there are treatment plans, facilities and programs akin to those originally designed for substance abuse. Whether you’ve just noticed the problem or have seen it worsen over time the good news is that there are a variety of available resources to help.
Reclaim your 24/7 in 2017
If you would like to know how to transform your relationship with technology click here for your copy of the “13 Tips to Reclaim your digital life and build a healthy relationship with technology” or to find out more about how this relates to you complete our “What’s your relationship with technology” quiz. If you would simply like to share your perspective or find out more about how we can help you, your family or your employees “Reclaim 24/7 in 2017”, contact us today on info@digitaldetoxproject.com.auor call 0439 461567.
Elizabeth Hughes and Sharon Harvey
Co-Creators, The Digital Detox Project
References and further reading
The Cabin (2015) Australia’s Internet Addiction: Outrageously Hard-Wired, April 26. Located: https://www.thecabinsydney.com.au/australian-internet-addiction-outrageously-hard-wired/
Shonin, Van Gordon and Griffiths (2014) Mindfulness as a Treatment for Behavioural Addiction
About the Digital Detox Project
The Digital Detox Project supports members of our community to create space in and away from the everyday, to foster awareness of what is important and the interplay between this and our use of technology. We share empowering and pragmatic ways to make conscious choices as to how we want to live our lives, connect with our families, run our businesses and aspire to fundamentally transform our communities’ relationship with technology.
]]>Breathe yourself to health and happiness]]>Sharon Harveyhttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2016/07/13/Breathe-yourself-to-health-and-happinesshttps://www.digitaldetoxproject.com.au/single-post/2016/07/13/Breathe-yourself-to-health-and-happinessWed, 13 Jul 2016 03:46:49 +0000
Breath is life. We could survive for days without food or water. But without oxygen we would die within minutes. It is amazing how little attention we pay to the importance of proper breathing in daily life.
The first sign of life outside the uterus is the first breath we take; it is the most important and forceful inhalation a human will ever make. It is our first life-affirming action, which enlivens our body making it suitable to sustain life in our new world.
For many of us, our lives are exceedingly busy filled with constant daily stress. We’re unaware that our breath is often fast and shallow and that we’re only using a fraction of our lungs. This can result in a lack of oxygen which can lead to different complications such as heart disease, sleep disorder and fatigue. Everything you do, the pace you keep, the feelings you have, and the choices you make are influenced by the rhythmic tempo of your breath.
By practicing deep and systematic breathing, we re-energise our body.
The two-way connection between how you breathe and how you feel was elegantly demonstrated in a study that observed how the breath naturally changes during joy, anger, sadness, and fear (Philippot, Chapelle, and Blairy 2002). The researchers induced these four emotions in participants and measured the changes in breathing. They found that there were characteristic changes for each emotion. In a second study, the researchers turned the observations for each emotion into breathing instructions. They had participants change their breathing according to those instructions, with no hint that the breathing patterns were connected to specific emotions. The study found that the breathing patterns reliably created the emotions they were associated with, without any other emotion cue or trigger. – Kelly McGonigal, PhD, Yoga for Pain Relief © 2009 p 25
How to breathe – one full breath
Sit or lie down comfortably. Relax the tongue and jaw, neck and shoulders. Keep your mouth closed and soften the eyes
Begin slowly by inhaling through your larynx via the nose. Use your larynx to draw the breath in filling your lower abdomen and stomach without stopping the movement
Continue to inhale smoothly until your rib cage expands sideways, your chest lifts and your collarbone risesPause at the top of the breath
Begin to exhale from deep down in your abdomen, drawing the breath up from below the bodyAllow the breath, the energy, to flow out of your lower body into the diaphragmThe abdomen sinks as the breath moves up through the rib cage expelling energy as it contracts the ribs, and moves into your larynx and out of your nostrilsNotice the energy of your breath leave your body
Your chest, ribs and collarbone are now fully relaxed
Pause at the bottom of the breath
To understand each element of the breath cycle, you can place your hands on your abdomen, ribs, chest and your collarbone to feel the lift and expansion with each inhalation and the drop and contraction with each exhalation.
Try practicing this throughout the day be it at the bus stop, washing dishes, sitting at your desk or in bed. Notice how it brings you into the moment. Try using this breath in moments of anger, stress, anguish, sadness or anxiety and allow the feeling of calm and composure envelope you.
Perhaps the most profound shift we can make in ourselves and the world, when noticing that we feel agitated, anxious, depressed or angry, is to bring awareness to the breath. Only then can we recognize our unconscious stress breathing patterns and start to bring ease to the breath, taking a gentle breath in and a relaxing breath out without hesitation or strain.
When we engage in such practices, we’re working with the monumental fact that breath is the link between body and mind. Thoughts and emotions affect the breath. And the breath affects thoughts and emotions.
“When the breath wanders, the mind is unsteady, but when the breath is still, so is the mind still.” ~ Hatha Yoga Pradipika
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