Wow, It's already the last day of half-term, what an incredible week it's been!
We sat in a lovely rooftop terrace at John Lewis with a view of Regent Street below us, all the hustle and bustle. We had the sun on our faces and the wind was steady. Sitting there and seeing the business below made me feel so grateful to have that time to just; sit and breathe.
I am currently sat in a Costa Coffee writing this blog post, I have just finished writing up all of my assignment stuff and collating documents for evidence to submit it all on Monday and enjoying some time to myself, listening to some Christian Praise & Worship on YouTube.
Breathing, it's something we do all day, but to have the time to 'relax' in a busy work and study schedule is difficult. I get those daily reminders on my Apple Watch to "Breathe" but swipe left to dismiss.
At work I want to build a culture within my team to ensure that we all, collectively make sure that on top of our normal lunch break, we take 2 minutes away from our desks to Breathe. Breathing is one of the most useful and fundamental things that we do as human beings and it has been proven that it can help with productivity and relieve stress and anxiety.
Breathing is the foundation of most meditation practices and its also something that is talked about in the Christian church and no doubt in other faiths, I believe we were born to breathe in good things and breathe out bad things, just like what's taught in Biology at school, the Human's respiratory system was made to breathe in Oxygen and breathe out harmful Carbon Dioxide.
There have been a number of times, during worship in my Church, where members of the congregation have had a word for the congregation about "breathing out anxiety etc." and "breathing in the Holy Spirit". This simple but deep message helps to remind me to refocus my mind on the things i am breathing in. Would it help you too?
You haven't got to have any Faith to do this, you just need to believe that it could work.
I want this blog post to encourage you to take at least a two minute break away from your workstation, whatever job you currently do, if you can do this outside, thats great.
Firstly set a timer on your phone, then find somewhere quiet or private to sit comfortably, put some headphones on with calm music if that helps you to relax and start by recognising your breathing by placing your hand on your chest, feel the breaths, Are you breathing fast or slow? How deep are your breaths? Are you struggling to stop thinking about work? Are there any barriers stopping you from doing this?, what are they?
Finally, after your two minutes are up, don't rush back to your desk but reflect on the process; was it something you enjoyed? was it something that has relaxed you? Did your breaths slow while doing it? Did something new come to your mind?, ask yourself these questions, make a note each day as the week progresses and reflect after the seventh time.
After a few days, you should begin to feel comfortable starting this exercise quickly and completing two minutes without the need for checking the time, I myself, am going to specifically choose a song that I know well enough to hear when it has reached 2 minutes.
COMMENTS: Anyone reading this, if you are going to do this, leave a comment below and I will try to check-in with you next week to see if it is been helpful for you or not! It would be great to get your feedback!
BIG LOVE
MATT
I only worked two days this week(lucky me), so I went to London on Wednesday with my wife to see the beautiful city that it is, visit the amazing array of shops on Oxford Street and Regent Street and also in the middle of our 15,000 step day, we found some time to just sit and relax.
We sat in a lovely rooftop terrace at John Lewis with a view of Regent Street below us, all the hustle and bustle. We had the sun on our faces and the wind was steady. Sitting there and seeing the business below made me feel so grateful to have that time to just; sit and breathe. I am currently sat in a Costa Coffee writing this blog post, I have just finished writing up all of my assignment stuff and collating documents for evidence to submit it all on Monday and enjoying some time to myself, listening to some Christian Praise & Worship on YouTube.
Breathing, it's something we do all day, but to have the time to 'relax' in a busy work and study schedule is difficult. I get those daily reminders on my Apple Watch to "Breathe" but swipe left to dismiss.
At work I want to build a culture within my team to ensure that we all, collectively make sure that on top of our normal lunch break, we take 2 minutes away from our desks to Breathe. Breathing is one of the most useful and fundamental things that we do as human beings and it has been proven that it can help with productivity and relieve stress and anxiety.
Breathing is the foundation of most meditation practices and its also something that is talked about in the Christian church and no doubt in other faiths, I believe we were born to breathe in good things and breathe out bad things, just like what's taught in Biology at school, the Human's respiratory system was made to breathe in Oxygen and breathe out harmful Carbon Dioxide.
There have been a number of times, during worship in my Church, where members of the congregation have had a word for the congregation about "breathing out anxiety etc." and "breathing in the Holy Spirit". This simple but deep message helps to remind me to refocus my mind on the things i am breathing in. Would it help you too?
You haven't got to have any Faith to do this, you just need to believe that it could work.
I want this blog post to encourage you to take at least a two minute break away from your workstation, whatever job you currently do, if you can do this outside, thats great.
Firstly set a timer on your phone, then find somewhere quiet or private to sit comfortably, put some headphones on with calm music if that helps you to relax and start by recognising your breathing by placing your hand on your chest, feel the breaths, Are you breathing fast or slow? How deep are your breaths? Are you struggling to stop thinking about work? Are there any barriers stopping you from doing this?, what are they?
Finally, after your two minutes are up, don't rush back to your desk but reflect on the process; was it something you enjoyed? was it something that has relaxed you? Did your breaths slow while doing it? Did something new come to your mind?, ask yourself these questions, make a note each day as the week progresses and reflect after the seventh time.
After a few days, you should begin to feel comfortable starting this exercise quickly and completing two minutes without the need for checking the time, I myself, am going to specifically choose a song that I know well enough to hear when it has reached 2 minutes.
COMMENTS: Anyone reading this, if you are going to do this, leave a comment below and I will try to check-in with you next week to see if it is been helpful for you or not! It would be great to get your feedback!
BIG LOVE
MATT
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