Whether you’re yearning for pizza, jonesing for a donut or hankering for any other junky, sugary or carb-heavy snack, cravings relief could be as easy as breathing deeply and taking a short walk.
It’s my pleasure to introduce you to a simple concept called breathwalking.
An ancient practice going back several thousand years, breathwalking is rooted in several spiritual traditions, including the Zen Buddhism practice of kinhin.
[shareable cite=”Connie Bennett, The Cravings Ninja”]Kicking cravings is as easy as taking a walk![/shareable]With breathwalking, you’ll be more peaceful and contented, which, in turn, will help you to better control your cravings, according to research published in the medical publication, World Journal of Gastroenterology.
So how does breathwalking help?
What gives breathwalking its curative powers, according to researchers, is the combination of walking (which stimulates the circulatory system to improve brain function, release hormones, and elevate mood) and synchronized breathing, which calms the metabolism, stabilizes heart rate, and releases the serotonin ‘feel good’ hormone.
The Simple Steps:
- Warm up for 10 minutes, moving your arms and legs while , doing conscious deep breathing and inflating your stomach with air and slowly exhaling.
- For five minutes, mentally scan your body from your feet to your head, while walking with conscious awareness to synchronize your
- Then for a few minutes (preferably 25 minutes, walk more quickly, while inhaling and exhaling and mentally repeating short mantras such as “I feel healing compassion for myself.”
- For five minutes, slow your pace.For the final 15 minutes do stretching exercises, concluding with a meditative visualization. (For example, visualizing yourself as being happy, contented, in control of your thoughts and life.)
To do this process more quickly, try this simple version, created by Jim Nicholai, M.D., author of Integrative Wellness Rules: A Simple Guide to Healthy Living.
- Calm your mind by taking breaths in, four breaths out, and matchyour breaths with your stride.
- Take your breaths deep into your belly, so your diaphragm vacuums the air in and out to heighten relaxation and blood circulation.
“Remember that breathwalking—as with any meditation technique—should not be pursued with a grim determination to ‘get it right,’” advises bestselling author Andrew Weil, M.D. in The Huffington Post.
“The point is to cultivate openness, relaxation and awareness. Be patient and gentle with yourself as your persist in the practice, and you will soon enjoy the twin blessings of a more peaceful mind and a more fit physique.”
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