I recently re-learnt how to bring awareness to my breath. Breath awareness is a simple yet powerful practice which bring our attention to the present moment: the now. Yoga means union of body and mind, and one unifying pathway for this connection is the breath. With an inquisitive spirit, you may experiment with integrating breath awareness in daily activities, from walking to shopping vegetables. Depending on the experiment, you may notice a shift in your physiology and even your emotional state.
The breath is facilitated by the respiratory system, which counts millions of receptors: chemical, pressure, and stretch receptors.
With every breath microscopic stretches in receptors fire in the little pouches in the lungs (the alveoli). According to Dr Brown and Dr Gerbarg, changing breathing patterns may change the interoceptive messages going from the respiratory system to the brain.
When we breathe consciously, the activation of the vagus nerve, a major pathway of our rest and digest autonomic nervous system may occur, and so our body and mind may surrender to relaxation.
Dan Brule wrote extensively in Just Breathe on how our breath acts as a portal through which we can send message to our brain to calm our mind.
Breath for thought!
Why not try? All you need to do is notice your breath.
Reference: Just Breathe, Dan Brule