Busy Mind? Better Breath! Why Short Breathwork Helps Us Perform Better!
- Julie Jones
- Sep 4
- 4 min read
I’ll admit it. For years, I’ve resisted committing to a consistent breathwork practice.
Why? Because my mind is busy. I’ve always thought, “I can’t focus that long. I’ll just get distracted. I’ve got too much to do and think about.” And in telling myself that story, I’ve been robbing myself of two powerful things: mindfulness and the benefits of training my awareness of distraction.
But here’s the funny thing. Over the past couple of months, I’ve caught myself doing breathwork without even calling it that.
Just the other day, my wife asked me, “Is this some breathing technique? Because you’re doing it a lot.” as I let out a long and forceful exhale while attempting to get something we took out of a box back in the box…which is seemingly more difficult than it should be…every time!
But, as is often the case, she was right. I’ve been exhaling audibly, usually without realizing it, as I’ve carried around some stress from this summer. And apparently, it can be annoying 😊!
And it’s not the first time. Back in grad school, I used to take a deep breath, let out a long exhale, then say “okay.” My officemate, Dr. Pat Hill, used to tease me about it. She’d walk around gleefully saying “OKAY” as she smiled and chuckled. I wasn’t as aware of my habit and, thus, I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was self-regulating, resetting my system so I could think more clearly and focus on the next task. I had a lot on my plate…two GA positions, grad school courses and who knows what else…I’m sure it sounds like a familiar experience!
Now I find myself back at it – okay! And that’s a good thing…because it works!!
Our breath is one of the fastest ways to influence our nervous system. A long exhale, in particular, helps stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system (our body’s “rest and digest” mode), calming the heart rate and quieting stress responses. This isn’t just relaxation; it’s physiological regulation that allows us to think more clearly and perform better.
Even short, simple practices, like the annoying audible sigh I’ve been doing, are powerful.
Research shows that the “physiological sigh” (two short inhales followed by a long exhale) is one of the fastest ways to reduce stress and bring the body back to baseline. Studies like that done by Ma, et al. show that just a few minutes of slow, intentional breathing improves attention, mood and stress regulation.
Here’s the piece I missed and why I avoided it for far too long: breathwork isn’t about perfectly quieting the mind. It’s about noticing when the mind drifts and gently bringing it back.
And this simple act changes everything!
The act of noticing is the skill. And it is VERY powerful!
Every time we catch our wandering mind (which it does 47% of the time according to a Harvard study) and return to the breath, we’re building what psychologists call meta-awareness, and according to Schooler et al., this is directly linked to confidence.
How would this build our confidence, you ask, and what does this have to do with performance? Read on…okay?
Confidence doesn’t come from never losing focus. It comes from knowing you can reset and return when you do.
As athletes and high performers in all walks of life, we live in a world full of pressure, expectations, mistakes and noise. We will get distracted. We will make a mistake. We will get frustrated. We will get overly excited.
Breathwork gives us a reset button. It trains us to build awareness of when we’ve lost focus (Power Move #1 – choose one thought over another!), trust ourselves to return, no matter how many times we drift (Power Move #2 – we have a response-ability!) and calm our physiology under stress (Power Move #3 – manage or state!).
There’s no getting around it. These things WILL HAPPEN and we can bounce back from them BECAUSE WE PRACTICED!
Yes, we may lose it…but we are well versed in noticing it before losing it turns into losing more!
My audible exhale, whether the people in my household appreciate it or not, is my way of saying, “Okay. I’m back. Let’s go!”
And here’s the kicker! We don’t need 20 minutes on a meditation cushion or a ‘kum by yah’ song to sing. One or two minutes before practice, a meeting or a big performance is enough. Or two or three seconds in the moment will shift your ability to perform!! Try it right now!!
We’re not just breathing. We’re training our brains to notice, reset and reengage.
Maybe you should annoy the people around you 😊 and try this throughout the week! It’s this simple:
Take a deep inhale.
Exhale audibly, slowly, completely.
Say, “Okay.”
Notice how it shifts your state.
Want to add a simple pre-performance or meeting practice? There are a ton of ways to do it, but a simple 5 in, 5 out will do the trick. At this cadence, that’s only 12 breaths…in two minutes if I got my math right!
Remember, it’s not about doing it perfectly, the way someone else does it or for an amount of time you don’t have in your day! It’s about noticing, resetting and moving forward.
Your breath is always with you. And that audible exhale? It might just be the best “rep” you’ll take all day.
Julie
P.S. I’ve been traveling to campuses a ton so far this fall. Let’s add yours to the list! Shoot me an email or text – juliej@ssbperformance.com or 234-206-0946
Julie Jones
Mental Performance Coach
SSB Performance
juliej@ssbperformance.com • 234-206-0946
Comments