Is Meditation Focused On Breathing A Form Of Deep Relaxation?

Video Transcript

Is meditation focusing on my breathing sensations a form of deep relaxation?

To “meditate” means to focus one’s mind on something or to think deeply about something for a period.

The deep relaxation version of meditation is focusing one’s mind or thinking deeply about pleasing and relaxing concepts so the body will deeply relax.

Because of the close mind/body connection, where the mind goes, the body follows. As the mind becomes relaxed, the body becomes relaxed, reducing stimulation and giving the body rest. Deep relaxation creates the perfect environment for the nervous system to recover.

Regular deep relaxation teaches the body to be calmer overall, reduces the activity in the amygdala (the fear center of the brain), and builds brain mass in the cortex (where the anxiety brake resides).

Regular deep relaxation also teaches us to be in control of our thinking.

All these changes benefit anxiety disorder recovery, which is why regular deep relaxation is one of the “silver bullets” for overcoming issues with anxiety disorder and hyperstimulation.

If you find focusing your attention on your breathing relaxing and soothing, yes, it can be a form of deep relaxation.

However, if you are merely monitoring your symptoms with some trepidation, then, no, it wouldn’t be a form of deep relaxation.

For people who have become hyper-focused and worried about their breathing due to anxiety-caused shortness of breath, meditation focused on breathing wouldn’t be helpful and could create a greater fixation on it.

Since there are many ways to deeply relax, finding an alternative technique would be more beneficial in this case.