How to Get Over a Bad Mood by Cultivating Breath Awareness
Whenever you feel sad, mad, nervous, or out of control, write down the thought that underlies your unhappiness and ask yourself: Is it true? Can you absolutely know it’s true? Don’t allow your mind to be infested with negative thoughts.
-Dr. Daniel Amen, author of “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life”
Bad moods and bad days are a non-negotiable part of life. No one escapes them. Bad moods are neither good nor bad things per se. (Neither are good moods, by the way.) Sure, they’re not fun to experience and can often derail our entire day or even days. They can be frustrating and draining on our energy and mental health. Who doesn’t know what it’s like to feel hijacked by a negative mood you can’t quite shake off or get over.
It can often feel as if you’re at the mercy of your emotional responses and automatic negative thoughts; as if they control you and there’s nothing you can do about it. But you actually have more power than you think during those moments. There are specific simple things you can do to create a positive effect in the face of overpowering negative emotions. “Bad” moods can be informative and transformative if you’re willing to shift your perspective a bit.
Moodiness isn’t “good” or “bad.”
It’s neutral. It provides us with clues about what’s going on underneath the surface of our awareness. They’re like the tip of the iceberg of our inner world – the world of our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, perceptions, fears, etc. A particularly bad mood can be like a tape caught on loop and overdrive.
Except the tape is our mind and we tend to loop hard when we’re bothered/ pissed/ annoyed/ disappointed/ overwhelmed/ irritated. You get the idea.
So what do we do?
We start breathing.
Our breathing patterns are intimately tied to our emotions.
Influence one, and you also impact the other.
They form what’s called the Breath-Emotion Loop:
1- Our emotions, thoughts, and moods influence our breathing patterns.
Next time you’re in a mood pay attention to your breathing pattern. You’ll probably notice it’s short, shallow, erratic and/or quick. Then notice your breathing next time you feel calm, safe, deep in concentration, or at ease. Notice it’ll probably be slower, longer, even-paced, and/or deeper.
2- Our breathing patterns can influence our mood.
If you were to start breathing rapidly taking short and shallow breaths you’ll likely start feeling either awake and alert, or anxious and on guard.
And so, if you begin breathing slowly and deeply you will most probably begin to feel less uneasy and more relaxed.
Paying attention to our breathing patterns can tell us a lot about our mood.
Often times we’re not even aware we’re in a mood until something or someone on the outside reflects it back to us and it’s only then that we realize.
We can become more still and present by consciously controlling our inhales and exhales, and that’s how awareness is born.
And this is also yoga. Mindfully paying attention to our breath means noticing and observing it without judging it and without having the need to change it in any way. Just noticing the inhales and exhales. Becoming so awake, aware, and present that we can actually start to feel the inner waves our breath creates.
Bringing full awareness to the sensation and feeling of the breath coming into the nostrils and coming out of the nostrils.
If a thought comes, (which it will, especially if you’re in a mood!) simply bring your attention back to the breath.
Each time the mind wanders, just bring it back to the present moment – the moment where you’re breathing just as you are. Right here, right now.
By cultivating this simple daily habit, we can start to shift the way we feel right now, so we can eventually also shift the way we perceive our reality and our experiences. This inevitably creates empowering changes in our mood and temperament. This is how we use our breath and our awareness to get over emotional humps and hurdles more quickly, more efficiently, and more productively. Email us!
Reference:
https://dailycup.yoga/2019/03/20/how-to-get-over-a-bad-mood-by-cultivating-breath-awareness/