The number of people dealing with burnout, anxiety disorders, and insomnia is on the rise, with over eight million people in the UK alone suffering and only 50 per cent of those seeking treatment. As we continue to navigate a post-pandemic world and the economic pressures that have punctuated 2022, it seems we’re more stressed than ever before, and understandably so – but while the issue might seem unsolvable, something as simple as focusing on your breathing could be the key to reducing feelings of stress to more manageable levels and restoring a sense of calm.
Meditation and mindfulness have long been recognised in health and wellness circles as crucial tools when it comes to stress management, and just ten minutes a day has been shown to help people feel more serene and better equipped to face life’s challenges. But now, breathwork is enjoying a moment of its own, and contrary to popular belief, the three are not the same.
Breathwork is about consciously directing your breathing in a certain way to influence certain processes in the body and mind, and is more than just a cognitive process. There are a variety of different techniques and breathing patterns that can be followed, depending on the required outcome – and although the majority of people use it to reduce anxiety levels, it can also be used to boost energy levels and calm anger – as well as a host of perhaps less obvious uses like boosting the immune system and enriching creativity.
Because of the multitude of different possibilities and methods to choose from, getting to grips with what works for you can prove challenging for your average individual – that is, until now. Belgian start-up Moonbird has finally made the practice accessible, going one better than the endless apps and podcasts currently flooding the wellness market and by creating a unique and innovative device that acts as your own personal breath coach in your pocket.
Breathing exercises are more effective when done regularly, but as well as feeling a little overwhelmed by how to get started, many people struggle to be consistent with creating and maintaining the habit. Moonbird wants to change all that, and its sleek, and compact tool guides your breathing slowly by expanding and contracting in the palm of your hand, whilst providing feedback on your heart rate and how your body relaxes via a connected app on your smartphone – putting users in control and providing with some much needed motivation and incentive to continue.
“Being a bad sleeper myself for years, and convinced of the positive impact of breathing techniques, I felt a need for an intuitive tool guiding your breathing, but different from what already existed – like smartwatches and apps,” says Stefanie Broes, CEO and co-founder of the brand.
“That’s why we developed Moonbird: a device that gives you a pace to match with your breathing, triggering deep relaxation.”
The power of the breath is often overlooked, particularly with fast-paced, busy lifestyles to navigate – but in actual fact, it’s our most powerful tool to help reduce stress and anxiety and is something we all have access to, anytime, anywhere – and even more so with the help of Moonbird.
For centuries, breathing exercises have been used as a means of resetting the nervous system and calming the body and mind, and the popularity of recent TV programmes like ‘Freeze the Fear With Wim Hof’ have shone a spotlight on the virtues of breathwork and brought it firmly into the mainstream.
While breathing is a natural process that occurs on autopilot – that is to say, without us even needing to think about it – few of us are leveraging the benefits that can be gained from long, slow, deep breathing. Done correctly, it helps to rid the lungs of accumulated stale air and increase both oxygen levels and our tolerance to carbon dioxide, calming the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response and slowing the heart rate to reduce feelings of panic, stress and anxiety.
But the possibilities extend far beyond this, and depending on the desired outcome, different techniques may involve making your breathing faster or slower, shallower or deeper, and focusing on nose or mouth breathing.
With Moonbird, you simply hold the device in your hand, place your thumb on the sensor and match the pace of your breathing to the contraction and expansion of the device, which in turn, helps you to breathe more slowly and more deeply and calm the mind as you focus.
Stefanie, who holds a PhD in pharmaceutical, and her brother Michael, co-founded Moonbird after spotting a gap in the market to make the benefits of breathing more widely accessible and understood.
With meditation and breathing exercises, there is often a sense of worry about whether or not you’re ‘doing it right’, which can in some ways, negate the positive impact of doing it in the first place. But with the Moonbird device, the doubt disappears and users can relax fully into their exercises, guided at every step of the way – and because you can literally see the positive effects of taking time out to focus on the breathe each day, you’ll also be able to manage your stress levels more effectively.
Moonbird is designed to be an effective, manageable and discreet tool that goes wherever you go to nip anxiety and stress in the bud as and when it happens.
Moonbird is available to purchase online at moonbird.life priced at £159.
Image credits: Christine Smeyers/Soulstudio.be-36
