Breath Awareness: Why Learning to Pause and Notice Matters

Have you ever found yourself rushing through your day, moving from one thing to the next, without really noticing how you're feeling or what's happening in your body?

Perhaps you're holding your breath while concentrating, your shoulders are creeping up towards your ears, or your mind is racing ahead to the next thing on your to-do list.

You might not even realise it's happening.

I know I've certainly had moments when I've been so focused on what I'm doing, or what I think I should be doing, that I've completely lost awareness of what's going on within me. It's so easy to do.

And yet, having the ability to pause and notice our breathing can be one of the most valuable things we do in our day.

Let me explain what I mean.

A rather unexpected sea swim!

Recently, in October, I drove down to the beach to meet a group of sea swimmers I swim with regularly.

I hadn't been in the sea for about ten days, and although the air temperature had dropped, I wasn't expecting the sea to have gotten too much colder. In fact, someone had mentioned that a nearby buoy was recording 16°C, which sounded perfectly fine to me, particularly given it was higher than the air temperature.

So off we went, most of us now back in our wetsuits (I'd put mine back on about a month ago).

BUT the moment the water lapped over my feet, I knew I was in for a shock.

FREEZING! 🥶

When you're swimming in a group and have a bit of I don't want to get left behind energy, there's not much time for faffing around. So... in I went.

As everyone started swimming west, I attempted to follow. Except the cold had well and truly got me.

Face freeze made a comeback and I found it difficult to submerge my head. My breathing felt all over the place, and my ability to front crawl seemed to have disappeared entirely.

I seemed to have forgotten how to breathe... and swim for that matter!

Thankfully, I had the sense to stop. I stood up, felt the sand beneath my feet and allowed myself to pause and settle my breathing.

A lovely lady called Katie looked back, spotted me and asked if I was okay. I gave her a thumbs up, and between stopping, reconnecting with the ground beneath my feet, and knowing someone had their eye on me (a great comfort I take from being in a group), I began to feel calmer and more able to continue.

I also realised I hadn't even put my goggles on properly. They were still sitting on top of my head.

Once I'd settled, I started swimming again, properly this time. The initial face freeze eased, I got into my groove and had a really enjoyable swim.

And... I didn't get left behind!

What actually happened in those few moments?

Looking back, there were a few things going on.

The unexpected cold, combined with my thoughts about needing to keep up, likely triggered a stress response.

My breathing was all over the place, my attention narrowed, and even something as simple as putting my goggles on had escaped me.

When we experience stress, our nervous system can shift into a state of heightened alertness. This is part of our body's natural protective response. Our breathing may become quicker or more shallow, our muscles can tense, and our attention can become more focused on whatever our brain perceives as a challenge or potential threat.

In my case, there was a very real physical challenge - the cold water, but there was also the added pressure I'd placed on myself to keep up with everyone else.

My body was responding, and I was so caught up in trying to get swimming that I wasn't really paying attention to what I needed.

I needed to pause and let myself acclimatise.

Feeling the sand beneath my feet. Noticing my surroundings. Having someone check in on me. Allowing my breathing to settle before getting on with the swim.

That small pause made a difference.

It helped me regain a sense of control and return my attention to what I needed in that moment, rather than the pressure I'd placed on myself to keep up.

This is not dissimilar to how  many of us move through our everyday lives.

Not necessarily in freezing cold water, thankfully! But in those moments when we're rushing, feeling under pressure, trying to keep up or simply getting on with everything that needs doing.

How often do we stop to notice what's happening within us?

The connection between our breath, body and nervous system

Our breathing is something we often take for granted. It happens automatically, without us needing to think about it.

But our breathing is also closely connected to our nervous system.

When we're stressed, anxious or under pressure, our breathing patterns can change. We might breathe more quickly, take shallower breaths or find ourselves holding our breath without even realising.

We might also notice tension building in our shoulders, jaw or stomach.

These changes can be part of the body's stress response. And while they are often a response to what's happening around us, our breathing and other physical signals also feed into the ongoing communication between our body and brain.

In other words, our body isn't just responding to what's happening around us. The signals coming from within us are part of that ongoing conversation too.

There's actually a term for our ability to notice what's happening inside our bodies. It's called interoception.

Interoception is our awareness of internal bodily signals. These include things like our breathing, heartbeat, muscle tension, temperature, hunger and the sensations we experience when we're feeling stressed, relaxed, excited or the whole realm of emotions that we may experience.

Some of these signals are quite obvious, while others are much more subtle.

And although our bodies are constantly sending us information, we aren't necessarily paying attention to it.

We can become so absorbed in our thoughts, responsibilities and everything happening around us that we lose touch with what's happening within us.

When patterns start to feel normal

There's another reason why developing this awareness is so important.

When we don't pay attention to what's happening within our bodies, we can become so accustomed to certain patterns that we stop recognising them.

Perhaps we're regularly holding our breath when concentrating, carrying tension in our shoulders, feeling on edge or rushing through the day without ever really stopping.

Because these experiences happen so frequently, they can start to feel like our normal way of being.

We might not question why we're always tense, why we find it difficult to switch off, or why we seem to be holding our breath whenever we're under pressure.

We simply get used to feeling that way.

And this is where I think we can become a little stuck.

When patterns associated with stress go unnoticed, we can continue repeating them without realising what's happening. We might even begin to believe that feeling tense, rushed or constantly on the go is simply part of who we are.

But what if we could become a little more aware of what's happening, recognise the patterns we're falling into and start to understand what might be contributing to them?

Awareness doesn't automatically change a pattern, but it gives us a starting point.

Once we begin to notice what's happening, we have an opportunity to become curious rather than simply reacting or carrying on as we always have.

We can begin to recognise when we're holding our breath, when tension is building, or when we're moving into that familiar state of rushing and doing.

And from there, we have a little more choice about how we respond.

This isn't about becoming hyper-aware of every sensation or constantly monitoring ourselves. It's about developing a gentle familiarity with our own bodies, so that we become more able to recognise when something has shifted.

The power of a micro moment

I recently worked with a client who began taking little micro pauses throughout her working day to notice her breathing.

She wasn't doing a breathing exercise or trying to change anything. She was simply stopping for a moment and noticing her breath.

She became aware that she was holding her breath at numerous points throughout the day, without realising it.

By bringing awareness to something that had been happening automatically, she began to recognise just how often she was doing it.

This awareness became a real game changer for her.

Not because she suddenly had to change everything she was doing, but because she had started to notice something that had previously been happening outside of her awareness.

And once we notice something, we have a little more choice about how we respond.

Perhaps we realise we're holding our breath and allow it to continue naturally. Perhaps we notice our shoulders are tense and soften them. Or perhaps we recognise that we're feeling overwhelmed and give ourselves a moment before moving on to the next thing.

It might sound like a very small thing, but these little moments of awareness can be surprisingly valuable.

Research into mindfulness and body awareness suggests that regularly bringing our attention to the breath and present-moment sensations can help develop our ability to notice internal experiences.

This doesn't mean we'll suddenly become aware of every little change in our body, or that noticing our breath will automatically make us feel calm.

But, like many things, the more we practise paying attention, the more familiar it can become.

We begin to recognise opportunities to check in with ourselves, rather than waiting until we're completely overwhelmed or exhausted.

You don't always need to change your breathing

I think it's important to make a distinction here.

When I talk about noticing our breathing, I'm not necessarily talking about doing breathing exercises or trying to take deeper breaths.

Sometimes, that's helpful. For example, gently slowing the breath or allowing the exhale to be a little longer than the inhale can support a shift towards a calmer state for some people.

But that's not always what we need.

Sometimes, the most valuable thing we can do is simply notice.

Notice whether our breathing feels quick or slow. Whether we're holding it. Whether there's tension somewhere in our body.

And then perhaps take a moment to feel our feet on the ground, look around and notice what's happening in our surroundings.

We don't need to force anything or make ourselves feel differently.

It's about becoming a little more aware of what's happening, rather than automatically pushing on.

And perhaps that's something we could all benefit from a little more of.

Bringing a little more awareness into everyday life

One of the things I love about this is that it doesn't need to take very long.

You don't need to find an extra hour in your day, book yourself onto a course or completely change your routine.

You could start by taking a few moments at different points throughout the day.

Before opening your emails. When you sit down at your desk. Before getting out of the car. When you notice yourself rushing.

Simply pause and ask yourself:

What am I noticing about my breathing?

What's happening in my body right now?

Am I holding any tension?

You don't need to find an answer or do anything with what you notice. Just give yourself a moment to pay attention.

And if you find it difficult to remember, that's completely normal. We're so used to moving through our days on autopilot that remembering to pause can take a little practice too.

But that's exactly why I think creating a small, regular opportunity to practise can be so helpful.

Would you like to give yourself ten minutes?

This is the thinking behind Breathe with Neena.

It's a simple seven-day morning experience where we spend just ten minutes noticing our breath.

No complicated techniques. No pressure to breathe in a particular way. No expectation to achieve anything.

Just a little space at the beginning of the day to pause, pay attention and reconnect with yourself.

And my hope is that, as you become more familiar with noticing your breath during those ten minutes, you'll begin to recognise opportunities to do the same throughout the rest of your day.

Find out more about Breathe with Neena and join the FREE experience HERE.

And if you're feeling that you need something a little longer - a proper pause away from the usual demands of everyday life, you might also like The Pause.

These half-day immersions in the New Forest offer time to slow down, spend time in nature, reconnect with yourself and explore what you might need.

Find out more about The Pause HERE

Because sometimes, we don't need to do more, learn more or find another thing to add to our already busy lives.

Sometimes, we just need to pause and breathe.