Sandy Abrams - Breathe to Succeed: Increase Workplace Productivity, Creativity, and Clarity through the Power of Mindfulness

Science has validated the power of breathing and mindfulness to enhance our well-being. Sandy Abrams's advice is a simple but incredibly effective way to make mindfulness a part of your life and help you thrive in our always-on world.

Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global

Mindfulness is transforming the business world due to the positive impact it can bring to both individuals and organizations. Breathe to Succeed contributes a range of strategies for individuals to begin to integrate mindfulness into their routines and to use as a tool in everyday life.

Emily Winer, mind concept lead at the International WELL Building Institute

In today's 24/7 digital world, where we face more stress and distraction than ever before, Sandy Abrams's breathing techniques are immediately actionable ways to remain focused and calm. They help me to perform at work especially in intense situations, which has a positive effect on the colleagues around me.

Nick Goode, executive vice president for product marketing at Sage

Employee burnout is a real thing; we've all heard the stories, read the scientific research to support it, and watched the impact to the bottom line. Sandy's book provides easy steps on how to incorporate mindfulness and breathing techniques into lives to restore balance within ourselves. As a proud employee of an organization that supports well-being in the workplace, I am honored to recommend this book.

Dawn Runge, PhD, SPHR, and SHRMSCP, HR executive value advisor at SAP SuccessFactors

Our breath... it's free and always with us, no matter the situation. Backed by research and compelling real-life stories, Breathe to Succeed teaches us how to harness our breath as a powerful resource for well-being, productivity, and performance.

Jannell MacAulay, PhD, Lt Col, USAF retired, leadership and performance specialist, and mindfulness advocate

This edition first published in 2019 by Career Press, an imprint of
Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

With offices at:
65 Parker Street, Suite 7
Newburyport, MA 01950
www.careerpress.com
www.redwheelweiser.com

Copyright 2019 by Sandy Abrams

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. Reviewers may quote brief passages.

ISBN: 978-1-63265-155-6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

Cover design by Ellan Varitimos
Interior by Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Typeset in Formata, Sackers Gothic and Adobe Caslon

Printed in Canada
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Fear is excitement without breath.

ROBERT HELLER

H ow you think and feel is a choicea very important choice that should not be left to chance. You have the power to choose and therefore own some control over your destiny. To a large measure, your thoughts and energy can help create the life of your dreams because positive thoughts and energy foster positive outcomes whereas negative thoughts and energy tend to forecast negative outcomes. It's science. You'll see It's Science! pop-ups throughout the book that share the science-based research behind the power of breath and mindset. Without conscious breathing, your thoughts can default to negativity and doubt and become self-sabotaging. Instead, connect your mind and body to the kind of thoughts and energy that will bring the success you desire. Breath is a ready and available vehicle for transformation at any given moment. Even just three deep breaths can be truly transformative: from fear to excitement, from nervous to calm, from doubt to certainty. When you breathe mindfully (even briefly), you get the benefits of meditation without having to sit still for long periods of time. You can breathe to succeed in small snippets every day. Make the decision to choose your thoughts and energy as often as possible and you'll quickly begin to see the incredible power that you have within.

When was the last time you took a long, slow, deep breath? Most people can't recall. Treat yourself to one deep breath right now. Ready? Take a really long, deep inhale and a long, slow exhale. Ahhhhhh. Let it set the tone for you to relax into this book with an open mind about the power of breath for success. Taking control of your thoughts and emotions through breath will add tremendous value to the way you lead and/or work. Whether you're an executive, an entrepreneur, an employee, a leader, a CEO, a colleague, or a team player, tapping into the power of your breath will open the door to a new level of clarity, creativity, positivity, productivity, and abundance, and a new sense of calm strength and connectedness.

Three deep breaths (3DB) and a variety of other simple breath techniques can easily be your superpower for quickly taking control and shifting your energy, mood, and perspective whenever and wherever you need empowerment. In the moment. No more shallow breathing all the time. It's not serving your body or your mind, and it's certainly not elevating your energy for success and business. Get ready to upgrade your breath and take control of your thoughts, emotions, and energy. No more autopilot. Breathe to succeed.

IT'S SCIENCE!

In an article titled Neuroscientists Have Identified How Exactly a Deep Breath Changes Your Mind, Morgan Cerf of Kellogg School of Management Northwestern University says, Breathing at different paces or paying careful attention to the breaths... were shown to engage different parts of the brain. Humans' ability to control and regulate their brain is unique: e.g., controlling emotions.... These abilities are not trivial. When breathing changed with the exercises, the brain changed as well.... The findings provide neural support for advice individuals have been given for millennia: during times of stress, or when heightened concentration is needed, focusing on one's breathing or doing breathing exercises can indeed change the brain.

This book is my love letter to breath. It's about sharing the transformative power of breath in business; how even 3DB (three deep breaths) at key moments can be nothing short of miraculous. I'm not your typical meditation teacher. I'm an entrepreneur with a business sensibility about meditation... and breath is meditation at the speed of business! I hope to empower you to utilize easily accessible and very effective breath techniques as meditation in the moment, in under sixty seconds. That's doable, right? If your thoughts and emotions have been controlling you, that can change right now.

Mindful breath completely transformed my life in 1989 when I began practicing yoga. I became obsessed with breath and the way it could immediately shift my thoughts and energy. After six years of daily practice, I decided to complete a yoga teacher training program (not to become a teacher but to deepen my knowledge) and have since done well over 10,000 hours of yoga and breath practice. Breath is meant to go beyond the yoga mat. Breath has saved me (from myself!) in business for over twenty-five years. It always delivers. It never disappoints. It'll do the same for you. Breath will be the missing piece of the puzzle in fully (or finally) connecting your mind and body. No yoga required. Again, how you think and feel is a