Healthy Boiler Portal offers ‘Mindful Minute Series’ as way to help reduce stress, anxiety

The Mindful Minute Series supports the behavioral health pillar of the Healthy Boiler Program.

As Mental Health Awareness Month continues, Human Resources directs employees to the Mindful Minute Series – named due to the short time frame of the videos – located on the Healthy Boiler Portal.

Located under the Learn tab on the main page of the portal, the Mindful Minute Series consists of 11 videos of about one minute each. The series supports the behavioral health pillar of the Healthy Boiler Program.

“I would recommend the Mindful Minute sessions,” says Lindsay Bloom, health coach at Purdue Fort Wayne. “Breathing is something that is so automatic, and it tends to be shallow, or we hold it during moments of stress and anxiety. Just one minute of focused deep breathing can expand the lungs, lower heart rate and reduce tension in the muscles. The Mindful Minutes are especially useful because they combine relaxing music, beautiful nature scenes, with visual cues to breathe.”

It takes one minute to completely refresh the brain, reduce stress and increase focus. After selecting a video, put away all distractions and allow relaxation to set in. Focus on breathing in and out slowly as the video plays. Let go of any thoughts entering the mind, bringing attention back to the breath.

The Mayo Clinic reports that the benefits of deep breathing extend beyond in-the-moment stress relief. Many studies have found that deep, yogic breathing helps balance the autonomic nervous system, which regulates involuntary bodily functions, such as temperature control and bladder function. This may help ease symptoms of stress-related disorders and mental health conditions such as anxiety, general stress, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“This is such a great tool,” Bloom says. “I talk to a lot of people each day, and stress is high.”

The following passage by Donna Farhi from "The Breathing Book: Good Health and Vitality Through Essential Breath Work" can help individuals better understand the importance of their own breath: "Breathing is one of the simplest things in the world. We breathe in, we breathe out. When we breathe with real freedom, we neither grasp for nor hold on to the breath. ... The process of breathing is the most accurate metaphor we have for the way that we personally approach life, how we live our lives and how we react to the inevitable changes that life brings us."