Slowing Down to Speed Up: With Mindfulness and Breathwork

Welcome to Radhika’s Newsletter “Intent”. This is your tri-weekly guide to purposeful living, wealth-building, and personal growth.

Happy Tuesday! I’m so excited to share this edition of Intent. Today’s topic is all about SLOWWWINNNNG DOWN. We’ll dive into the science and practical applications of slowing down through mindfulness and breathwork. The thing is: in a world that’s constantly moving faster, it’s easy to feel like we need to keep up by pushing ourselves harder and faster. We’re often taught to hustle: to work harder, longer, and faster. But slowing down can have profound benefits for our minds, productivity, and long-term success. And that’s where mindfulness and breathwork come in.

What I’m Sipping On This Month

This month, I’m sipping on Pine Needles Tea, which is floral, beany, grassy and sweet when brewed carefully. The biggest benefit of this tea is that it’s rich in Vitamin C. As you probably know, Vitamin C is crucial for your immune health. Highly recommend this if you’re experiencing uneasiness, headaches, or low energy.

😖 My Personal Back & Forth With This Idea

This topic is a bit tough for me to write about. I know everyone has their own opinions on mindfulness, breathwork, yoga, slowing down, and all of these acts that boost mental wellness. For me, I’d like to just share my story and experience with it all.

I’ll be honest. I thought all of this was woo-woo crap that made no sense. I didn’t get why people did boring activities like yoga. I didn’t get why others wrote, talked, and brought up breathing methods (isn’t this something we’ve done this birth?! what do you mean there are different ways to breath right?) I thought it was b.s. and honestly just confused about the concept.

Then, one day, while working my job and starting many different things: I faced burnout, and decision fatigue, and it got to me. I tried running, I tried journaling but the anxiety was still within me. I felt lost and nothing was helping. Over the course of time, I decided to learn about mindfulness, yoga, and breathwork. I dove deep into the history of it. I tried to understand the science behind how breathwork aids with depression, anxiety, high-blood pressure and most modern day problems we all struggle with. So let’s start there:

🔬 The Science of Slowing Down

At its core, mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment, without judgment. This means bringing your full attention to what you’re doing right now. Yes right now. Whether that’s breathing, eating, or working. Don’t let your mind wander to past regrets or future worries. While it sounds simple, mindfulness requires practice to master, and it has profound effects on the brain.

When we practice mindfulness, we’re essentially training our brains to focus on what’s happening in the present. The brain's default mode network (DMN), which is responsible for mind-wandering and self-referential thinking, is quieted during mindful moments. This allows other regions of the brain, like the prefrontal cortex, which handles decision-making and concentration, to take center stage. Over time, mindfulness strengthens the neural pathways that help us stay focused, reducing our tendency to get distracted.

Mindfulness isn’t just about relaxation: it’s about enhancing your brain’s ability to perform at its best. In fact, there have been countless benefits to slowing your brain down and being present with your thoughts:

1. Improved Attention Control: Studies show that regular mindfulness meditation increases the ability to sustain attention and resist distractions.

2. Better Decision-Making: Mindfulness improves decision-making accuracy by promoting cognitive flexibility and helping individuals stay calm under pressure.

3. Reduced Cognitive Load: When we are constantly multitasking or juggling thoughts about different things, it creates a cognitive load that drains mental energy. By staying mindful we can reduce the mental clutter and free up our brainpower for more important tasks.

4. Enhanced Emotional Regulation: A key aspect of mindfulness is to cultivating awareness of your emotions. This self-regulation helps reduce impulsive reactions and emotional distractions, allowing for clearer thinking.

🧘 My Own Journey with Mindfulness

When I learned about the benefits, I was shocked. It almost didn’t seem real. The same disbelief I have when I think about our education system not teaching us about personal finance comes to me when I think about how we’re not taught to control our anger, sadness, fear, restlessness, and more. I simply had to try it for myself.

I started by taking some yoga classes…it was relaxing.
Then, I attended a mindfulness generational trauma meditation…it brought me to tears.
Then, I went to a breathwork session…I felt relief for the first time ever.
Then I was introduced to teas and went to a tea ceremony…I felt like a new person.
Then I took this practice and started applying to DAILY…I felt empowered.

In fact, since Jan 1st 2025, I’ve been doing 10 minutes (I know it’s not a lot but it’s a start) of breathwork everyday and wow, it’s made an incredible difference in how I approach life. I feel: calm, aligned, in control with my self. Everything I do has been more intentional than ever.

🫁 Breathwork Techniques for Calmness

Lately, I’ve been getting even more into breathwork. Breath is the one thing that links everyday actions, thoughts, feelings. And even though technically we all breathe regularly, there are ways to manipulate the breath and learn to become more ‘creative’, more ‘logical’ or simply help de-stress. There’s a whole lost science & art in it. (Check out the books/resources I mentioned below if you’re curious to dive deeper). Not only that, it’s the most effective way to bring mindfulness into your daily routine and it doesn’t require a lot of time or any special tools. Simply taking a few moments to focus on your breath can help clear your mind and relax your body.

Here are a few simple breathwork techniques that I’ve leveraged :

1. Box/Square Breathing
   Box breathing is a technique where you inhale for a count of four, hold your breath for four, exhale for four, and then hold again for four. This simple technique helps calm your nervous system, bringing you back to a state of focus and clarity.

2. 4-7-8 Breathing
   This technique involves inhaling for four seconds, holding your breath for seven seconds, and exhaling slowly for eight seconds. The extended exhale helps activate the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and stress relief.

3. Alternate Nostril Breathing
   Close one nostril and inhale deeply through the other. Switch nostrils and exhale. Continue alternating. This technique is great for clearing the mind and balancing the body’s energy. It’s especially helpful when you need a moment of calm before making an important decision.

I do a version of all three of these to feel more grounded, focused, and clear-headed. If you’ve tried any of these or have more techniques, please do share it with me!

⏩️ How to Overcome the ‘Hustle’ Mindset

I also recognize that I’m writing to all of you super high achievers. And the thing is, in today’s culture, the "hustle" mindset is often celebrated. We’re told that success is about grinding endlessly and pushing through exhaustion. And as someone who likes to go above and beyond, we actually end up pushing way past exhaustion. But research tells us something different: taking time to slow down is actually essential for long-term success.

When we’re constantly moving at breakneck speed, we risk burnout and decrease our capacity for creativity, decision-making, and problem-solving. By taking time to slow down and practice mindfulness, we actually create space for better ideas, more effective decision-making, and improved overall performance.

Slowing down doesn’t mean being lazy or unproductive. It means being intentional with your time and energy. By stepping away from the hustle, you allow yourself to recharge, focus, and gain perspective, which leads to more sustainable success in the long run. You can compare this to how important recovery is when working out physically. Ask any athlete, they’ll say that recovery it’s equally if not more important to get rest than to push yourself further. The same concept applies to slowing down.

Next time your body tells you to slow down, lean into it a bit more and know that slowing down one step actually helps push forward with even more gusto.

📆 How to Integrate Mindfulness into Daily Life

One of the best things about mindfulness is that it can be integrated into any part of your day. You don’t need to set aside hours for meditation or attend special classes. Instead, you can practice mindfulness during everyday activities making it a seamless part of your routine.

Here are some practical tips for bringing mindfulness into your daily life:

• Mindful Eating: Instead of rushing through meals, take time to savor each bite. Pay attention to the flavors, textures, and sensations of the food. This simple practice can help you slow down and connect with the present moment. I try to do this at least once a week.

• Mindful Walking: As you walk, pay attention to the sensations in your feet, the rhythm of your steps, and your surroundings. This can be a great way to reset your mind during the day. I often try to look at the colors in the sky and the shades of green in the trees around me.

• Take an extra 5 Minutes: 5 minutes is 1/288th of your day. Take just five minutes to focus on your breath and bring your attention back to yourself.

Incorporating mindfulness into daily life doesn’t require any special tools or time commitments: it’s about bringing your full attention to what you’re doing right now.

💭 Leaving Thoughts

If you’re confused like I used to be, I understand it. We’re all on our journey and different people but from the research I’ve seen and done for myself. Mindfulness, breathwork, and slowing down is truly the answer to a lot of life’s questions. I highly encourage you to try it. As always, you can hit ‘reply’ to this email and share more about your experience 🥰 

🎞️ Action You Can Take Today:

Take a moment right now to try one of the breathwork techniques mentioned in this issue. Whether it’s box breathing for four rounds or 4-7-8 breathing for three cycles, set aside just 3-5 minutes to focus solely on your breath. Notice how your body feels before and after. Then, challenge yourself to incorporate this practice into your daily routine for the next week. Observe how it impacts your stress levels, focus, and clarity throughout the day.

My one big habit for this year is to complete 10 minutes of breathwork every day. So far, it’s made a tremendous difference in my life, and this is one of the first times I’m sharing this goal with others. I encourage you to take small steps toward building your own daily practice: no matter how brief it may start.

Also: Share your experience with me! I’d love to hear how mindfulness and breathwork are helping you slow down to speed up.

🖇️ Resources

1. Breath by James Nestor: One of my favorite books about breathwork because he shares the science behind it. Not just the ‘woo-woo’ stuff.

2. Literally any book or resource by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Monk who’s written some incredible literature and teachings around mindful walking, eating, and being.

Support My Work

Enjoying this newsletter? If you’d like to support my work, you can buy me tea. Your support means so much! Every cup helps fuel the ideas, research, and energy I put into each newsletter.

👉 Buy me tea

Thank you so much for being a part of the Intent community. I rely on word-of-mouth for growth. If you enjoyed this newsletter, I’d love for you to share it with a friend.
Your commitment to living with purpose is exactly why this space exists. Can’t wait to share more in the next edition!

Until next time,
Radhika
Creating a life of purpose, wealth, and growth.

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