How connection to your breath can take you from surviving to thriving
I am positive that you would have noticed at certain times during the day when you take a deep breath in and out all of a sudden you realise that your shoulders were hiked up to your ears, there is tension in your chest and belly and you might have even clenched your jaw! We are habitually creating more and more stress in our bodies and one of the reasons is that we are trying to do too much in one day, we multitask, have deadlines to adhere to, we feel pressured to look our best and I won’t even mention social media, the news, computers and losing touch with nature and ourselves.
The breath is the link between our body and the mind. Breathing is an automatic reflex. You don’t even have to think about it, it just happens! Being aware of your breath can help you feel more relaxed. Deep breathing is good for our bodies and can help change negative thoughts to more positive thoughts. In other words, we can learn to use our breath and bodies to help our mind feel better.
Conscious Breathing
The brain can be split into two parts- the frontal brain and the posterior brain. The posterior brain is the instinctive brain which we have inherited through animal incarnations. The frontal brain is the seat of consciousness. When you breathe without awareness, the breath is registered in the posterior brain, but when you are aware that you are breathing and you are consciously witnessing the whole process, then it is registered by the conscious brain, the frontal brain. This difference seems to be very simple, but its effect is very great. Activating the frontal brain has a relaxing and balancing effect on our emotions, initiating the relaxation response.
Deep breathing
Deep breathing is also known as paced respiration, diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, or belly breathing. When you breathe deeply, the air coming in through your nose fully fills your lungs, and the lower belly rises. Try this breath practice now….
You can do this now, take a seat with your spine tall and close your eyes. Begin to take a deep breath in through the nose and then a long breath out through the nose or mouth, do this a few more times and then transition into breathing in and out through the nose only, when you are ready gradually begin to count your breath. Counting helps to focus the mind and will assist in staying present and alert. See if you can inhale for a count of 4 and then exhale for a count of 4 – practice for about 3-5 minutes and then let your breathing relax and settle back into its own rhythm. Notice how you feel…
Our response to life’s ups and downs impacts on our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). Our ANS has two divisions with activate under different circumstances - both are vital to our survival and well- being: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). In this system of dual innervation, most organs receive nerve impulses from both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
The SNS is a system for short-term survival.
It excites the body, preparing it for action. Any signal of danger or disturbance—real or perceived—can set in motion a process known as the stress response. The SNS alerts your heart rate, blood pressure, clotting mechanisms, blood sugar level, respiration, and voluntary muscles to prepare for action. At the same time, it signals your digestive and elimination systems, sensitivity to pain, and other systems not needed for self-defense to slow or shut down. The effects of the SNS are immediate, widespread, and long-lasting.
The PNS is a system of long-term survival.
It promotes rest and regeneration. This system redirects blood flow back to the core of the body. The PNS system is characteristically slower to take effect than the SNS, and its effects are less widespread but more beneficial for our happiness and wellbeing. We our PNS is activated; we can rest, digest, relax, repair and reproduce. This is when we thrive!
The stress response
The stress response, which is characterised by SNS activation, occurs in three stages, an initial fight- or-flight response, which mobilizes the body for immediate action, a slower resistance reaction, and possibly a stage of exhaustion. When we experience stress like rushing to get somewhere when we are running late, deadlines for work, a loved one being ill, social media, what to cook for dinner, all these over work the mind and the body’s fight or flight response activates.
A normally regulated nervous system experiences the stress but returns to normal when the threat has passed. This period during which you have the ability to self regulate is called the window of tolerance, and most people move through several of these cycles daily. It is when these daily stressors overwhelm us that the systems doesn’t self regulate and provokes the fight-or-flight response.
We see signs of poor digestion/indigestion, constipation, anxiety, shallow breathing, increased heart rate, poor quality sleep, restlessness, night sweats, decreased libido, fatigue, nervousness, increased agitation/irritability, increased muscle tension, increased inflammation and increased susceptibility to infections.
The second stage, the resistance reaction, is initiated by releasing hormones, which stimulate the release of glucocorticoids, human growth hormone, and thyroid hormone. If the stressor persists, it becomes necessary to attempt some means of coping with the stress. Although the body begins to try to adapt to the strains or demands of the environment, the body cannot keep this up indefinitely, so its resources are gradually depleted.
Anxiety, anger, restlessness, panic, and hyperactivity can all result when you stay in this ready-to-react mode. This physical state of hyperarousal is stressful for every system in the body. Most of the time these two stages suffice to get the body through stressful situations. Sometimes they do not, and the body moves into the exhaustion stage, in which it continues to produce large amounts of stress hormones.
If stage three is extended, long-term damage may result, as the body’s immune system becomes exhausted, and bodily functions become impaired. The result can manifest itself in obvious illnesses such as ulcers, depression, diabetes, trouble with the digestive system, or even cardiovascular problems, along with other mental illnesses.
What is your mind telling your body?
Your body and brain are part of a continuous feedback loop in which the body sends signals to the brain about the state of the system and the brain sends information to the body to respond to the body’s cues. In that loop, shallow breathing performs as both the symptom of stress and informant that notifies your brain that you’re under threat. This means that the SNS not only activates when you’re under duress—which shortens the breath—but shallow breathing can also trigger SNS activation.
How you breathe matters
Similar to the SNS, the PNS can be activated by adapting and modifying the breath. Imagine that you’re lying somewhere where you feel calm and peaceful. Notice how your breath flows. When relaxed, you are more likely to be taking long, slow, deep diaphragmatic breaths rather than shallow ones. In the same way that shallow breathing amplifies the SNS, deep, diaphragmatic breathing signals to the brain that everything is safe, and that the body can let its guard down, activating the PNS.
Alternate Nostril Breath – Nadhi Shodhana
Alternate nostril breathing is a powerful technique that settles the mind, body, and emotions, easing an overactive mind, anxiety, stress, and having trouble falling asleep. It:
Improves our ability to focus the mind
Supports our lungs and respiratory functions
Restores balance in the left and right hemispheres of the brain, and clears the energetic channels
Rejuvenates the nervous system
Removes toxins
Settles stress
Try it now…
Take a comfortable seat, spine straight
Relax your left palm comfortably into your lap or rest on your thigh and bring your right hand just in front of your face
With your right hand, bring your index and middle finger to rest between your eyebrows, and lightly place the thumb and ring finger on each nostril
Close your eyes and take a deep breath in and out through both nostrils
Close your right nostril with your right thumb. Inhale through the left nostril slowly and steadily
Close the left nostril with your ring finger so both nostrils are held closed, retain your breath at the top of the inhale for a brief pause
Open your right nostril and release the breath slowly through the right side, pause briefly at the bottom of the exhale
Slowly inhale through the right nostril
Hold both nostrils closed (with ring finger and thumb)
Open your left nostril and release breath slowly through the left side. Pause briefly at the bottom
Repeat 12-15 cycles eventually working up to 10 minutes