‘Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.’
Thích Nhất Hạnh
An integral piece of information was once given to me by my counsellor. When I had anxiety, I would attempt to tackle it mentally with positive thoughts. It never worked and often escalated the problem. This was because I had attempted to mentally cure a physiological problem.
Anxiety and stress are responses that were integral to our survival thousands of years ago, whilst living with physical threats in our environment. These responses are present today, but are now being activated by mental threats. Your body cannot tell the difference between real danger and perceived danger, so the same feeling you get when standing in front of a lion is the same feeling you get when standing up for a public speech. Our sympathetic nervous system triggers adrenaline to be pumped into our bloodstream, escalating our blood pressure, and leading to shallow and short breaths.
Your breath is one of your most powerful – and most underrated – tools, but if used to its full potential, has incredible healing effects on your body. Breathing deeply from the diaphragm turns on our body’s parasympathetic nervous system, which slows down our heart rate, calms our mind, and lowers blood pressure, releasing our body from ‘stress mode’. A few deep breaths in an overwhelming moment go a long way.
I know it sounds simple, but it works.
The benefits:
– Stress, or intense emotions (such as anger), contracts our muscles and shallows our breath. Deep breathing releases tension in the diaphragm and breathing muscles –> opens up the chest, allows for a more relaxed posture.
– Relaxes the mind: our brain requires a lot of oxygen to function to its full potential, which can be provided by deep breathing –> better focus and ability to learn, increases energy, better clarity, feeling of being grounded.
The method:
Deep breathing allows air to fill up the lungs fully, making the lower belly rise.
For most of us, breathing this way feels unnatural, as we breathe with our shoulders and chest. It’s something that requires conscious awareness and consistent practise. Here is a method to help:
- Find a comfortable position, either lying down or sitting up.
- Relax your body –> your neck, shoulders, and jaw (we hold tension in these places).
- Place your left hand on your belly and your right hand on your chest.
- Inhale and notice air move through your nostrils, past your chest, and into your abdomen. Try to make your belly as big as possible.
- Exhale, and allow your left hand to fall as your belly contracts.
- Repeat for 10 cycles.
A method I use to integrate deep breathing is called square breathing, also known as box breathing. It’s simple:
– Inhale for 3 seconds.
– Hold for 3 seconds.
– Exhale for 3 seconds.
– Hold for 3 seconds.
– Repeat 10 times.
Happy breathing!
Up From The Well 