I love that more and more people are turning to breathwork! To me that means that they want to connect with and support themselves and their lives. Breath is life. It touches every part of our being- physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, affecting how we are experiencing life in the moment. We can be more present and aware on all these levels by breathing consciously.
We live in a stressful and hurried world and right now is a particularly stressful time in our country. The best thing we can do for ourselves and each other is to tend to our stress and fears (our nervous system) mindfully and consciously.
Check in:
Is it difficult for you to calm down, quiet your worried mind, relax your body, stay present in your relationships?
How is your breathing right now? Tight, easy, deep, shallow, fast or slow? How could you make it feel better? Slow it down? Need more space to inhale? Need more time to exhale?
It always helps me to have understanding about what’s happening within my body/mind system that is keeping me in what I call the stress cycle. We’re human, a whole being, with a body /nervous system)/mind. We have the ability to be unconscious-reactive and conscious-responsive. The latter is the inner space where we can choose kindness and compassion for ourselves and others.
A Closer Look:
Our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) registers and expresses our protection and survival responses that can get stuck in the stress cycle that lead to feelings of fight, flight or freeze. This influences all of the automatic systems in the body such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and yes, our rate of breathing. Thank god it’s involuntary, outside the state of our awareness, so we don’t have to remember to simply breathe or we would be in big trouble! However, because our breathing responds with this same part of the nervous system, it unconsciously gets tangled up with these stress and survival/protection responses, stuck in a shallow, tight and fast mode. And… thank god breathing can be voluntary in our conscious control so that we can untangle and free up the habitual tensions and emotions held in our body and breath, thinking and feeling. Another way to look at it is, your breath can help keep your tension patterns in place, or it can set them free when used with awareness!
Let’s explore the stress cycle:
~ When our breath is shallow and restricted, our brain registers, “Yikes, that there’s not enough air”!
~ This triggers the stress response in the nervous system which increases blood pressure, heart rate, breath rate, muscle tension and stress hormones.
~ This feeds more stressful thinking because the body thinks it’s in survival mode- fearful, worried, judgmental, defensive.
~ When we believe these thoughts (we feed the stress all over again), we contract, breath tightens, feel anxious, it becomes difficult to think clearly or make unclouded decisions in this state. Have you noticed?
And the cycle continues…
Our breath is the only system in the list of symptoms that can reverse the stress cycle and turn on the relaxation/rest and digest branch of the ANS. It’s like magic!
~ When we get stuck in the stress cycle, the priority is to tend to your body, your nervous system, not your intellect or thinking. Your breath is an ongoing resource that is always here for you! Let it soothe you.
Having understanding allows space to hold what we are feeling with kindness for how we are, and give it breath to stay with what we are feeling, always and only to be found in the present moment.
So…come back to a balanced calmer state-right here right now. Allow your breath to flow in… and out… Slow and easy. Receiving and allowing. Gently expanding and softening. Giving yourself all the space you need. Giving yourself all the time you need. Feel it.
My Community Breathe classes are here to provide a space for you to find this, and much more! Join me this Saturday November 2nd and check the Sellwood Yoga Schedule for the monthly Community Breathe workshop dates.
Let’s come together and breathe for a kinder and calmer world from within so we can see it on the outside.