As a mindfulness guide, the most important tool available is the breath, yet I don’t think I talk about it nearly enough. Sure, I begin each guided meditation with breath awareness, but I don’t really spend time on why. So this week is all about the breath.
Breath awareness is probably the oldest meditation technique, my guess is as old as humankind. It can be found across cultures and around the world. We carry it with us from the moment we take our first breath, to the moment of our last, yet we seldom think about it.
The breath is always in the present moment, which is why I use it as a way to return to present moment awareness. Breathing brings you back from the threshold of stress, anxiety, frustration, anger and a whole host of other emotions. Paying close attention to your breath, intentionally breathing (sometimes called breathwork) can have a huge impact on your physical and emotional health.
Just like meditation, breathwork is a practice, meaning the more you get into a routine of breathwork, the better you’ll become and the more benefits you’ll see. The how of breathwork brings out the nerd in me. Here’s a summary:
The body has two systems within the nervous system: the parasympathetic and the sympathetic. Part of the work of the sympathetic nervous system is to respond to perceived threat – the fight, flight or freeze response. Our bodies release hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline, and we respond physically with increased respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure; as well as emotionally with stess, anxiety, anger, and frustration. That’s the short version.
This all goes back to the days when the threats were real, when we came face-to-face with all sorts of dangers like sabre-toothed tigers or unfriendly tribes. So, while we experience negative situations in our lives now, this does not necessarily make them a threat to our physical well-being. With everything thrown at us, unless we take action, we can be in a constant state of fight, flight or freeze (in other words, stress).
In order to tell our biological systems that the situations we’re facing don’t require a fight or flight response, we must trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, causing a relation response instead.
In steps breathwork. Deep breathing can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, helping the body relax and reduce stress. Quite amazing when you think about it, that you are in control.
My favorite breath awareness exercise for reducing stress, and one I use often is box breathing, also called Sama Vritti Pranayama. It’s simple, anyone can do it, and you can use it discretely anywhere at anytime to help in stressful situations. I even use it to cure my frequent hiccups! Here’s how it goes:
If possible, find a quiet place and close your eyes. If that’s not possible, just soften your gaze.
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- Inhale slowly to a count of four.
- Hold your breath for a count of four.
- Exhale slowly to a count of four.
- Hold your exhale for a count of four.
- Repeat those steps four times or more as needed.
I like to picture a box as I’m practicing, each four count for each side of the box.
Box breathing is just one form of breathwork and there are many others. Use breathwork for reducing stress, improving your mood, slowing your heart rate, reducing your blood pressure and regulating pain. Practice everyday for five minutes or so, and you will realize the benefits.
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