The Breath Revolution:
Rewire Your Mind, Rejuvenate Your Body, Manage your Mood
Breath is an incredibly powerful tool at our disposal to regulate emotions, manage stress, and improve our overall health. Yoga philosophy has acknowledged the importance of breath for physical well-being and calming the mind for over 3,000 years. It’s why so much there is so much attention to the breath in a vast array of teachings. Breath awareness is key to our asana practice. More importantly it is the foundation to advancing any pranayama practice to connect to our energetic life force. It seems so obvious, we’ve been breathing since the second we were born. It is something we don’t even have to think about. We breathe.
As a baby, we experience freedom and expansion in our breath. If you've ever watched a baby sleeping, you’ve witnessed the beauty of the innate breath - easy full breaths that expand the belly. However, when uncomfortable, a crying baby contracts the belly, restricting the breath to the chest and engaging secondary respiratory muscles. Without a deeper diaphragmatic breath, not only does this exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide become inefficient, but it shifts the nervous system into survival mode.
Our breathing patterns and our thoughts are intricately connected. In the early 2000’s Pierre Philippot illustrated the relationship between emotions and breathing patterns in his research. He demonstrated that strong emotions alter the key characteristics of normal breathing. Philippot found that each emotion was associated with a distinct breathing pattern. For instance, anxiety or fear leads to quick and shallow breaths, while happiness and contentment result in slow and deep long breaths.
Emotions, thoughts, and mood can all disrupt our natural rhythm, and create a cycle where an altered breath pattern perpetuates a moody nervous system in fight, flight, or freeze reactions. We have all experienced moments of anxiety where our breath quickens, heart rate escalates, and the body constricts. In those worried moments, our thoughts fixate on the next moment- then the next- and the next. Without even being conscious of it, our breath follows suit. The exhalation is cut short grasping for the next inhale, an uneasy cycle of breath is established. Similarly, when we are deeply engrossed in spinning thoughts, we may unknowingly hold our breath, resisting the next one. It's almost like we hold it all in just so we can keep our s**t together.
Breath Awareness
Breath awareness is both a skill and a tool. Incorporating awareness into our lives can help restore a sense of steadiness during emotional reactions. The first step is to remember to breathe during elevated moments, feeling it in the body and noticing the subtle sensations and qualities of each inhale and exhale. A simple breath inquiry not only grounds us in the present moment but also helps us recognize patterns that perpetuate physiological and psychological cycles.
Breath Inquiry:
How does your body feel as the inhale draws in with expansion and the exhale releases out with contraction?
Is there a quality to the breath? Heavy, light, warm, cool…
Is there a texture to the breath? Choppy, smooth, sharp, soft…
Where is there resistance in the body? Shoulders, chest, belly…
During moments of intense emotional reaction, our breath feels drastically different from when we are calmly aware. However, a consistent awareness practice enables us to intentionally restore a normal breathing rhythm.
The Breath Blueprint: Breathing Practices for Stress Relief and Mood Management
Different techniques can inspire various states, either boosting energy or inducing relaxation. Emphasizing the inhale activates the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system, while focusing on the exhale switches on the parasympathetic branch.
Set aside 10 minutes at least once a day to practice the Dirga breath, to engage deeper diaphragmatic breathing. This will bring deep restoration to the entire being.
Dirga Breath
Lie down on your back, use blocks or a rolled up blanket to support the knees.
Put one hand on your belly and the other on your upper chest.
Close your eyes or soften your gaze and start observing your breathing.
Get curious, you can spend a few moments in inquiry.
Now, inhale slowly through the nose. Until you feel your lower abdomen and your hand rise.
Then, continue inhaling into the mid-section of the torso, expanding the diaphragm and the ribs.
Finally, bring your breath into the upper chest and shoulders. Feel how your second hand rises up.
Start exhaling slowly in the reverse order, releasing the upper chest first, then the diaphragm and ribs, and finally the lower abdomen.
Slowly, Expel all the air, allow yourself to feel a state of relaxation permeate the body as everything releases and softens.
Repeat up to 10 more cycles at a slow gentle pace.
***with practice, you can rest the arms along side and feel the rise and fall of the body through all three spaces as the breath draws in and out.
From Chaos to Calm: Respiratory Remedies.
Using your breath to regulate your emotions can be extremely effective. You can practice these two breathing techniques in the moment as a respiratory remedy for stress and mood management:
Physiologically, quick and labored breaths can strain our cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Psychologically, dwelling in anxiety and depression can wear down our spirit. By practicing daily, we gain the ability to consciously regulate our breath. The body signals discomfort through gasps and sighs, in attempt to break a holding pattern. Be conscious of the language of the body.
There is an old adage- the ancient yogis say we are each only granted a specific number of breaths. That thought has always resonated with me. And while it sounds so obvious, it made me appreciate the way of slow deep breathing. Why spend our breaths so quickly and frivolously? Our vibrant breath can easily be disrupted by emotional turbulence. Each time, pause— take a moment and remember the power of your revolutionary breath.
