Just breathe. Easy enough, right?
Breathing is necessary to sustain life, it’s involuntary, meaning we don’t have to consciously think about it. It’s controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which is the part of the nervous system that unconsciously regulates bodily functions such as respiratory rate, heart rate, and digestion, just to name a few. The autonomic nervous system is made up of the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the “fight or flight” response, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which puts on the brakes, or slows everything down to “rest and digest” mode.
Why does this matter? As mentioned above, the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for the “fight or flight” response, known otherwise as the stress response. When confronted with danger, the sympathetic nervous system triggers a cascade of nearly immediate responses in the body such as, an increase in muscle tension, heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate that can help us either fight the threat or run. When the threat has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system steps in to “put on the brakes.” It’s a necessary survival response that allows us to act quickly in emergency situations. The problem is that this “fight or flight’ response can be triggered by non-life-threatening stressful events, whether environmental or psychological. Chronic stress can lead to a constant state of low level “fight or flight”, which over time can put one at risk for conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
The good news is, we have the ability to apply the brakes and manage the body’s stress response. How? According to the article Relaxation Techniques: Breath control helps quell errant stress response; one way is to invoke the relaxation response. The relaxation response, the opposite of the “fight or flight” response, was initially discovered in the 1970s by Dr. Herbert Benson a cardiologist at Harvard University. Of the many techniques Dr. Benson has employed to trigger the relaxation response, one is deep, focused breathing. Right about now, you might be thinking, “but wait, didn’t you just say that breathing is automatic?” That’s just one of the amazing things about the human body. Yes, breathing is involuntary, but it is also voluntary, meaning we have the ability to consciously control the rate and depth of breathing.
Yogis call this act of controlling and directing the breath, pranayama. According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Pranayama, or the ability to control and direct the breath, is the fourth limb on the eight limbed path, which is basically a set of guidelines on how to live a meaningful life. The word prana, according to yogic philosophy, means life force, so to control the breath is to extend or control the life force. It makes sense, as breathing is vital to the sustenance of life. Ancient yogis believed that positive changes could be brought about in the body and mind just by breathing in special ways, and as it turns out, they were right!
The mind body connection is real. Studies have shown that slow, controlled breathing calms activity in the brain, can help regulate heart rate and blood pressure, and that techniques employing breath awareness can improve focus, memory, and have an overall positive effect on emotions.
We have the ability to take charge of our well-being, and to manage and even reverse the cumulative effects of chronic stress by tapping into the power of our breathing, our vital life force. Why not give it a try? I’ve created three introductory breath focused practices to help you get started. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, or just to let me know how your practice is going.