Take a Breath
One of my students recently shared how the breathing exercises we do in class every week have been helping her manage her stress levels in daily life. She reportedly told her husband that she has recently started breathing at work. To which he replied, “You haven’t been breathing?”
I think we can all relate to this idea of feeling like we’re not breathing! The pace of modern life, along with 24/7 access to endless distractions and alarming news stories from around the world, has propelled most of us into a permanent state of high alert. If you have ever observed your breath when you are feeling anxious or under pressure, you will notice that it is short and erratic. You might even catch yourself literally holding your breath which only adds to this feeling of tension.
Yoga offers many effective tools to help reduce stress in our daily lives.
The simple act of conscious breathing is perhaps one of the most profound. So let’s take a look at how we can mindfully “take a breath” to break out of the cycle of stress and find our way back to calm.
It is helpful to first think about what happens in our bodies when we feel stressed. The nervous system shifts into what is known as the “fight or flight” response. Our heart rate increases, our blood pressure rises and our muscles become tense, especially in the neck, shoulders, jaw and back. Our digestive system slows down, our blood sugar levels rise and our breath becomes short and shallow, all in the name of preparing for quick action. Mentally, we experience racing thoughts and we often become hypervigilant, constantly scanning for threats.
Sound familiar? Yes, we’ve all been there! Now let’s take a moment to appreciate that this “stress response” is a brilliant trait which is designed to automatically trigger an uptick in all of our major systems so that we can effectively handle a dangerous situation, like fleeing from a bear or fighting off an attacker. Without us even having to think about it (thank god, no time for analysis!) our “fight or flight” mode kicks in, like a car instantly revving into high gear. But, like so many good things in life, this genius survival mechanism comes with a caveat. It is only designed to be a short-term blast to our systems to get us through a threatening situation. This ‘revved up’ state is not supposed to last for hours on end as we sit idly at our desks with our shoulders hunched up by our ears.
It is a well-known fact that long-term exposure to high stress levels causes a host of mental and physical issues—anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, weakened immunity, digestive problems and chronic inflammation, to name just a few. The practice of conscious breathing allows us to disrupt this physiological state by manually shifting gears out of the “stress response” and into the “calm response”.
So which way to the “calm response”?
Most of the breathing exercises we practice in yoga are designed to help us calm down. When it comes to a quick stress-busting trick, there is one simple way to think about your breath. Repeat after me: “Longer exhales.” When your exhales are longer than your inhales, this breath pattern signals safety to your brain and triggers what is called the “down-regulation” of your nervous system. In other words, you can reduce your stress levels just by taking a little more time to breathe out.
There are many different ways to lengthen your exhales, including techniques that use the mouth. One of the simplest exercises is to add a counting pattern to your breath, while calmly breathing in and out of your nose.
Let’s try it now: If you are sitting down, do your best to sit up tall and relax your shoulders. If you prefer, you can be lying down, or even reclining in a chair or car seat. Let your eyes close and to begin with, just notice the natural pattern of your inhales and exhales. Breathing in. Breathing out. Don’t worry if your breath feels a little tight. That is normal. As you become more aware of your breathing, see if you can gently deepen your breath by adding the following counting pattern: Inhale for four counts and exhale for six counts. You can try this exercise for just a couple of rounds, or you can keep going for a few minutes. Make sure you are not forcing it. Stay relaxed in your efforts and notice how you feel.
When we add a counting pattern to our breath, not only do we ensure that our exhales are longer than our inhales by literally counting them, we also give our chaotic minds something simple to focus on in the present moment—count to four, count to six. As you count silently to yourself, you might notice that your mind scampers off into thought and you end up miles away. Again, all very normal. Don’t fight with your thoughts, just acknowledge where you have wandered off to. That moment of noticing is an important moment of “coming to". Do your best to gently but firmly escort your attention back to your breath— inhaling for 4 counts and exhaling for 6 counts, and so on.
Like anything, conscious breathing takes practice.
We work on plank pose to strengthen our arms and our core, and with practice, we get stronger and we can more readily access plank pose. Breath work is no different. When we practice mindful deep breathing, we are gently training our breathing muscles—the diaphragm, intercostals, and the surrounding supporting structures—which, over time, helps us access a deeper and more efficient breath cycle. Furthermore, we are training our minds. By adding the counting pattern, we are strengthening our powers of mental focus. If you need some motivation to try this, think of each conscious breath as a sit-up for your breathing system and your mind!
Modern scientific tools have allowed us to measure the effects of deep breathing on the body. Research shows that extending the exhale can lower heart rate, reduce blood pressure, and support the "rest and digest” functions associated with relaxation. One of my students even boasts about using her yoga breathing techniques to get a low blood pressure reading when she visits her doctor!
It is interesting to note that the practice of lengthening the breath is described as a calming technique in “The Yoga Sutras,” a philosophical text written roughly two thousand years ago—long before the advent of biometric monitors. Those ancient yogis discovered the effects of slow, steady breathing through direct experience. They observed how extending the exhale naturally led to a quieter state of mind. And you can too. No need for any special equipment or fancy clothes. You don’t even need a yoga mat. All you have to do is close your eyes and give it a try.
