Hello all. I'm back to continue our journey through understanding the mind-body connection through a Polyvagal Theory lens. Moving forward in this blog post series, we are going to introduce a few strategies to help you befriend your nervous system. Today, we will talk about breathwork.
The first, and most important, component is to listen to your body. Some strategies may work for you and some won't. Choose what works for you.
We never want to overwhelm our bodies, so start small. Make sure you are in comfortable, safe space.
Our breath is the quickest, most efficient way to tap into our nervous system. Breathwork helps us move into the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system (remember that from a few posts back? This is the "rest and digest" part of our autonomic nervous system). When we activate the parasympathetic branch, we also increase our immunity. Breathwork helps to bring more oxygen to the brain, which allows us to slow down and think more clearly. When we are stressed, we tend to breathe shorter and shallow. Breathwork is something you can do anytime and anywhere, which makes it both powerful and convenient.
You can think about breathwork in three overall domains: calming, energizing, and balancing. When we want to calm our nervous system, the general rule of thumb is for your exhale to be longer than the inhale, with a 1:2 ratio. For example, if you breathe in for 2, you exhale for 4. If you breathe in for 4, you exhale for 8. We want the breath to be smooth: I like to imagine a long thin golden thread as I breathe in and breathe out. Other people like to use oceanic breathing, which is a long, smooth inhale followed by an exhale where the muscles in the back of the throat are tightened. It sounds like an ocean wave, hence the name. Play around with the ratios and what works best for you.
Let's cover an example of a calming breathwork practice today: the 4-7-8. During this practice we breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 7 counts, and breathe out for 8 counts. Sit comfortably with good posture in a safe space. Close your eyes or a soft downward gaze. Breathe in for 4--hold for 7--breathe out for 8. Repeat 10 times to really feel the impact of this on the body.
I hope this practice brings you calm and peace today. Remember, pay attention to your body and what works for you.
Thanks for reading! Until next time. -Dr. T
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