Mastering the Power of a Long, Deep Breath
The foundation of ease for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.
This might sound surprising, but it's essential to start with the basics: learning how to breathe. As athletes and high achievers, we might consider ourselves experts in breathing. However, because our breath follows our mind, our breathing patterns can become unconscious reflections of our thoughts and actions. Before we know it, the way we breathe can create physiological wiring in our nervous system, forming a significant barrier to finding ease in our daily lives. So, I want to begin here. As you dive in, you’ll gain a better understanding of the breath and its relation to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. You’ll learn a simple practice to start rewiring your system for more ease and develop a heightened awareness of what might stand in the way of a daily mindfulness practice.
Understanding the Breath
Physiology of Breathing
To begin, let’s start with the physiology of breathing. As active go-getters in this fast-paced world, our breath adapts to the level of stimulus in our environment. Historically, our bodies' fight-or-flight response was triggered if our lives were at risk, like being chased by a bear. Today, it’s known that the exact same chemical response can be elicited by something as simple as an unexpected work email from our boss with the subject line, “We need to talk.” Without a consistent regulatory practice, our system can interpret this as a life-threatening stressor, triggering the sympathetic nervous system to fight, flight, or freeze, releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine throughout our bodies. While this response can be effective in true danger, chronic exposure to these stress hormones can have lasting negative effects on our overall health and well-being. In some, this can become our baseline state.
Understanding this programmed response to threat is key to creating new, healthier pathways. To balance this response, we want to engage the parasympathetic nervous system, which governs the rest-and-digest state. This is the most easeful state of the nervous system, reducing the surges of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that prepare us to fight, flight, or freeze, and allowing us to face threats in a more regulated state. What’s the main driver of this? Simply taking a long, deep, regulated breath.
The diaphragm is central to a long, deep, regulated breath. This dome-shaped muscle separates the thoracic cavity (containing the heart and lungs) from the abdominal cavity. When relaxed, the diaphragm is dome-shaped. As we inhale, it contracts, moves downward, and flattens, pushing the ribcage and abdominals out. Upon exhalation, the diaphragm relaxes and returns to its dome shape, pulling the abdominals in. This movement facilitates the efficient exchange of air in our lungs, ensuring we get enough oxygen to support our bodily functions. Proper diaphragmatic breathing activates the vagus nerve, which promotes relaxation by signaling the nervous system to calm down, thereby influencing the endocrine system that sends out chemical messages to all functions of the body. Connecting with a long, deep, regulated diaphragmatic breath is essential as a foundation for coping with life's peaks and valleys without being completely knocked off course.
Impact of Breathing on Health
Physical Health
Breathing is fundamental to our physical health. Proper breathing supports better oxygen exchange, which is crucial for cellular function and overall energy levels. When we breathe deeply and fully, we enhance the efficiency of our respiratory system and improve the delivery of oxygen to our muscles and organs. This can lead to improved athletic performance, greater stamina, and quicker recovery times.
Improper breathing, on the other hand, can lead to a host of physical issues such as fatigue, headaches, and even chronic conditions like muscle tension and overtraining syndrome. By adopting conscious breathing practices, we can enhance our physical health and overall well-being.
Mental and Emotional Health
Our mental and emotional health is closely tied to how we breathe. When we are stressed or anxious, our breath tends to become shallow and rapid, further exacerbating feelings of anxiety and tension. Conversely, by consciously slowing and deepening our breath, we can activate the body's relaxation response, reducing stress and promoting a sense of calm.
Regular mindful breathing practice can help improve mental clarity, enhance focus, and provide the physiological support we need to respond rather than react to daily triggers. It can be a powerful tool for managing stress and anxiety, leading to a more balanced and peaceful state of mind.
Spiritual Health
Breathing also plays a significant role in our spiritual health. In many spiritual traditions, the breath is a vital force or life energy. In my training with Kriya practices, the long, deep breath was taught to me by Kia Miller. This foundational and powerful technique is particularly beneficial to master before starting any breathwork regimen, meditation practice, or, as it has supported my own transformation and what I teach in my mentorship practice, a Kriya practice.
Kriyas are like recipes designed to alter the nervous system in particular ways. They provoke, direct, and stabilize our energy, creating changes within our endocrine system and bringing specific bodily functions and the emotional body into a more coherent state. The foundation of these practices is the long, deep, diaphragmatic breath. By mastering this breath, we can maximize the benefits of each breath and Kriya practice, bringing us to our unique, coherent, and regulated state in a dysregulated world.
How to Practice Long, Deep Breathing
So, let’s get started!
Seated Position:
Sit in a comfortable position with your spine aligned and sit bones rooted into the ground. Sit in a way that creates the most ease in your body.
You can add blocks or pillows under your knees or rest your back straight against a wall if needed. It's most important to have a straight spine without strain.
Grounding Breath:
Take a few deep breaths to ground yourself in your practice and notice the quality of your breath.
Visualize the breath moving from the diaphragm. As you inhale, the dome-like muscle flattens, and the ribcage expands. As you exhale, the diaphragm returns to its dome shape, and there's a slight pulling in of the abdominals.
Lower Lungs:
Place your hands along your lower ribs with fingertips resting towards the front.
Take a few deep breaths, expanding your breath into your hands. Feel the lower lungs press the ribcage out, and feel how the breath applies pressure to your hands.
Inhale to expand the ribcage via the diaphragm, and exhale to return to the starting position.
Mid Lungs:
Bring your hands up, fingers just below the bra line, wrapping your thumbs behind the ribcage if possible. If your shoulders are sensitive, wrap your hands around the mid-ribcage as comfortably as you can.
Take a few cycles of breath here, visualizing the diaphragm's movement.
Upper Lungs:
Place your thumbs in your armpits and rest your fingers towards your collarbones. Focus your breath on your upper lungs.
Spend a few rounds of breath here.
Putting It All Together:
Note which area of the lungs felt hardest to send the breath. Place your hands there as you integrate the three portions of the breath.
Inhale: Send one count of breath into the lower lungs, one count into the mid lungs, and one count into the upper lungs.
Pause briefly, then exhale in reverse order: one count from the upper lungs, one count from the mid lungs, and one count final release from the lower lungs.
Spend 5-10 minutes practicing this for the next 10 days to support the neuropathways needed to stimulate the vagus nerve and harness the power of a long, deep breath in creating an embodied state of ease.
Integrating Breath Awareness into Daily Life
Now that you have a solid foundation of a long, deep breath, I encourage you to incorporate this powerful technique into daily life and use it to create a daily practice. It’s also a great tool to always have in your back pocket. Give it a try anytime you feel the bubbling up of life’s triggers. No one will even know you’re practicing!
Helpful Tips for Creating a Daily Practice
Establish Your WHY:
Clearly define why you want to practice breathwork. Revisit this reason when you encounter resistance to stay consistent with your practice.
Create a Ritual:
When we “habit-pair” a new routine, new habits are proven to embed more consistently than when practiced alone. For example, pair this practice with your morning tea or coffee, light a candle or incense, or make your bed before or after your session.
Practice First Thing in the Morning:
Try to practice first thing in the morning to set a positive tone for the day.
Start Small:
Begin with 5 minutes a day for 10 days. This is a great routine to build a strong foundation without feeling overwhelmed.
Overcoming Resistance
When resistance arises, reflect on the following questions:
What’s my why?
Who benefits from this practice?
Do I believe I deserve more ease in my life?
By asking these questions, you can reconnect with your motivation and reinforce your deeper connection to a consistent breathwork practice.
In conclusion, we’ve explored the importance of a foundational long, deep breathing practice for physical, mental, and spiritual health. By mastering this practice and integrating it into daily life, you can start to manage stress more easily and cultivate resilience within your nervous system as you explore more intricate breathwork techniques. I encourage you to focus on this technique before going into more advanced practices. I challenge you to devote the next 10 days to practicing long, deep breathing for 5-10 minutes daily to build a strong foundation to continue expanding a consistent practice.
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