It’s easy to forget about our breath.
We breathe on autopilot. We go about our day, focused on whatever is at hand. And we breathe through all of it even if we are unaware of it.
But paying attention to our breathing has many benefits, including helping us to manage feelings of anxiety.
Deep breathing calms the nervous system
When we feel stressed, our bodies react in certain ways.
Our hearts may beat faster.
Our palms may sweat.
Maybe we get the shakes or tremble.
Our breath also becomes short, sharp and shallow. This is part of our body’s stress response.
In fact, our breath is the most key element to our body’s stress response. It’s so powerful that we can induce a state of anxiety or stress in ourselves by taking shallow, quick breaths just from our chest.
This is an important realisation, as it means that the opposite can have an effect on our stress response too.
Taking long outbreaths can calm our bodies and nervous system down.
This can be helpful for dealing with day-to-day stress as well as anxiety disorder.
Why long slow outbreaths?
Time for a quick biology lesson!
Our autonomic (another word for involuntary or unconscious) nervous system controls things like our heartbeat and digestion.
This entire system is split into two parts.
The first part is the sympathetic nervous system. This is the section that controls our fight or flight response when we encounter stressful situations.
The second part is our parasympathetic nervous system. This is the section that controls our rest and relax response.
Both sides of our nervous system are always alert and working.
However, taking normal breaths and long, slow, outbreaths help to calm our sympathetic nervous system and that reduces feelings of stress and anxiety in our bodies.
It’s not possible to switch the sympathetic nervous system off. And that’s not really something we want to do anyway.
However, by consciously focusing on our breathing and modulating our outbreaths consecutively over a few minutes, we can “turn down the volume” for this side of our nervous systems.
Hiss like a snake!
When you are out and about in the world, the best way by far to create a long slow outbreath is by breathing out through your mouth, making a quiet “s” or “f” sound. This almost imperceptible hiss slows down your outbreath effortlessly.
It’s as easy as this – no counting, no holding, no sweat. You can do this at the coffee shop, on the bus, at work.
The soothing, calming Voo*
The breathing exercise to do when you are at home or somewhere else where you feel comfortable to make a noise is called the “Voo”. It’s the Somatic Experiencing way to calm your nervous system using breath from Peter Levine’s trauma work.
Let me explain as this exercise could become your best friend when you feel anxious or panicky.
As before, take a normal breath but this time on the out breath, make a deep “voo” sound over the length of your outbreath, allowing it to resonate in your belly.
The effect of this calms the vagus nerve, which runs from the base of the brain to your lungs, heart, diaphragm and digestive tract. It sends a gentle, massaging signal to the vagus nerve that you are not in any danger, that you are safe. This allows your nervous system to come back into balance and your mind to calm down.
It’s a little like making the “om” sound in yoga.
Be gentle with yourself
Take a moment to recognise that you are doing something nourishing for yourself by focusing on your breathing.
Remember that to reap the benefits of any breathing practice you need to connect regularly with your breath. Keep practicing, even if it is only just for a few minutes at a time. You will soon notice that you now have a new tool in your toolkit to manage anxiety.
Please contact me if you would like to explore ways to manage the stress or anxiety in your life.
VOO*. This is a breathing exercise comparable to an “Om” in yoga. The vibrating waves created by making a deep, fog horn like projection of the sound “Voo” over the length of your exhale give your vagus nerve a gentle massage, restoring flow and releasing historical gunk. The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in your body and regulates key functions such as social engagement, digestion, alertness/consciousness, and emotional regulation.