What happens when we get stressed or anxious? Our breathing becomes quick, shallow, and irregular. Or we hold our breath and then stop the flow of energy through our heart-lung meridian channel according to Chinese medicine. Have you ever caught yourself exhaling loudly after a scare whilst driving or a heated argument with your partner? It’s the body remembering to breathe again…phew!
So instead of breathing 15 times per minute which is the average rate for most people, your breath can dramatically speed up increasing heart rate and putting more stress on your heart and lungs. Rapid, shallow breathing changes the pH balance of the blood, making it more acidic as carbon dioxide is dissolved in the bloodstream as carbonic acid. So it doesn’t matter how much alkaline organic veggies you are eating, it’s very hard to move the blood in the direction of alkaline if you are not aware of your breath.
Soft, slow belly or abdominal breathing through your nose signals the parasympathetic nervous system to take over from the “fight and flight“ sympathetic stress response of quick, shallow breathing. When you slow down and breathe consciously, you calm the mind and cool down your emotional energy.
It’s not surprising that breathing techniques like alternate nostril breathing is the most powerful quick way to reduce hot flushes in menopause. The flow of energy through alternate nostrils regulates your body temperature like an internal air conditioner. The left nostril brings in the cooling, soothing Yin energy and the right nostril gives out the heating Yang energy. Straw breathing, breathing in through your nose and out through a straw is another very cooling breathing technique during menopause.
Breathing in and out only through your nose is an excellent way to increase your performance in sport or exercise. Nasal breathing increases your respiratory efficiency whilst reducing your breathing and heart rate and overall exertion. Exercise using nasal breathing at any level becomes not how much you can do but how effortlessly you can do it.
Connecting with your breath when you exercise brings you closer to a “flow experience” where there is no pain, no strain but just a sense of the body and mind being completely connected. I have felt it with the “runners high” and what keeps drawing me back to the grace and beauty of running. It doesn’t just have to happen with exercise though; any activity can produce a flow experience whether you are painting, listening to music, or working on a project, and it all starts with the breathing for my mind and body.
Laughter and singing are simple, intuitive ways to breathe deeply again. Studies show laughter reduces cortisol levels and supports the immune system and along with singing is a great anti- dote to stress. We all need a good belly laugh, but particularly Ayurvedic Pitta types benefit from watching funny movies and having a lot of laughter, lightness, and comedy in their lives to counteract their intense, “hot-headed” nature.
Whenever you are feeling particularly frazzled or scattered, simply return to the awareness of your breath, the rising and falling of your belly. Even if your day has been like a cyclone of con- stant activity, there are still points of stillness like the eye of any storm. You can find these in the space between inhaling or exhaling or after each breath. Pausing after you finish one activity before you start the next and slowing down to breathe is a great way to align your mind, body, and spirit, creating more focus and balance in your daily life.