Breathe Deeply, Feel Deeply
“Our emotions are held in our breath.”
In all of this training we are going through I feel like I am fighting daily struggles with breathing — getting winded in spin class, turning my head just enough to gulp in air and not just water when I’m in the pool, and burning past my aerobic threshold when running intervals. I’m also hyper aware of my breath when practicing my daily meditation — though admittedly I have several apps that help me dial into conscious breathing. So naturally, I feel a need to add a follow-up post to my last article on breathing, because really, who can ever get tired of pontificating about the wonders of the respiratory system?
Last week Lauren and I attended a super-cool training on public speaking and performance (shout out to Heroic Public Speaking!). In this workshop, students would go onstage to deliver a prepared speech, such as a keynote address or workshop introduction. While students spoke, the instructors would provide direction and feedback on movement, intonation, cadence, and energy as if they were delivering dramatic soliloquies instead of speeches to be given to a team, board of directors, or public audience. The entire day was focused on the connection between emotional management, mental focus, and physical awareness that drives a great performance.
One student was attempting to make a highly profound and emotional statement, but recited his lines with a small voice, flat tone, and rounded posture. The instructor tried again and again to get the student to liven up, including cues to pull their shoulders back and take deeper breaths in order to take more ownership over the stage and the story. Despite the trainer physically altering the student’s posture and telling them to feel their breath just like they feel the emotion of the narrative, the student did not get the message. Finally, the instructor, Michael Port, paused the entire session to address the room and make one point Crystal clear:
“Our emotions are held in our breath.”
I love this phrase. It makes so much sense, and we see it play out in so many ways every day.
For example, when we try not to cry, we restrict our air intake, in an action that physically resembles the bottling of our emotions as we try to hold them in so as not to spill out in some uncontrolled flood.
When we are scared or timid, our posture becomes small, and our breath leaves us so that we are limited to shallow sips of air that can barely support the formulation of words as it leaves our bodies.
But when we breathe deeply and with energy, we can project our words, enthusiasm, and emotion boldly. Our chest is held high and large so that the lungs have room to expand and take in large amount take of air that can support and express our candor.
Lauren and I both entirely latched onto this phrase as it fits with another program we are working on called Emotional Brain Training (EBT). The premise behind this training system is that we have a thinking brain and an emotional brain, and the latter really drives our relationship with stress. In order to deal with stress appropriately, we have to feel, name, and process the emotions we are feeling. And of course, the process starts by taking a deep breath. Once we consciously tune in to your body’s breath and emotional state, then you can move forward with a clearer state of mind.
With this awesome system for stress management and the wise words of the beautifully bald Michael Port in my mind, I am making a bigger effort to check in with my breathe as well as my emotional state more frequently throughout the day. The EBT system is great for this, and anyone can take the three main steps to connect back to breathe and gauge emotions:
- Take a deep breathe
- Assume a natural posture (shoulders back, head up)
- Observe yourself and ask, “How am I feeling?”
Once you’ve “checked in” you can then determine if you need to further address your emotions with other self-care tools, take care of a physical need (like hunger, thirst, or tiredness), or simply appreciate the moment. The whole EBT system is pretty comprehensive and has a bunch of other tools for emotional and physical well-being.
Our breath is at the core of our physical and emotional strength; our lung capacity is not just an indicator of how fast we can run or how long we can bike. It is also the regulator of our emotional well-being and the most effective tool for managing stress. This is why nearly every protocol for meditation, stress-reduction, and well-being have some emphasis on the breath — it is the first step in regulating the air and emotions that enter and leave us every second of the day. So, my friends, go forth and breathe deeply to feel deeply.
