Just Breathe
If living through a pandemic has taught us anything, it is that the only certainty is uncertainty itself. Our bodies react to any distant and uncertain threat with a state of sustained stress that manifests as anxiety.
Emotional and physical stress affects us in ways we often do not fully appreciate or understand. Being chronically stressed keeps your immune system from working at full capacity. This can make you more susceptible to numerous conditions. And over time, chronic stress, even from seemingly minor inconveniences like traffic, issues with loved ones, or other daily concerns can cause you to develop anxiety or depression. When it comes to coping mechanisms, deep breathing exercises are one of our most effective tools to fight the negative effects of stress.
The impact of chronic stress can be compared to a poorly tuned car that is idling far too fast. The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (the body’s hormonal axis that responds to stress) keeps doing a complex little dance that pumps out ‘stress hormones’, keeping our bodies on high alert, as if we’re expecting a hungry lion around every corner.
Taking deep breaths can help you voluntarily regulate your autonomic nervous system which can have many benefits — especially by lowering your heart rate, regulating blood pressure, and helping you relax, all of which help decrease how much of the stress hormone cortisol is released into your body. This is not some new-age mind-over-matter concept but rather a real physiological phenomenon made possible by the neural links between the respiratory system and other organ systems.
Breathing is more than a way to transport oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of our bodies, says Jacqui Schewitz, a physiotherapist who serves on the Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Group (CPRG), “It is our way to ground ourselves and give us mental calm and stability.”
The CPRG offers some simple tips for using breath-work to calm ourselves and cope with the ongoing stress and anxiety we are all facing:
- Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down.
- Stretch your body from head to toe.
- Relax your tummy.
- Loosen your shoulders.
- Drop your jaw; now close your mouth softly.
- Focus on your breath, quietly going in and out through the nose.
- Breathe into the abdomen, not into the upper part of your lungs.
- Feel your waist expand gently and go back in, as you cycle your breath.
- Do not hold your breath on the inhale.
- There should be a small pause at the exhale; feel it, then just let go.
- To still your mind, concentrate on counting the breaths, saying the number at the end of each exhalation.
Do this at least once a day, and whenever you feel the tension or anxiety rising!
There is a lot more to learn about different types of breathing exercises and how they can help you so be on the lookout for future content on the topic. If you have any symptoms of stress, from breathing issues, headaches or neck pain be sure to consult with your physiotherapist.
Francesca Carleo | Physiotherapist
