Meditation Series Part 4
As a personal fan of breathing, I wanted to write this very important post on how to use the breath to reduce stress and anxiety. And yes, it actually works.
Know how sometimes people tell you to “just breathe” and it’s really annoying?
Turns out, it’s genius. As we continue our meditation series (see the others HERE), you’ll know that breathing is a gateway into our meditation practice. It signals the start of a session: inhale… exhale.
And you feel it straight away: calm washing over your body. And those effects are real.
Related: 4 Mantras to Center Yourself During an Anxiety Attack.
I’d never considered the benefits of just breathing properly before. Maybe because my anxiety disorder felt so complex and this solution overly simple. But breathing plays a key role in slowing your heart rate and abating anxiety.
In fact, the art of breathing is being studied at the moment to treat stress, anxiety, depression, and even PTSD.
That’s what did it for me. If breathing is powerful enough to treat patients with freaking PTSD, then why was I being such a skeptic?
Story Time
One day, my desperation in finding a way out of my anxiety disorder landed me in an Ashtanga studio. As you may know, Ashtanga is a physically demanding form of yoga synchronised with the breath and requires a certain level of discipline.
My teacher, a “zen” character chockfull of yoga’s original teachings, had a single rule: breathe. He didn’t care how I did in the practice or how flexible I was… if I wasn’t breathing properly, none of it mattered.
“Why?” I asked, self-conscious of how loud he was asking me to breathe. And he just smiled and said that I’ll understand someday. His cryptic wisdom irritated me.
Six months later, I stopped a panic attack in its tracks just by breathing.
Now this didn’t happen overnight. It takes training to get your breathing to slow down, on and off the mat. And I’ll explain why and how you can do it below.
Buckle up for some breathing facts: this is how to use the breath to reduce and help with stress, anxiety and pretty much all other uncomfortable sensations.
Heart Rate Variability… Whatever the Hell that Means
It’s actually quite simple. Heart Rate Variability (HRV), is the time between heartbeats. And slowing your breath will increase your HRV, aka slow your heart rate. This activates your parasympathetic system (rest and digest) and sends signals of relaxation to the body.
Now. We’ve seen that people with low HRV (fast heart rate) have higher rates of anxiety and depression (hello, me). If you’re chronically stressed, your body may be stuck close to fight-or-flight mode and your HRV will be low, even while resting and completely unaware to you.
It’s no surprise this can cause a myriad of health issues down the line. Fast breathing = fast heart rate = high blood pressure and other health issues. This is why stress is bad for the body.
So you need to adapt your HRV to work for you. And you can do that if you start practicing deep breathing.
This is why things like meditation and yoga work. Their first ask is to slow your breath, and you do it over and over again until it becomes natural.
Studies show that slowing our breathing to 6 breaths per minute increases HRV.
Try it next time you’re stressed. I’m telling you, it works. And the more you do it (i.e. through daily meditation or yoga), the better your “resting” HRV will become.
Another way to increase HRV is through exercise (of course) and stress management activities like this list of 50 self-care ideas for better mental health.
Increasing Oxygen
After I started my Ashtanga journey, it didn’t take long to notice I felt fucking amazing after every session. And while that’s normal with any exercise, I felt an extra bounce in my step after a good Ashtanga practice.
It took me a while to realize that my breath played a major role in that. When you’re on 6 breaths per minute for 1.5 hours… you go on an oxygen high.
We all know oxygen is imporant for basic human function, but increasing your oxygen levels at such a gradient can make you feel like a fucking superhero.
Outside of significantly reducing stress, it can boost your energy and center you in your body. Trauma can oftentimes disconnect us from our bodies and I was no stranger to that. Something about the intense breath practice rooted my feet to the earth and I felt a slow healing well up in my body.
I prescribe this to everyone.
Exercise
Still not convinced? Try this exercise to use the breath and watch your anxiety levels reduce.
Step 1: Set a timer for 1 minute. Count your breaths. When the minute ends, write down how many breaths you took. When I first did this with my psychologist, I was at 17 breaths! My HRV was definitely out of whack.
Step 2: Set your timer again for 1 minute. Now breathe slow enough that you only take 6 breaths. Write down what changed in your body and the different sensations.
Step 3: Continue to breathe at 6 breaths per minute and do some simple stretching exercises. For every stretch, take your time with your 6 breaths and center your mind on the sensations in your body. Don’t let your thoughts take you somewhere else. See if you can read signals your body is sending (i.e. where a muscle is tight, if anxiety sits anywhere, or if you’re storing any restless energy).
And repeat. Every day. For weeks. For months. When we take time out of our day to connect with our center and listen to what our body is actually telling us… that makes all the difference.
And it doesn’t have to be for 1.5 hours! It can be as simple as checking in with yourself throughout the day. And life is suddenly more bearable.
The Best Thing About Breathing
As I stumbled along my Ashtanga journey, my teacher guided me with patience. And one day, as he came over to correct my asana, I was perplexed to hear his deep inhale. He was doing the breathing practice himself, though he wasn’t on the mat.
He was actively keeping himself centered just because he could.
And I had a stupid simple realization. If I have anxiety all day long… why don’t I just use my breath to my advantage all day long? Why was I saving it for the mat? I can call on that tool any time, anywhere. For free!
I can call on it at work, during stressful meetings, with friends. I can access that peace and relaxation when I needed it and when I didn’t.
Not only because 6 breaths per minute is physiologically calming, but because it teaches us to continue to breathe through uncomfortable sensations. To have awareness of the breath and the body instead of being hijacked by our emotions.
The breath works to reduce anxiety and stress. It’s powerful. And it’s stupid simple. So just breathe.
