Breathing is Powerful (+2 Breathing Exercises)
You gasp and jump away when you are suddenly scared by a friend. You breathe a sigh of relief and smile when you finish giving an important presentation. You snort and clench your fists when your sibling loses your favorite jacket. The breath is so ingrained into our body and emotions that we hardly notice it. While it often takes a back seat to our mind’s attention, the breath holds a lot of power over our bodies. There is so much power in the breath that the Sanskrit word for “breath”, prana, also means “life-force”.
The breath’s power lies in its ability to signal our body to turn on the “fight, flight, or freeze” mode as well as the “rest, repair, and restore” mode. The body has two nervous systems: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). Inhalations signal the SNS to turn on, igniting the body response known as “fight, flight, or freeze”. Exhalations signal the PNS to turn on, triggering the body response to “rest, repair, and restore”.
Our present-day world is so busy, fast-paced, and attention-hogging that our breath, and therefore our bodies, are always in a heightened state. We may notice that we feel out of breath or that we hold our breath for no reason at all. These all act as signals to turn on the SNS and kick the body into high gear.
Our bodies need to spend time in a lowered state of energy to take care of itself. When we get enough sleep at night, we wake up the next day feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. During sleep, the PNS is hard at work regulating the body to repair itself and restore energy reserves. Sleep isn’t the only time the PNS is active. The PNS is also active when your mind is less active. Activities like spending the day outdoors, opting for a quiet night in, having a few hours away from a screen, or taking a few moments exhaling are examples of this.
Here are two 5-minute breathing exercises that will help activate the PNS and put your body on track to repair and restore:
The first exercise is belly breathing. Breathing deeply through your belly activates the PNS and produces an overall calming effect on the body. This is a good exercise to help with difficulties falling asleep.
The second exercise is exhalation lengthening. Exhales release tension and produce an overall soothing effect. I personally like to do this exercise to calm myself down when I feel angry or frustrated.