Can managing stress be as easy as breathing!?!
Are you looking for some quick and simple tools to relax or to get sharp?
Our lungs are our greatest ally in not just sustaining life, but for stabilising energy and moods. And they are with us wherever we go!
Whether you feel sluggish and foggy or anxious and stressed, there is quick way to transform this into clarity and energy or peace and calm. And it only costs you time.
It’s a common belief that oxygen (O2) is the most important gas to affect mood and vitality. While being very important in its own right, it is carbon dioxide (CO2) that is the most important gas. Let me tell you why….
When we are stressed we tend to breath fast and shallow.
We are getting enough oxygen but we aren’t effectively eliminating CO2. Rising levels of CO2 makes the blood a little more acidic which can affect digestion causing you bloating and such. It can also start irritating the heart muscle which feels like palpitations or a faster heart rate, as well as alter blood flow to the brain causing headaches. These are just a few of the common systemic symptoms of rising levels of CO2 caused by stress.
You are probably familiar when stressed that you are holding onto expectations you just can’t let it go of. No doubt you have heard the term “blow it off”. TRUE! Now is the time to focus on long EXHALATIONS. After a breath in, the most important part is to have long sustained exhalations. “Blow it off”: this will wash out more CO2 from the blood, restore pH and normalize circulation.
Wait there is more! Did you know that by adding sound on exhalation makes it even more effective? By humming, ahhh-ing, grrr-ing, or what ever the sound you want to make, is causing vibration in the chest. When the vagus nerve (which passes right through your diaphragm) feels this vibration it can bring your nervous system out of the flight or fight and into a more calm relaxed state. In fact, do this enough times and you will likely have a big Y A W N – this the pot of gold indicating your system has reached balance. Splooging sounds in the gut is also a bingo. Case in point: repeating Mantra’s and Aum’s is what helps monks go into deep theta states for meditation. Now go find your inner monk……A A a U u u M M m m m
For those of you who feel groggy and foggy, it is more a matter of deficient oxygen.
A simple huff and puff technique can boost alertness. Here you want to focus on the INHALATIONS. This technique asks you to take two big stacked inhalation’s to really fill up all the alveoli in your lungs. Then just let the air fall out. By repeating this a half dozen times you will certainly feel more energized and awake.
The more with this technique is to apply a breath hold at the top of inhalation. Only do what is comfortable for any of these exercises. Know your limit and practice within it! Boing boing!
The quick and dirty:
**To combat stress and anxiety focus on long exhalations – bonus if you add sound.
**To combat grog and fog focus on big inhalations – bonus if you add a breath hold at the top.
Bonus-Bonus:
For either of these techniques breath through the NOSE as often as you can!
Stay tuned for our next newsletter to learn about
why nose breathing is so important.