Breath

Stop for just a moment, whatever you are doing right now.

I promise, this will only take a moment.

Inhale slowly through your nose if possible. Feel the air entering your lungs. Feel your belly rise as if you are filing a pitcher of water from the bottom up. Feel your chest expand in all directions. Pause for a moment. Then, gently exhale, as if pouring that pitcher of water out, feeling the breath move out of the chest and then the belly gently contract. Pause at the bottom. Allow the breathe to enter again, recognizing that you don’t have do anything. Breath is poured back into you over and over again through the day, as if the universe is conspiring to give you this incredible gift of life, of oxygen - moment, after moment, after moment.

Wow, how does that feel?

Breathing is an amazingly powerful tool of the body.
Oxygen fills the lungs and is picked up by the red blood cells traveling through the vessels of the lungs, binds to hemoglobin and is carried throughout the body to every cell where it is released so that each cell can do its daily work. Then, the red blood cells pick up the carbon dioxide, the waste material produced by the cell after doing its work, and this is carried back to the lungs and released through the exhale. That carbon dioxide is picked up by the plants and trees and is part of their energy for their daily activities. They in turn release oxygen. The cycle continues.

Breathing will happen, thanks to the brainstem and the autonomic nervous system which responds to the needs and demands of the cells, without any thought on our part.

However, breathing also can be consciously controlled and modulated. In the exercise above, you were able to change the rate and notice the breath in a way you probably were not noticing just prior to reading this. You might even still be paying a bit more attention to the breath than you were a few minutes ago.

Why do we have this control over our breathing? Some benefits of breath control allow for us to modulate our speech, play some musical instruments,  sing, stop breathing when we are under water, stop breathing if we smell something which could be toxic, lie very still and ‘play dead.’ Some of these aid in survival, others benefit our overall well-being. Another benefit to our well-being is that through being mindful of our breath, we can consciously alter our response to stress.

The vagus nerve, a cranial nerve running from the brain stem to the heart, lungs, diaphragm, digestive tract and up to the inner ear and upper face is an essential component of our parasympathetic nervous system - the nervous system that allows for rest and digestion. There are many cool details about the vagus nerve and its many keys to health and dis-ease which we could explore. But, for now, simply know that consciously taking a deep breath sends a signal through the vagus nerve that we are not running away from a tiger, that we are not in immediate danger, that we can calm down.

So much of our stress as modern humans has very little to do with survival. That deadline at work; the hectic evening schedule of dinner, sports and homework; being stuck in traffic; an argument with a friend or loved one; a piece of disturbing news - these are all stressors which trigger the nervous system to respond in a programmed stress response, but they are not life and death situations. We do not need to run, fight or freeze. In fact, as humans, we often need to pause, think clearly, and respond calmly and wisely. Being able to modify our breath, to pause, to notice, to slow the physical stress response, allows us to be in healthy relationships, to manage some hectic moments, and to remain physically and emotionally healthy in the face of daily stressors.

Having a regular cue throughout your day that gently invites you to breathe begins to make it a habit that allows for the pause even when our mind is freaking out or life begins to feel overwhelmingly stressful. I stop and breathe each time my hand touches the door of my office, or each time I go to the restroom. It can be each time you get in your car or each time you go up the stairs in your home; anything that happens on a regular basis throughout your day whether or not you are feeling stressed. Remembering that the universe conspires to fill us with all the breath we need, calming our nervous system, oxygenating our cells so they can function optimally and happily, breathing out everything we don’t need but that can be transformed and serve our plant neighbors: what could be more profound when done over and over every day?

May your breath fill you with wonder and peace.

Dr Amy