Have You Noticed Your Breath Today?
It may sound cliche, but learning to befriend your breath can change your life
In certain situations, there can be nothing more aggravating than someone telling you to “take a deep breath.”
Maybe you’re having a panic attack. Maybe you’re stressed because you‘re raising children in a pandemic. Maybe the IRS has just told you that you’re a victim of Social Security fraud. Whatever the reason, the idea that an automatic physiological process we do thousands of times per day without thinking could even marginally improve such a situation can feel ridiculous. Insulting, even.
Except it can. I know. I’m sorry to sound optimistic in these times. But I want you to know that learning how to first notice, and then maybe even befriend, your breath is one of life’s great tools.
Okay, stick with me here. Let’s try something.
Sit up a little straighter, put one hand in the middle of your chest, and one hand on your belly. Uncross your legs and plant both feet on the floor. Close your eyes, maybe. As you take a steady inhale, notice how your body moves underneath your hands. Do you feel your belly rising? Or just your chest? Which one rises more? Do you notice the whole container of your torso expanding, side ribs and back, or just your upper chest? Do you feel like your body is responding to your breath? Or like your breath is constricted by your body?
If this sounds theoretical or maybe even esoteric, let’s switch gears and look at the science. Simply put, the breath is amazing. Slower, steady breathing — usually around six breaths per minute — is linked to all kinds of positive health outcomes, including reduced stress, improved heart health, better sleep, lower blood pressure, and longer life.
At any moment, actively lengthening your exhale (say, two counts longer than your inhale) stimulates the vagus nerve, which plays the starring role in down-regulating your nervous system, taking you out of a stress response. The reason you instinctively let out a sigh when you’re stressed it is because it’s a tiny coping mechanism honed over millennia. Your body is trying to calm you down.
