Breathe out, breathe in
When we are stressed and we need to calm down, we are often told to breathe in and breathe out. But it is actually the other way around: we first breathe out and then we breathe in. Just like all other aerobic creatures, we need oxygen to break down foods for energy and we produce carbon dioxide as a waste product that we exhale. And it’s important to exhale completely. Otherwise, excess carbon dioxide - a known stressor in your nervous system - may remain in your lungs. Our detects detects that there is too much carbon dioxide and not enough oxygen. So it asks for more oxygen, and you inhale. The lungs are still partially filled with carbon dioxide, so not as much oxygen can get in. A cycle starts and you keep inhaling for more oxygen, but can't get enough because you haven’t emptied your lungs fully. This leads to shallow breathing and holding your breath.
I have learned a thing or two about breathing, being a diver and free diver. But I must admit that I never really breathe consciously. Until I had a breath work session with my dear friend Nadine, from Calma na Alma. She explained so many things about breathing that I never fully realized. And the most powerful aspect of breathing for me is: there are many things we can’t control, but we can control our breathing. And with that we can influence a lot of things, like how to calm ourselves when we are stressed, how to boost our energy, how to sleep better and perform better. In school and in life we learn so many things, but do we ever learn how to breathe well? It seems a bit mind boggling that such an important aspect of life and living is given so little attention. So I want to share what I learned.
Most people don’t pay much attention to the way they are breathing, but there are basically two ways of breathing: Diaphragmatic (abdominal) breathing and Thoracic (chest) breathing. When we are anxious we tend to take short, shallow breaths: chest breathing. This type of breathing causes an imbalance of the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the body resulting in dizziness, increased heart rate, muscle tension etc. Releasing the right amount of carbon dioxide happens through nasal exhalation as the body always needs some CO2 as a catalyst to actually be able to release carbon dioxide from the hemoglobin. Your blood is not getting enough oxygen resulting in a stress response, further activating the stress center of our brain.
Nadine showed me how to check your breathing. You place one hand on your chest and one hand on your abdomen. Then you breathe and you check which hand moves the most. If you're breathing as you should, your abdomen should expand and contract with each breath (and the hand on it should raise the most). Especially when we are feeling stressed it’s important to check this, as it can help you go from shallow breathing to diaphragmatic breathing. When you feel anxious you can try the following:
Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose. Keep your shoulders relaxed (not up). Your abdomen should expand, and your chest should rise very little.
Exhale slowly through your mouth. As you blow air out, purse your lips slightly, but keep your jaw relaxed. You may hear a soft “whooshing” sound as you exhale.
Repeat this breathing exercise. Do it for several minutes until you start to feel better.
You can do it with counting or without (counting out double counts exhaling as inhaling), whatever you feel as being most comfortable.
Another interesting bit of information that Nadine shared with me is the existence of the Vagus Nerve. It is the longest nerve in our body and it transmits information to or from the surface of the brain to tissues and organs elsewhere in the body. The name “vagus” is Latin for “wandering” and this nerve was called this way because the vagus nerve wanders from the brain into organs in the neck, chest, and abdomen. It is also the main component of the parasympathetic nervous system. The other part of our nervous system is the sympathetic part which increases alertness, energy, blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate. The parasympathetic side decreases alertness, blood pressure, and heart rate, and helps with calmness, relaxation, and digestion. When we practice deep diaphragmatic breathing, we stimulate the vagus nerve which helps lower our heart rate and we become more calm and relaxed.
Of course, when we are in a state of panic or anxiety, we feel the least the urge to practice deep breathing. That’s why it’s important to do a little diaphragmatic breathing everyday so our body becomes used to this type of breathing and you train yourself to automatically breathe like this without having to think about it too much.
Calma na Alma offers various Breathwork sessions in Cascais, Portugal. I can really recommend booking a session or more with her! If you don’t live in Portugal, no worries, it’s a great excuse to come visit this beautiful place. :)
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