I've mentioned that I have been using breathing techniques lately, as a way to help balance the automic nervous system, boost my para-sympathetic nervous sysyem, reduce stress, and facilitate healing.
But what exactly does that look like, you might be wondering? There are variations you can find of each technique, but personally I like to use kind of a combination of a few different things.
Here's how I do it:
I prefer to lay down, but you can also sit.
Using your right hand thumb and ring finger (or fourth finger), you will alternate closing one nostril at a time.
To start, take a deep cleansing breath. Fully exhale. Before breathing in again, use your thumb to plug your right nostril.
With your thumb closing your right nostril, inhale, nice and smooth, using your diaphragm (more stomach, less shoulder lift) for a count of five seconds.
When you reach the top of the breath at five seconds, pause very briefly, switching over to your ring finger plugging your left nostril.
With your ring finger on your left nostril exhale for a count of five (exhale fully to aid in next full inhale).
Keep your ring finger over your left nostril and switch to inhale for five seconds, then pause at the top, switching sides and fingers(thumb back over right nostril) and then exhale for five seconds.
This completes one cycle.
Do this for five minutes at a time, ten minutes is even better. A couple times a day is really good to do at first while you learn the technique and condition your body to enter the parasympathetic mode. The more you practice this, the more it will help.
This method combines several different breathing techniques, but all are designed to aid in healing and relaxation.
Yoga Nidra, parasympathetic breathing, alternate nostril breathing, heart rate variability (HRV), and hypnosis/meditation relaxation techniques have all shaped how I came up with my own personal practice. YouTube is a great resource for all the things I mentioned, so if you want to learn more about a specific thing, I suggest searching for a video on there.
Focus on one or a couple things you are thankful for...really feel the joy they bring to you.
You can practice affirmations like mantras that you repeat. Sometimes it feels really good to alternate what you say or think with your inhales/exhales; on the inhale "I breathe in calm", on the exhale "I release chaos", or "Breathing in peace, breathing out tension", or simply "Rest" and "Release". Find what resonates with you and work with it.
Lately, an affirmation I've been using alot is "God heals me."
Choose something that can apply to the present and the future. If we only say "God will heal me", we can get stuck in the mindset that it has not, or is not, happening right now.
Another example- say " I react peacefully in stressful situations", rather than " I will not get upset with my kids anymore".
I really enjoy starting my day with the breathing practice, but I also will sometimes stop and do it in the middle of a day that's just going crazy. Sometimes I lay outside in the sunshine. I have found now that I have been practicing this for awhile, that when I am in a stressful situation, I much more often "subconsciously" stop and take a deep breath, which is a really good thing, and a sign that my body is shifting to a better place overall to facilitate healing.
When we experience chronic stress, there comes a point when our bodies can kind of lock into emergency mode. This is the sympathetic nervous system's job; "fight or flight" mode saves our life in an actual emergency. But when we get stuck in that response system, our bodies are constantly stressed and cannot heal. Certain functions actually stop or are dramatically reduced in an effort to save energy; because in an emergency we don't need to, say, grow thick hair or go into a deep sleep, we just need to survive.
So we have to work on boosting the parasympathic nervous system to restore balance and achieve healing. This means reducing stress on your body, mind, spirit and emotions.
God's amazing design of our bodies and how they were made to heal is such an interesting and exciting thing to learn about. I am so grateful for tools, such as breathing techniques, to help support and heal our bodies. Self care might feel like a luxury sometimes, but God wants us to care for our bodies and minds. Be intentional, be responsible; be supportive of the gift He has given you; don't take your health or body for granted.
I'd love to hear if you do any type of breathing technique to reduce stress, or if you try mine😊 Also feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.
But what exactly does that look like, you might be wondering? There are variations you can find of each technique, but personally I like to use kind of a combination of a few different things.
Here's how I do it:
I prefer to lay down, but you can also sit.
Using your right hand thumb and ring finger (or fourth finger), you will alternate closing one nostril at a time.
To start, take a deep cleansing breath. Fully exhale. Before breathing in again, use your thumb to plug your right nostril.
With your thumb closing your right nostril, inhale, nice and smooth, using your diaphragm (more stomach, less shoulder lift) for a count of five seconds.
When you reach the top of the breath at five seconds, pause very briefly, switching over to your ring finger plugging your left nostril.
With your ring finger on your left nostril exhale for a count of five (exhale fully to aid in next full inhale).
Keep your ring finger over your left nostril and switch to inhale for five seconds, then pause at the top, switching sides and fingers(thumb back over right nostril) and then exhale for five seconds.
This completes one cycle.
Do this for five minutes at a time, ten minutes is even better. A couple times a day is really good to do at first while you learn the technique and condition your body to enter the parasympathetic mode. The more you practice this, the more it will help.
This method combines several different breathing techniques, but all are designed to aid in healing and relaxation.
Yoga Nidra, parasympathetic breathing, alternate nostril breathing, heart rate variability (HRV), and hypnosis/meditation relaxation techniques have all shaped how I came up with my own personal practice. YouTube is a great resource for all the things I mentioned, so if you want to learn more about a specific thing, I suggest searching for a video on there.
Focus on one or a couple things you are thankful for...really feel the joy they bring to you.
You can practice affirmations like mantras that you repeat. Sometimes it feels really good to alternate what you say or think with your inhales/exhales; on the inhale "I breathe in calm", on the exhale "I release chaos", or "Breathing in peace, breathing out tension", or simply "Rest" and "Release". Find what resonates with you and work with it.
Lately, an affirmation I've been using alot is "God heals me."
Choose something that can apply to the present and the future. If we only say "God will heal me", we can get stuck in the mindset that it has not, or is not, happening right now.
Another example- say " I react peacefully in stressful situations", rather than " I will not get upset with my kids anymore".
I really enjoy starting my day with the breathing practice, but I also will sometimes stop and do it in the middle of a day that's just going crazy. Sometimes I lay outside in the sunshine. I have found now that I have been practicing this for awhile, that when I am in a stressful situation, I much more often "subconsciously" stop and take a deep breath, which is a really good thing, and a sign that my body is shifting to a better place overall to facilitate healing.
When we experience chronic stress, there comes a point when our bodies can kind of lock into emergency mode. This is the sympathetic nervous system's job; "fight or flight" mode saves our life in an actual emergency. But when we get stuck in that response system, our bodies are constantly stressed and cannot heal. Certain functions actually stop or are dramatically reduced in an effort to save energy; because in an emergency we don't need to, say, grow thick hair or go into a deep sleep, we just need to survive.
So we have to work on boosting the parasympathic nervous system to restore balance and achieve healing. This means reducing stress on your body, mind, spirit and emotions.
God's amazing design of our bodies and how they were made to heal is such an interesting and exciting thing to learn about. I am so grateful for tools, such as breathing techniques, to help support and heal our bodies. Self care might feel like a luxury sometimes, but God wants us to care for our bodies and minds. Be intentional, be responsible; be supportive of the gift He has given you; don't take your health or body for granted.
I'd love to hear if you do any type of breathing technique to reduce stress, or if you try mine😊 Also feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions.
Comments
Post a Comment