As Easy As Breathing
Hi Friends,
We breathe automatically all day & night without having to think about it. The autonomic nervous system has our back… or does it?
When we are in a stress state, we take shorter, more constricted breaths- only utilizing part of the capacity of the lungs. In the short term, this helps us escape potential dangers, but it is not an effective system for long-term use. If you are someone who lives in chronic pain, you likely breathe like this far more often & don’t realize it.
Over time, it becomes all your body knows, and your regular breath cadence signals to your unconscious mind & nervous system that you are always in danger.
Pranayama is a branch of yoga where we consciously control the breath & directly communicate with the nervous system. This is a wildly effective tool to calm & help control chronic pain. Practicing breath control rarely requires any special postures or props, making it accessible even on your worst pain days.
Try this right now:
-> Place a hand on your chest & a hand on your belly
-> Take a few normal breaths to locate where in the body you are currently breathing (it’s likely high in your chest)
-> Observe the feeling of that upper hand rising & falling
-> Slowly begin to expand the depth and sensation of your breath to your broader ribcage (the space between your hands)
-> Eventually begin to breathe deep enough to feel your lower hand rise and fall (it’s called “belly breathing” for a reason)
-> Consciously follow this breath for a minute or two, then mentally let it go and relax your hands
How do you feel?
I believe that all yoga is ever trying to help us do is increase our awareness. We build more tools to navigate life more gracefully the more we practice. Be sure to pause & take stock often.