Breath Space
Just breathe. If only it were as simple as that! Inhale exhale and that’s it?
I recently did a case study as part of my yoga teacher training course which has inspired me to write this blog.
Yogis have known since ancient times the importance of the breath. Hence why Pranayama is so important in a yoga practice. In the western world it can sometimes be seen as an exercise we do only at the start and finish of the yoga practice. However when done well we can tap into our breath at all stages of asanas, keep our mind chatter quiet during meditation and use pranayama outside of the yoga session to manage our anxiety in every day scenarios.
“Prana” = life force “yama” = control
Why try to regulate the breath with pranayama?
How we breathe can have a knock on effect on our mood, our alertness, our posture, our balance, our core control! Breathing well can help keep our bodies functions in balance otherwise known as homeostasis.
Most of us at rest, if we are feeling calm, will be breathing well. We breathe in and out through our nose quietly. Our abdomen (above or around the belly button and below the ribs) will rise on the inhale and fall on the exhale without any effort. We most likely won’t even be aware of our breath. When we breathe like this we are in our rest and digest mode otherwise known as parasympathetic drive. This is a diaphragmatic breath pattern of breathing.
In stressful situations our breathing pattern might change. We might open our mouth, our breath will become heavier and noisier, our shoulders will rise and fall, the front of the chest will begin to rise and fall too and more so than the abdomen, we might sigh heavily and notice that we are breathing faster. This is a chest dominant breathing pattern. In stress situations like this we are in our fight or flight mode otherwise known as sympathetic drive. Think about the caveman about to fight or run from the bear. He needed a lot of oxygen fast for energy to fight or flight. Hence the change to the breathing pattern. The problem in todays world is that our brains can’t differentiate between the bear of our caveman days and the stressful work deadline or the confrontation with a difficult colleague or family member.
The use of pranayama on a regular basis and as needed during stressful times can take us out of this altered breathing pattern which can then ease our anxiety by taking us out of our chest breathing/fight or flight response and back into our diaphragmatic breathing/rest and digest response. We might even then view the stressful scenario in a different light.
A small percentage of us will have a breathing pattern disorder. This means that we are nearly always breathing in the fight or flight mode even when we are not necessarily in a stress inducing scenario. Symptoms of a breathing pattern disorder include headaches, tingling in the arms and hands, chest pain that has been ruled out as non cardiac, dizzy spells, cold hands and feet. There are more symptoms too and on the extreme end panic attacks can occur which are debilitating. If you think you have a breathing pattern disorder you should see a medical professional who can rule out other diagnoses. If a breathing pattern disorder is suspected a referral can be made to a physiotherapist with respiratory specialty who may be able to help.
Most pranayama will try to get you to tap into your diaphragmatic breath. This stimulates the vagus nerve which then switches on our parasympathetic rest and digest drive. The easiest position to check if you are breathing naturally is lying in corpse pose with bolsters under the knees and I quite like child’s pose with knees open too. First step is to observe the breath with eyes closed. Don’t try to change or force anything to begin just observe.
Is your mouth open or closed? Can your hear your breath? Does the air feel cold or warm? Can you feel the breath travel down the windpipe? Where do you feel the breath in the trunk? Is there a rise or a fall anywhere in the front of the chest, in the ribs as they travel from the heart space across your side body and into your back and spine, in the space between the chest bone and the belly button? In child’s pose you might feel your abdomen expand against your thighs as you breath in.
If you are a little disconnected from where your body is in space it might be tricky to feel how the breath moves through our body. If that is the case place a hand on the chest and a hand on the abdomen just above the belly button. Feel the rise and fall of the hands. If you feel your chest rising strongly on the in breath and your abdomen rising on the exhale or if you don’t feel much happening in the abdomen at all see if you can gently influence a change. Try to direct your in breath into the area above the belly button and feel your hand rise as the abdomen expands. For the exhale let the breath go and the abdomen with your hand will fall. Inhale abdomen expands out against your hand, exhale to release. If you are trying to change from a chest dominant pattern to a diaphragmatic breath pattern it can feel strange in the beginning. Counting breaths can help. You may feel like you need to take a big breath or a sigh and in the beginning just let that happen and return to the diaphragmatic breathing pattern when you are ready.
A few tips to trick the body into facilitating the diaphragmatic breath
eyes closed or if open look down
drop the head slightly
relax the shoulders by first shrugging them up to the ears and then letting them go
if lying or standing place hands down loose by the side or on your lower abdomen. If sitting place hands in your lap.
quiet environments, calm voices and relaxing music help
Preferably lie on your back with bolsters under the legs, lie on your side or in childs pose (think foetal position), sit in a comfortable chair. Standing is the hardest position to train diaphragmatic breathing especially if you are feeling stressed so stop what you are doing and sit down!
Once you get the hang of this it is very useful for creating space for calm in a stressful day. Enjoy!
Resources for further reading:
How to take a breath: Reduce stress and improve performance by Tania Clifton-Smith
Hyperventilation Syndrome: Breathing Pattern Disorders by Dinah Bradley
https://masserypt.com
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