Your breath is your ultimate, portable wellness device. Breathing is something we do every day, without even thinking about it most of the time. But did you know that the way we breathe has a profound effect on the way we think and feel? In this blog post, I will explain how our breath is connected to our nervous system state, and how you can harness the power of your breath to create more safety and calm in your body and mind.
Using polyvagal theory to understand the breath
The polyvagal theory, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, is a framework that helps us understand how our nervous system responds to stress and trauma. So far, on my odyssey of learning to understand the mind and body, this is by far the most useful framework I have found to explain human behaviour; and so I use this framework in my educational and therapeutic work. According to this theory, our nervous system has three main states: the ventral vagal state, the sympathetic state, and the dorsal vagal state.
The ventral vagal (parasympathetic) state is when we feel safe, connected, and relaxed. This is the optimal state for social engagement, learning, and creativity.
The fight or flight (sympathetic) state is when we feel threatened, anxious, or angry. This is the state that activates the fight-or-flight response, preparing us to defend ourselves or escape from danger.
The dorsal vagal (parasympathetic) state is when we feel shut down, hopeless, fatigued &/or numb. This is the state that triggers the collapse response, shutting down our body and mind to protect us from further harm.
Each of these states has a different effect on our breathing patterns. When we are in the ventral vagal state, our breathing is deep, slow, rhythmic, and through the nose. When we are in the sympathetic state, our breathing is shallow, fast, irregular, and through the mouth.
Polyvagal theory also explains how our nervous system can change from one state to another depending on the signals we receive from our environment and our own body. These signals are up through a process called neuroception where the nervous system constantly scans our environment for cues of safety or danger. For example, a friendly smile, a soothing voice, or a gentle touch can be cues of safety that help us shift to the ventral vagal state. On the other hand, a loud noise, a harsh word, or a sudden movement can be cues of danger that push us to the sympathetic or dorsal vagal state.
Our nervous system also picks up cues of safety and/or danger from inside our own bodies; fast, shallow and arhythmic breathing tend to be picked up as cues of danger, whereas slow, rhythmic, deep breathing are picked up as cues of safety. When we make conscious changes to our breath which mimic the ventral vagal breath pattern, our nervous system will pick this up as a cue of safety, helping us shift into a calmer state.
When our body is in a calmer state, our thoughts tend to be of a more positive, relaxed quality. This is because our thoughts correspond with the state in our body. A stressed state will produce stressed thoughts; a relaxed state will produce relaxed thoughts etc.
So, making changes to our breath can help support our body into the ventral vagal state and this helps us feel calmer and more relaxed. A calmer, relaxed state will lead to more positive thoughts and feelings about ourselves and others.
Pranayama (breathwork) + the nervous system
Breathing is not only a passive process that happens automatically in our body. Breathing can be an active process that we can control; this is where breathwork techniques are very helpful.
In yoga, breathwork practices are called Pranayama. Prana = energy, Yama = control. So, we control the breath to control our energy; the yogis have known this technology for thousands of years!
Breathing is one of the most powerful ways to regulate our nervous system state because it directly affects the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the longest nerve in our body that connects our brain to many vital organs such as the heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, etc. The vagus nerve is responsible for many functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, immunity, etc. As the largest component of the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system (where the ventral vagal and dorsal vagal states reside), the vagus nerve also plays a key role in transmitting cues of safety or danger between our body and brain.
When we breathe rhythmically, consciously and slowly through the nose deep into our belly, we relax the diaphragm muscle and stimulate the vagus nerve in a way that promotes the ventral vagal state. This helps us calm down our heart rate, lower our blood pressure, relax our muscles, improve our digestion, boost our immunity, etc. It also helps us feel more connected to ourselves and others.
When we breathe shallowly and quickly through the mouth, we trigger the sympathetic (fight or flight) state. This prepares us for action by increasing our heart rate, raising our blood pressure, tensing our muscles, suppressing our digestion, lowering our immunity, etc. It also makes us feel more alert, anxious, or angry.
It’s really quite incredible that we all have the power to profoundly shift the way we are thinking and feeling right now, by making changes to our breathing – it really is our ultimate portable wellness device!
How to breathe your way to more safety + calm.
Now that you know how breathing affects your nervous system state, you might wonder how you can use this knowledge to create more safety and calm in your body and mind. They key is creating those all-important cues of safety with your breath. The good news is that if you’re breathing (if you’re reading this, you should be!) then you can use your breath to create safety cues for yourself. Although these breathwork techniques are considered a safe practices, If you have any respiratory issues or concerns, please check with your medical doctor before trying any breathwork techniques.
Here are some ways you can start creating safety cues in your breath today:
Diaphragmatic breathing:
This is a technique that involves breathing deeply into your belly, helping to relax your diaphragm muscle. To practice diaphragmatic breathing, you can follow these steps:
Sit comfortably with your hands on your belly.
As you breathe in consciously draw your breath downwards into your belly and feel it expand in to your hands like a balloon.
As you breath out, breathe out from your belly, pulling it back in like a deflating balloon.
If you struggle pushing your belly out, try leaning forwards slightly which can help relax the diaphragm (+ unbutton tight jeans first!)
Elongating the exhale:
Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor, with your spine straight and your shoulders relaxed (though can be practiced in any position).
Try to breathe through your nose, deep in to your belly if possible.
Inhale for a count of four. Exhale for a count of four.
Inhale for a count of four. Exhale for a count of five.
Inhale for a count of four. Exhale for a count of six.
Inhale for a count of four. Exhale for a count of seven.
Inhale for a count of four. Exhale for a count of eight.
Try to stay at the 4:8 ratio for several rounds of breath. If this feels uncomfortable, you can drop back to one of the previous rounds.
Box breathing:
This is a technique that involves breathing in a square pattern. To practice box breathing, you can follow these steps:
Sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor, with your spine straight and your shoulders relaxed (though can be practiced in any position).
Breathe in slowly through your nose, counting to four in your head. Hold the air in your lungs for another four counts.
Breathe out slowly through your nose or mouth, counting to four in your head. Hold the air out of your lungs for another four counts.
Repeat this for several minutes. If you are a visual person, you might like to imagine breathing around the sides of a square; breathe up one side, hold at the top, breathe down the other side and hold along the bottom.
This is a five minute breathwork practice video in which I guide you through diaphragmatic breathing and lengthening the exhale:
I recommend a regular daily breathwork practice of 3-5 minutes. A regular practice not only makes these techniques more available to you when you need them, but also helps to tone your vagus nerve, making it easier to come home to the ventral vagal state after stress. Breathwork increases your resilience!
Conclusion – your breath is your powerful companion!
You have the power to profoundly shift the way you think and feel by making changes to your breath throughout the day. Breathing is more than just a physical function. Breathing is also a powerful tool to regulate our nervous system state and influence our thoughts and emotions. By understanding how breathing affects our nervous system state, we can use breathwork techniques to create more safety and calm in our body and mind. This can help us heal from trauma and stress and live more fully and joyfully.
Happy breathing, folks!
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