Using breathwork to calm the nervous system
When life becomes overwhelming our breathing often becomes restricted because we tend to hold our breath, or take shorter, more shallow breaths when we experience tension. We may experience this as negative thoughts swirling in our head, our palms feeling sweaty and our heart rate may have increased. This is our body’s way of saying it is on high alert. In the right context this can be a brilliant, energising way for us to perform. However, when we find ourselves experiencing a sense of overwhelm for several days (or weeks) at a time, it can have an incremental impact on our overall wellbeing.
One way to invite calm and soothe the nervous system is a breathing exercise called box breathing:
- Find a quiet place to sit.
- Close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath.
- Begin to breathe in through your nose and gently out through your mouth.
- On your next in-breath, count from 1-4.
- At the top of the breath, hold for a count of 4.
- Breath out of your mouth for a count of 4.
- At the bottom of the breath, hold for a count of 4.
- Repeat this a few times and notice how you feel. If you feel good, try repeating the above, but extend the out-breath to 8.
You can try this practice anywhere. You might even share it with your family over the holiday period.
© 2020 Copyright Bloom People – design by Smith – development by Thames Web Design
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]