Do you want to change your life for the better? Breathe deeply

Health / by admin / December 30, 2020

How breathing can change lives

Probably, everybody from time to time comes up with the thought: "It's time to start a new life." And, as a rule, radical measures are chosen for this, such as strict diets, job changes and social circle.

But neither losing weight nor moving to another city will protect you from the body's reaction to external events, and you very soon you will return to your usual life with its stresses, experiences and the feeling that “everything went wrong So".

If you do not know how to cope with negative events in your life and are in constant stress, try change something will give short-term results at best, but will not change anything in the global perspective.

Therefore, if you want to feel better all the time, no matter what happens, they give you the prize or they are fired, confess their love or throw a scandal - first of all, you need to learn how to properly respond to external events, deal with stress and train awareness.

Correct breathing will help you with this. How you perceive and respond to the world depends not only on the brain, but also on all other systems, including the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

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By controlling your breathing, you can influence the work of the heart and brain, change your emotions, well-being and perception of the world.

You don't need anything - no money, no titanic efforts, and the results will be amazing. Your life will really change - and quite quickly. Below we will look at how deep breathing changes your body, and then we will show you how to do it right.

How breathing techniques affect the body and mind

Helps to be calmer regardless of external factors

Our well-being and sensations are directly related to the work of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which transmits nerve signals from the brain to the internal organs.

Its two divisions - sympathetic and parasympathetic - regulate the response to external events. The first dominates during stressthe second takes over when you are calm and relaxed. We cannot control them consciously, but we are able to influence the ANS with the help of breathing.

Ksenia Shatskaya

Yoga therapist, teacher of anatomy and physiology of yoga, blog author @kseniashatskaya

When you breathe frequently, your heart rate increases, the amount of oxygen supplied to the blood increases, and the tone of all skeletal muscles slightly increases. This is how the body is mobilized for an adequate response to the stimulus.

When breathing slows down, the concentration of CO2 increases in the blood. At the cellular level, this expands the walls of blood vessels and gives the hypothalamus, the medulla oblongata and the trunk a signal to weaken the muscle tone.

The logic is this: with slow breathing, the body is not in danger. We can afford it only when we are convinced of our safety. This means that you can reduce energy expenditure on muscle tone, reducing it.

High muscle tone and mobilization are very expensive for the body in terms of waste resources, so the mechanism of the sympathetic nervous system is normally off, and the background is parasympathetic.

But not among the inhabitants of megalopolises. Their mechanism is broken due to stress. Therefore, you need to help yourself by creating a feeling of security with the help of breathing.

Several experiments at onceA Single ‑ Participants Investigation of the Effects of Various Biofeedback ‑ Assisted Breathing Patterns on Heart Rate Variability: A Practitioner’s Approach, Breathing at a rate of 5.5 breaths per minute with equal inhalation ‑ to ‑ exhalation ratio increases heart rate variability have shown that deep breathing sessions of 5-6 breaths per minute increase variability heart rate - an indicator that is responsiveThe effect of mental stress on heart rate variability and blood pressure during computer work stress and is directly relatedA Single ‑ Participants Investigation of the Effects of Various Biofeedback ‑ Assisted Breathing Patterns on Heart Rate Variability: A Practitioner’s Approach with the emotions and well-being of a person. Moreover, heart rate variability changes not only during the session itself, but also for some time afterHeart rate variability biofeedback increases baroreflex gain and peak expiratory flow her.

Well, regular breathing exercises throughout the month changeEffect of short-term practice of breathing exercises on autonomic functions in normal human volunteers the autonomic nervous system, shifting the balance towards the parasympathetic "calm" department. As a result, people consistently feel more peaceful and satisfied, cope better with stress and control emotions.Abbreviated Resonant Frequency Training to Augment Heart Rate Variability and Enhance On ‑ Demand Emotional Regulation in Elite Sport Support Staff, both at work and at home.

You cannot avoid stress: without it, a fulfilling life is impossible. But you will react to them in a very different way.

Change the way the brain works towards awareness

Depending on the state - sleep, wakefulness, excitement, meditations - different types of "waves" prevail in the brain. These are electrical discharges with different frequencies that neurons produce in response to stimuli.

When you are awake, beta waves (13 to 100 Hz) predominate, when you relax and meditate, alpha waves (8-12.9 Hz). Deep diaphragmatic breathing increasesAppearance of high-frequency alpha band with disappearance of low-frequency alpha band in EEG is produced during voluntary abdominal breathing in an eyes ‑ closed condition alpha brain activity, immersing a person in a meditative state, and using simple practices like counting breathing teaches the brain to focus on what is happening now.

Ksenia Shatskaya

The ability to breathe in a certain way under the account trains the ability of the brain to concentrate in the moment "here and now", which increases stress tolerance and productivity of the part of the brain that is responsible for willpower, intelligence, emotional intelligence and social personality characteristics.

After deep breathing sessions, the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, decreases, people feel lessActivation of the anterior prefrontal cortex and serotonergic system is associated with improvements in mood and EEG changes induced by Zen meditation practice in novices, Clinical utility of paced breathing as a concentration meditation practice anxiety, anger and embarrassment, it becomes easier for them to concentrateThe Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults on tasks and deal with everyday problems.

What's more, regular breathing exercises increaseThe Effect of Diaphragmatic Breathing on Attention, Negative Affect and Stress in Healthy Adults Beta activity in the left frontal, midline, and occipital regions of the brain, which are associated with increased cognitive performance - attention, memory, and executive function. So it's safe to say that deep breathing will make you smarter.

Breathing practices tune your central nervous system so that you are less stressed, more mindful, energized and focused.

How to prepare for breathing practice

Determine if you can study

Deep breathing is safe for almost anyone, but there are conditions in which it can be harmful. So, Ksenia Shatskaya does not advise trying breathing practices with organic lesions of the tissues of the nervous system and acute inflammatory diseases of the pulmonary system.

It is also not recommended to use deep breathing when panic attacks. In this state, people are advisedNew breathing therapy reduces panic and anxiety by reversing hyperventilation inhale and exhale slowly but shallowly to reduce the risk of hyperventilation.

Choose the right time

You can do breathing practices any time you feel the need to calm down. If you want to build a habit and incorporate breathing exercises into your daily routine, do them after waking up and before bed.

Firstly, this way you will do the exercises on an empty stomach, and this is a necessary condition for comfortable practice. Second, it will provide a number of additional benefits.

Ksenia Shatskaya claims that by doing the practice in the morning, you will reduce the level of cortisol in the body, and this will improve your mood for the whole day. Breathing in the evenings will help you to relax, ensure fast falling asleep and sound sleep.

Take a suitable position

Before starting the practice, you need to take a comfortable position so that an uncomfortable position does not interfere with your concentration. You can breathe lying on your back, sitting or standing. The main thing is that the back is straight and the shoulders are straight. This will allow you to take full, deep breaths.

When choosing a sitting position, you can place something under your lower back to relieve muscle tension and not be distracted by pain in the process.

What breathing technique to try

Ksenia Shatskaya spoke about breathing practices that are widely used in yoga and do not require a long mastering. Try everything and choose the right one or alternate between them. For a start, 5-15 minutes a day is enough. Over time, you can increase the practice time to 30 minutes.

Alternating breathing with different nostrils (Nadi Shodhana)

Pinch your left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand and inhale deeply through your right. Then remove your finger from the left nostril, pinch the right one with your thumb and exhale completely.

Without changing anything, breathe in through the left nostril, then release your thumb, hold the left with your ring finger and exhale through the right. Continue in this manner, changing nostrils before exhaling.

Pranayama square

Take a deep breath and count to yourself, for example, to four. Then hold your breath for the same number of counts, exhale and hold your breath again. Each interval - inhale, hold, exhale, and hold - should take the same number of counts.

Pranayama triangle

This technique is similar to the previous one. The only difference is that there is no delay after exhalation. You inhale, hold your breath, and exhale for the same number of counts.

Deep diaphragmatic breathing

This technique is not from yoga - it has been used in some scientific work on the effects of breathing on the nervous system and has proven to be effective in combating stress.

Place your palm on your body near the stomach. This is necessary in order to feel the movement of the abdomen and track whether it rises during inhalation or not. Take a deep breath and feel your belly swell.

Count to yourself: the inhalation should take at least five counts (seconds). Then exhale completely, during which the belly deflates. When you are sure that full inhalation and exhalation take at least 10 seconds, you can stop counting.

Continue breathing this way, concentrating on the movement of air. When you feel how you need to inflate your stomach, you can remove your hand from it and freely stretch it along the body.

How long to practice to notice the effect

In fact, the effect will come immediately after you try: tension and stress will pass, the head will be fresher, and mood - excellent.

Scientific work also confirms the quick effect of breathing practices. So, just one dayBREATHE: a pilot study of a one-day retreat to reduce burnout among mental health professionals breathing exercises relieve emotional fatigue and depersonalization caused by burnout at work, and a week of intensive program reducesA comprehensive yoga programs improves pain, anxiety and depression in chronic low back pain patients more than exercise: an RCT depression and anxiety in people with chronic low back pain.

Just 5 minutes of breathing practice significantly reducesEffects of Abdominal Breathing on Anxiety, Blood Pressure, Peripheral Skin Temperature and Saturation Oxygen of Pregnant Women in Preterm Labor anxiety in pregnant women before childbirth, and regular exercise helps to cope with the manifestations of severe emotional disordersEffects of a yoga breath intervention alone and in combination with an exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression in survivors of the 2004 South-East Asia tsunami, Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder.

Now set the timer for 5 minutes, get into a comfortable position, close your eyes and try one of the breathing techniques. And be sure to tell us about your feelings in the comments to the article.