Breathing Practices to Calm your Nervous System

Why should I focus on breathing when I’m upset ?

Adding attention and energy to breathing can help us manage our emotions and opens us to a deeper level of understanding, and the internal softening that occurs through breath work connects us deeply with ourselves. As we practice paying attention to the pattern of the inhale and exhale, we settle our bodies and minds, creating space to observe our emotions and thoughts. 

When I find myself ruminating or when faced with really difficult situations or news, focusing attention on the pattern of my breath, feeling the flow of air into and out of my nostrils and lungs, provides a sense of calm. Research supports my personal experience and shows that slowing down the breath—extending the number of seconds you inhale and exhale—offers psychological and behavioral changes, such as “increased comfort, relaxation, pleasantness, vigor and alertness, and reduced symptoms of arousal, anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion.” Proper breathing improves health. Anyone who has seen someone hyperventilate knows how anxiety can show up in the pattern of the breath. The recommended first aid solution to hyperventilation is to give someone a paper sack and ask them to breathe into it. The body constantly works to balance oxygen and carbon dioxide, so the paper sack helps the hyperventilating person’s body balance the levels of the gasses in the bloodstream. Anxiety can increase the rhythm of the breath, but intentionally slowing that rhythm can counteract the anxiety. When we ruminate or feel anxious, we can find ourselves almost panting, but intentionally deepening the breath changes the level of oxygen and carbon dioxide in our bloodstream and settles us.

There is a rich history around breathing techniques to enhance connection to a sense of transcendence and to other people. Centering prayer uses the breath as a way to settle the body and open us to transcendent love. Sometimes even more visceral, synchronized breathing connects us. Think about choral singing and the breath patterns of the singers. The communal singing of hymns has the power to heal pain and emotional wounds, in part from the spiritual practice of breathing together. Yoga and other practices that link breath to movement gain power when done in a group where breathing is deepened and synchronized. Focusing on the pattern of the breath- whether alone or with others-creates space for healing and insight into just how connected our thoughts and bodies are. 

Breathing Practices to Try

If you find yourself caught in anxiety or a destructive thought pattern, focus on the pattern of your breath, either squaring it, or extending the exhale. These simple techniques can bring you back to yourself and to more constructive and purposeful thoughts.  Breathing techniques can be used to energize or help to balance us, as well as calm us down. There are techniques that create various patterns with the breath, each affecting the body, mind, and spirit in different ways. You might want to experiment with various types of breathing techniques to see how they affect your body and mood.  We like this simple breath practice offered by the Greater Good Science Center.

For more information and references

The plasticity of wellbeing: A training-based framework for the cultivation of human flourishing, Cortland J. Dahl, Christine D. Wilson-Mendenhall, and Richard J. Davidson, 2020, https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2014859117