Anxiety + your breath.
What is the connection, if any? Recorded a quick video about this on a recent run. So, don't mind my own breathlessness ;-) and CHECK OUT THE VIDEO HERE.
Our breath signals things to our brain, and our state of mind alters our breath. We have “top down” feedback loops as well as “bottom up”. Pretty incredible, intricate systems that are constantly working to try to keep us in a state of homeostasis.
What this means is that not only can anxiety change our breathing, but the way we breathe can also INDUCE or REDUCE feelings of anxiety. 🤯
Generally speaking, we want to be
1️⃣ breathing more slowly (less breaths per minute),
2️⃣ more deeply (we are rewarded with better gas exchange due to increased blood perfusion towards the bottom of our lungs), and
3️⃣ nasally (in AND out through our nose).
Just because we can breathe continuously on autopilot (thank you, nervous system 🙏🏼), it doesn’t mean that’s optimal. Taking a minute or 2 (or 5 or 10) a day to practice breathing is all you need to start to be more intentional and feel confident in this powerful tool you’ll have at-the-ready in times of need.
Do you have a breathwork practice? If not, do you plan to start playing with ventilation and respiration?