"We create these virtual lions that are chasing us all the time and keeping the stress up."

– Ana Melikian, Ph.D.

Some of you may be thinking: What’s the big deal about breathing, besides the obvious?

Yes, breathing is important—if we weren’t breathing we wouldn't be alive, absolutely—but did you know you can use breathwork to enhance your mental well-being?

Back in 2012, I published an ebook on that very subject called Breathing: The Power Within, and today I’m diving back into the topic.

I discuss:

• The involuntary and voluntary nature of breathing
• How modern life's chronic stress affects the sympathetic nervous system
• Conscious breathing to engage the parasympathetic system

The involuntary and voluntary nature of breathing

Breathing is uniquely positioned as both an involuntary and voluntary function. This duality allows it to serve as a bridge between our psychological and physiological states.

Unlike blood circulation and digestion, we can choose to take the reins with our breathing—from holding our breath when diving into a pool to blowing out birthday candles—and that means we can be intentional with how we move our breath through our lungs.

With breathwork, we can influence some of our physiological reactions. Think about your day-to-day—for instance, if we are crossing a street and a car speeds towards us without paying attention, we can very quickly feel that burst of adrenaline to get out of the way and save our lives. Our breathing automatically accelerates to support these life-saving instincts.

Biologically we are wired this way, and that’s wonderful for those types of situations, but then if we keep that high energy through the rest of our day without letting it go, we pay a price for it because it's not the right response anymore.

Yet, by slowing down our breath, we can calm our body down. We can transform our physiology from fight or flight to calm and gratefulness.

How modern life's chronic stress affects the sympathetic nervous system

In our modern world, issues are more complex, and we invent these virtual dangers that are not physically real.

For our ancestors, maybe they were running away from lions. Now we don't have lions to run away from, but we create these virtual lions that are chasing us all the time and keeping stress high. This creates a very imbalanced dynamic in our body that leads to serious issues.

Our body is wired with two main nervous system branches:

• The central nervous system, which is made up of the brain and spinal cord
• The peripheral nervous system, which is made up of nerves that branch off from the spinal cord and extend to all parts of the body

We’re focusing on the peripheral nervous system, as that is where the autonomic sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system reside.

Our sympathetic nervous system controls our fight or flight, while our parasympathetic system allows us to relax.

The sympathetic nervous system is like a sports car accelerator—very sensitive, small things make it intensely active and helpful in some circumstances, but then our foot can get stuck on the gas, not allowing us to use the other pedal that is the parasympathetic system.

There is this imbalance in our modern life that makes it easier to be in the sympathetic nervous system, always running, always stressing, prone to anxiety, and nearly impossible to stop and smell the roses, to sleep at night, to rest and restore.

That’s where breathing can step in and help us regain the power to switch to the other pedal and relax.

Conscious breathing to engage the parasympathetic system

If you count your breaths, or if you are looking at another person and noticing how long it takes them to breathe in and breathe out, and you are counting—one, two, one, two, one, two—between breaths, that is shallow, fast breathing and is usually a sign that the sympathetic nervous system is activated and you are in a hyper state.

By slowing down your breathing or by helping another person slow down their breathing, for example, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, you are releasing the accelerator of the sympathetic nervous system and allowing the parasympathetic system to do its work of calming you down and relaxing.

By being aware of your breathing rhythm through slowing down your breath, you are controlling something that by definition is outside of your control, and allowing your body to go from stress to relaxation.

Think about the power this can have in your life. Being aware of your breathing rhythm can become a signal to know in which state you’re in: Fight or flight, or relaxed?

My favorite breathing exercise I do every night before bed is Dr. Weil’s four, seven, eight technique.

Experiment with what feels best to help yourself ease off the pedal and reconnect with the present moment, letting go of perceived threats and allowing yourself to rest, recover, and restore.

Be sure to check out my full episode for further insight into breathing exercises!