In yoga classes, we talk a lot about breath, and for good reason. Changing our breath changes how we feel.
Even just one minute of slow, conscious, deep breathing can cause our nervous systems to initiate a mode that some refer to as “rest and digest.”
It’s the opposite of “fight or flight”—which is the way many of us operate by default because of chronic stress, and causes all kinds of sickness and dis-ease.
But deep breathing can take us out of that pure survival at all costs mode, and a bunch of really good stuff happens as a result! Blood pressure goes down. Our heart rates settle. We become better able to think things through. Our bodies start to direct resources toward nonessential functions, like digestion and the immunity. We start to feel more peaceful. The list goes on.
I find that deep breathing helps when I’m stressed, and doing it regularly during a meditation practice has helped me to get less stressed in the first place!