Wellness in Action Gail Smith Yoga

“ Nothing goes right on the outside when nothing is going right on the inside” - Mathieu Ricard

Our breath is great example of that saying. Learning to notice what’s going on inside and take action to change gives us power. Power to shift away from those overactive stress response conditions and return to calm and balance.

I began using this technique in my classes during lockdown to help manage stress and anxiety and feelings of isolation and lack of connection during those challenging times.

This practice will do wonders to soothe the stress response and help hold your attention on your body, instead of getting lost up in your head where thoughts and worries can create stress and anxieties.

This practice has continued to be one of my go to’s as these difficult times continue. It’s ideal to do whenever revved-up feelings cause agitation or simply at times when feel the need to connect to what’s going on inside and shift to that calm, quiet place. 

Our breath pattern quickly changes in response to different physical and emotional states. It quickens or becomes shallow when we feel anxious, we hold our breath when on alert or sigh a long exhale when sad.

This simple practice is widely recommended as the most efficient and relaxed way of countering the ‘emergency mode’ breathing of our stress response, It uses that unique relationship between our breathing system and our thinking to interrupt the stress response - put it on pause.and ease the negative effects those different physical and emotional states trigger.

Over time, this simple technique can buffer your resistance to the flight or fight response, so you are not as sensitive to stress triggers.

Break the hold of racing or overactive thoughts with this 2 minute breathing routine. 

It’s surprising but true, consciously altering the breath can a have a huge impact on both our mental and physical wellbeing. In as little as two minutes you can break the default breath pattern adopted in response to challenging situations, create a rest from the hold racing thoughts have and trigger the relaxation response to become calm and relaxed .

Use this technique anytime you need to take the edge off anxious or challenging moments. It’s also  great to use at night when thoughts keep you from sleep. .