Destress with Sian’s Breath Work

The Science Part

The majority of our bodily functions are controlled by two responses: fight or flight (when reacting to a threat) and rest and digest, which helps us to remain relaxed and calm. When we detect danger or feel threatened there is an immediate call to action from the brain to the body to ‘get ready’. The chemicals noradrenalin, adrenalin and cortisol are released to affect changes in the body. The body also needs energy to fight or run, which comes from using oxygen in the air we breathe. Once the danger has passed, our parasympathetic nervous system kicks in to return our breathing and heart rate to normal.

Breath work can help.

While other therapies are used to manage the cognitive and behavioural roots of anxiety disorders – or to stop telling the body it’s in danger – breath work can work in tandem to manage symptoms and the effect they can have.

BELLY BREATHING (diaphramatic breathing)

How to do it:

1. Find a quiet room where you will be undisturbed for about 10–15 minutes.
2. Lie down on the bed or floor with a pillow under your knees. Undo tight clothing and remove shoes. Spend a few moments settling yourself down.
3. Close your eyes and check that your head, neck and spine are in a straight line.
4. Focus your attention on your breathing and don’t try to change it for the moment. Become aware of how fast or slow you are breathing and whether you’re breathing with your chest or diaphragm. Notice whether there are any gaps or pauses between your inhalation and exhalation.
5. Now, put one hand on your upper chest and the other on your abdomen, just below your rib cage. Relax the shoulders and hands. As you breathe in, allow the abdomen to rise. As you breathe out, allow the abdomen to flatten. There should be little or no movement in the chest.

RESISTANCE BREATHING

Singing, chanting and humming all aid relaxation. Breathing through the nose, rather than the mouth, causes a little more resistance, but here are some more specific techniques.

How to do… Pursed Lip Breathing**:

1. Sit with your back straight, or lie down. Relax your shoulders as much as possible.
2. Inhale through your nose for 2 seconds, feeling the air move into your abdomen. Try to fill your abdomen with air, instead of filling just your lungs.
3. Purse your lips like you’re blowing on hot food and then breathe out slowly, taking twice as long to exhale as you took to breathe in.
4. Repeat. Over time, you can increase the inhale and exhale counts from 2 seconds to 4 seconds, until you’re in rhythm with resonant breathing.

4. When you feel comfortable, move on to closing your mouth on the inhale but opening your mouth on the exhale. See if you can maintain the sound even when the lips are sealed.
5. Next, inhale with mouth open and exhale with mouth closed, keeping the sensation in your throat and the sound of your breath the same. Do each for 5-10 cycles.
6. When you feel you want to move on from here, relax your hand and begin Ujjayi Pranayama. You might time yourself with a stopwatch for 2 minutes or choose how many cycles of breath you want to aim for (feel free to use a metronome here).
7. Again, notice where any resistance lies in the breath. Maybe you find the audibility awkward, equalising the volume of breath on both inhale and exhale difficult, or you notice a discrepancy of ease between in-breath and out-breath. Notice where you need to focus and what you need to practise. I recommend that you shorten the longer breath to meet the shorter breath if you’re unable to stretch the breath evenly on both sides. You don’t want to feel out of breath or gasping at any point. There is absolutely no retention – it’s like the sea: a continuous sequence of waves, no holding. Totally fluid and seamless.