Did you know that you have access to a part
of your nervous system that you don't normally,
actually have access to through your breath?
By changing your breath, you can change everything,
transforming the state of your physiology,
the state of your nervous system.
Hi, my name is Ann Swanson
and today I'm gonna talk about how you can transform
and shift your breath in order to relieve pain and anxiety.
I have five tips and techniques that can help you.
So, first thing is about how you breathe
in your everyday life.
I want you to try to nose breathe.
This is really, really important.
Compared to mouth breathing,
nose breathing is much more efficient
and it's your first line of defense.
Your mucosal membranes in your nasal cavities
have immune-fighting antibodies
that help you fight viruses and bacteria.
And when you nose breathe,
the air slowly moves through a maze of tissues
right in this area.
Did you know that you have basically
like a billiard ball worth
of space inside this area right here?
These are your sinuses.
And they're all lined with this mucosal membrane.
As your air moves through the spaces,
through your nasal cavity and down your throat,
it has more time to trap invaders.
It has more time to get warmed and humidified
and prepare the air for your lungs
so that your alveoli can more efficiently
pull oxygen from them.
It's really key that the air moves slowly.
When you take those fast, stressed breaths,
often even up in the chest,
when the air is not properly prepared
for your lungs to get the most oxygen out of it.
The slow breath is key for that.
You absorb more oxygen from the same amount of air.
And when the air spins longer in your nasal cavities,
you release a chemical called nitric oxide
which has a relaxation effect.
So this can be so helpful when you're dealing
with pain and anxious feelings.
Tip number two is to breathe low.
Diaphragmatic or belly breathing is really helpful
in order to breathe most efficiently and feel more relaxed.
So your diaphragm is situated right here.
It's separating your thoracic cavity where your lungs
and heart are from your abdominal pelvic cavity.
And this muscle, when you're breathing properly,
moves down with the inhales
and then releases back up with the exhales.
So this rhythmic movement
of the diaphragm has a relaxing effect.
It's more efficient, also, as far as breathing goes,
it gently massages your abdominal organs
and you, in general, will feel more ease
when you breathe like this.
So the third thing is to breathe slow.
I already mentioned this,
but you can consciously breathe slow also.
It's not even about how deep and full you breathe.
It's about slowing the breath down.
So, let's actually put these things together.
We're going to nose breathe.
We're gonna breathe low and slow together right now.
You can bring your hands to your belly if you'd like
so that you can feel the movement and focus in this area.
You can close your eyes, close your mouth.
And first start by feeling the breath moving in
and out of your nostrils.
Can you sense and feel how it warms
and humidifies, filters the air?
Can you sense and feel how it slows the air?
Can you feel the air moving through your throat?
Into your lungs.
And now bring your awareness to where your hands are.
Focus on a sense of allowing movement there.
Not causing it to happen, allowing it.
The inhales, a sense of expanding as you fill up.
The belly pushes out slightly.
With the exhales we're releasing down
and in of the rib cage and abdomen.
It's very subtle, but feel this for a few moments.
What is it like to slow your breath down?
You may make the breath a little bit deeper and fuller
if that feels good for you,
but focus really on slowing the breath,
bringing the breath down.
You can release your hands or keep them here,
whatever allows you to breathe like this
for a few more moments.
And continue this breath while I'm speaking.
So this is a good way to breathe throughout the day.
Noticing when you're mouth breathing, closing your mouth.
Only mouth breathing when you really have to.
And also remembering to bring the breath down,
low and slow breath.
Now, let me give you two more tips
that can help enhance this effect even more.
Tip number four is to elongate your exhales.
There's this interesting phenomenon that occurs
with every single breath and it's very subtle.
So with every single inhale, there's a slight increase
of your sympathetic nervous system activity.
That's that part of your nervous system
that helps you respond to stressors,
that helps you be more alert.
So with every inhale,
your heart beats a little, tiny bit faster.
Your blood pressure slightly ever so slightly goes up.
And the reverse happens with every exhale.
With every exhale, there's more activity
in the parasympathetic nervous system.
This means that your heart slows slightly,
that your blood pressure slightly,
ever so slightly goes down.
This arrhythmia is completely natural.
This variability is actually key for our health.
And what we can do is we can use this to our advantage.
Yogis, in ancient times, intuited this.
They felt it themselves
that when you elongate your exhales,
you go deeper into that relaxation state
of the nervous system.
Your blood pressure goes down.
You feel more ease.
So this you can do anytime, anywhere.
You can do it when you feel an increase of pain
where anxious feelings arising.
You can do it while you're in line at the grocery store
and nobody has to know you're doing it.
But let's practice it together.
We're going to combine the low and slow
with the nose breathing and elongate the exhales.
If you'd like to, if it helps you, you can have your hands
on your low belly or just in your lap,
whatever allows you to be more conscious
and you're welcome to close your eyes.
Start by making sure you're nose breathing.
Making sure you're breathing low and slow.
Notice the rate, the rhythm of your breath.
Maybe you'll notice that your breath
is even or maybe your exhale is already a little longer.
Or shorter, notice.
Now let's just simply elongate those exhales.
Trying to let as much of the breath out
with each exhale without forcing.
Few more breaths like this.
Letting that exhale be long.
And you can continue this elongated exhale
as I give you the last bonus tip, number five.
And it is actually to sing.
Vocalizing adds an extra effect to those elongated exhales.
When you sing, you are naturally elongating your exhales,
but you're also creating a sense of vibration
in your throat area and in your chest.
This can help stimulate your vagus nerve
which further induces that relaxation response.
So let's go ahead and do it.
Now, I will tell you I'm not much of a singer.
So, I prefer a yogic technique called bhramari
or bee breath.
And basically we're just gonna hum or buzz like a bee.
But if you love singing, I encourage you
to help you manage pain and anxious feelings,
to sing as much as you can.
Sing in the shower, sing in in the car.
It's good for your health,
but let's join together for this bee breath.
We're gonna do three long hums together.
But let me show you first, because you can do this
in a way that helps you bring your awareness more inward
to feel those vibrations.
So you can plug your ears up and close them.
Do that after I finish explaining it.
But also you can put your fingers
on your face and your fingers, your top fingers,
I like to have on my frontal sinus here
so I can really feel the vibration in that space.
This finger could be over the eyes,
but I don't like that pressure on my eyes.
So right about here and then wherever these land
around the nasal, you're not closing your nose.
You're just feeling gently and you can close your eyes
and then you'll plug your ears,
but let me just show you one first
and then we'll do three together.
(humming)
Okay, so now to really get the benefits
you have to try it with me.
So just three breaths, go ahead and plug your ears.
Maybe put your fingers on your sinus spaces.
And close your eyes.
(humming)
And just notice how you feel.
And I hope you will use these techniques
through your everyday life to help you ease pain
and those anxious feelings
that can come up even around the pain.
Thank you so much and be well.
(tranquil music)