If you focus on self-care, healing will ensue over time. Only you possess the ability to heal, time offers you the space to do so.
This part of the storm-chasing journey is about breath: learning how to slow down, listen to your body, and use breathing as a daily tool for anxiety, focus, and healing.
My disclaimer: I am not a breathing expert. I am only sharing the tools and practices that have helped me through my own battles with anxiety. Please take what helps and leave the rest. And so it is: Part II of Becoming a Storm Chaser — Breathe Baby Breathe!
The first tool I want to share is the same one we use to begin and end life here on earth: breath. Good breathing can support us in many ways. It may help lower stress hormones and blood pressure, sharpen focus, improve carbon dioxide tolerance, support sleep, and bring more emotional balance. There are so many benefits, and probably more we have not discovered yet.
Breathing can be practiced anywhere. You can also combine breathing techniques with other tools, such as Tai Chi Chih, yoga, sound bowls, running, and many more. Some techniques may even help you reach a deeper meditation more quickly. For example, I use an 11-minute breathing technique on YouTube instructed by Wim Hof. When I can reach a breath hold of 1.5 minutes, I know it is going to be an amazing day. I never would have thought that it was possible.
When I realized I did not know how to breathe properly, I had to laugh a little. It reminded me of when I found out I had been pronouncing “ibuprofen” wrong. At first, I was embarrassed. Then I thought, not surprised. After that, I got curious: what else is there to learn? Breathing research and practice became a priority in my life.
Around the same time, I was learning to breathe, running was introduced as something I should try. For a solid year, I read books, practiced breathing, ran, and practiced some more. Then I started incorporating breathing techniques into everyday life. I found out I was pretty good at things that I was not good at before, all because I learned how to breathe properly.
Breathing with the heart open is my favorite way to breathe. It took many heart opening yoga positions over a period to understand what that was. Having the heart open allows for the inhale to fill into the chest cavity. You can physically feel it enter when the heart is open.
Proper diaphragmatic breathing is all about alignment. After breathing shallow for MANY years, I had to break old habits and building better habits into my everyday life. The alignment tricks that worked for me are as follows. Start your breathing practice while lying on your back. This position helps support proper alignment and makes it easier to notice how your body moves with each breath. Focus on keeping your head aligned with your spine and your shoulders relaxed below your ears. Later, I transitioned to breathing while standing against a wall, with the back of my head, shoulders, butt, and heels resting flush against it. Even now, I find it helpful to place one hand on my stomach and the other on my chest so I can feel the rise and fall of each breath.
Retraining the brain takes time, especially if you had techniques that were totally different. For about a year, I practiced in the morning, at lunch, and again before bed. I placed my right hand on my stomach and my left hand on my chest so I could feel each area rise and fall with my breath. As I inhaled and exhaled, I imagined the movement of a wave. As my focus improved, I began using the image of an infinity symbol while breathing.
Diaphragmatic breathing starts with the inhale through the nose then expands the belly. It then expands the chest. On the exhale, the belly contracts to push the air out. Most of the time, I inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth, especially when I run. When I am sitting upright or standing against the wall, I tilt my chin down slightly. Almost all of my breathing techniques include an exhale that is longer than the inhale, with the exception of box breathing.
As with any wellness practice, start gently and listen to your body. If a breathing technique makes you dizzy, uncomfortable, or anxious, pause and return to normal breathing. Choose what feels supportive for you. Stay tuned for Part III, Balancing Tools=Less Storms to Chase
Additional Information to Explore:
Box breathing, originated by Mark Divine, a former U.S. Navy SEAL commander, used to help regulate the body and mind under extreme pressure. The sequence is 4-4-4-4: inhale (4 seconds), hold (4 seconds), exhale (4 seconds), hold (4 seconds). This technique can help calm the nervous system by stimulating the vagus nerve, which supports rest-and-digest mode and helps suppress the fight-or-flight response that can start the “chatty brain.” Envisioning the box is helpful for me. Sometimes I draw the box and move my fingers around it while I breathe.
The benefits, lowers stress hormones, lowers blood pressure, sharpen your focus, improves carbon dioxide tolerance, aids in sleep and emotional balance.
Recommended Books:
Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nester
Just Breathe: Mastering Breathwork by Dan Brule
The Wim Hof Method by Wim Hof
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