When we are fatigued it can seem like the world is going really fast.
- When everything feels overwhelming, the rate that things are actually moving in the world is the same, but the perception is that it’s just too much, and we can’t cope.
We may be moving through things in a kind of calm alert way, but when you get that troubling text message or see a post or a comment, all of a sudden your heart rate just goes up and you feel like you immediately want to respond.
- The key is to slow down the heart rate by making your exhales longer or more vigorous.
If you wake up in the morning and you’re experiencing the other kind of stress which the world is overwhelming you and you’re just discombobulated, the key is to do a few breaths.
- While you’re getting out of bed and preparing your morning coffee, water or whatever, just start breathing in a way that’s inhale emphasized.
If you’re really exhausted, (inhale emphasize breathing) making your inhales just a little bit longer or more vigorous than your exhales will speed up your heart rate and will make you more alert.
- Two or three of those and you’ll notice your heart rate will pick up because there’s a neural signal from the brain stem sent to the heart to speed up the amount of blood flow.
- Basically, what you’re doing is you’re speeding up your heart rate.
- At some point usually within only two or three of those breaths, you’re going to feel more alert and then you can just go back to breathing normally.
These breathing practices are about shifting the gears. When you inhale more vigorously or longer, you’re speeding up your heart rate.
- As you inhale, you’re sending a neural signal to your heart to speed up, and when you exhale, the diaphragm moves up.
- The heart gets a little bit smaller literally because there’s less space there
- Then there’s a signal sent to the brain, and the brain sends a signal back and says, “slow down the heart rate.”
- if you inhale it’s speeding up, if you exhale it’s slowing down.
So, if you want to become more alert, you actually can just simply make your inhales a little bit more vigorous or a little bit longer than your exhale.
- Longer or more vigorous inhales will speed up your heart rate and make you more alert.
- Longer or more vigorous exhales will slow down your heart rate and make you less alert.
Heart rate variability is good because heart rate variability reflects the activation of what’s typically called the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the brain’s ability to slow down and calm the nervous system.
- You want your heart rate to go through these fluctuations.
Re-source: Relieved
cause (pain, distress, or difficulty) to become less severe or serious
We are all equipped with the pathway. There’s a nerve called the phrenic nerve (p-h-r-e-n-i-c) that goes from the brain down to the diaphragm that controls the lungs.
- You can decide “Okay, I’m going to use the physiological side to calm myself.”
- In a way you’re engaging top-down control because you’re taking control of your internal landscape rather than trying to take control of your thinking, which is very hard.
You can’t fix your mind with your mind.
- Sometimes trying to control the mind with the mind is like trying to grab fog
Breathwork can teach you how to operate these levers in your brain and body so to speak
- Breath work is a dedicated practice that you do away from these stressful events whereas learning to control your heart rate and thereby your mind using your breathing.
So it goes breathing, heart rate, mind, in that sequence.
- If your mind isn’t where you want it to be, don’t start with the mind; start with your breathing, which will control your heart rate, which will then allow you to control your mind.
Don’t think your way out of a moment of stress feel, breathe your way out of this moment of stress.
- Use yoga nidra, kamini desai, and other resources
The power is in the physiological mechanism to make you calm.
- That little extra inhale is what opens up those little sacs in the lungs just a little bit more
- And when you exhale, it pulls a lot more carbon dioxide out of the system.
- When you pull carbon dioxide out of the system, you feel calm.
craving and resource from (Change Your Brain) Andrew Huberman on “The School of Greatness” with Lewis Howes