Calm Body and Mind

​We’re continuing our exploration of Yoga’s effect on the respiratory system. The last post was about how we can increase energy using the breath and this post is how we can calm energy using the breath. And this is a big deal, because a lot of people say they feel anxious, unable to sit still or quiet the mind quite often during the day. The good news is that the body has the ability to soothe itself; we just need to tap into the resources already available to us.

Heart Rate Variability is one of the cool things about the body. Very simply, our heart rate is not consistent and this is considered a good thing. You can actually experience this right now. Sit down and give your full attention to this short exercise. Use the index and middle fingers of one hand to feel your heart beat. You can place the two fingers on the muscle that runs vertically on the side of your neck, then slide the fingers about an inch toward the front until you feel the soft tissue. Press very gently to feel your heart beat. Or place the two fingers on the inside of the inner wrist closer to the thumb side. Slow your breathing and feel your heart beating at the same time. You’ll notice that your heart rate increases when you inhale and decreases when you exhale. Heart rate variability is a sign of good respiratory and circulatory health.

2:1 Breathing is a yoga exercise that makes use of this information. The aim is to breathe out twice as long as you breathe in. You can practice sitting in a chair, on the floor, or even lying down if you are getting ready to go to sleep. Become aware of your body breathing in and out through the nose. Notice how many counts it takes to breathe in (maybe 3, 4 or 5 counts). Begin to gradually lengthen the out-breathe by adding one extra count each time you breathe out, until finally you are breathing out for twice as long as you’re breathing in. Breathe in for 3, breathe out for 6, etc. 

Sometimes the anxiety is too strong and you can’t sit still to breathe. This is where breath paired with movement can bring the same calming results. 

Cat/Cow and Circular Cat are two exercises that use breath and movement to burn off excess energy so we can embrace the calm. Start on hands and knees (or face the wall and bring the hands down the wall while walking the feet back to stand in a 90-degree angle). Exhale the breath to round the spine while dropping the tailbone and top of the head toward the floor; inhale the breath to tip the tailbone and top of the head upward while allowing the belly and chest to drop toward the floor. Move slowly back and forth between the two positions to really feel the effects of the breath. 

To make the practice stronger, try Circular Cat: Walk the hands forward until you can move your hips forward, similar to a grounded Cobra pose. Take a full breath into the chest. On the exhale, keep the hands where they are as you shift your hips back toward the heels. Move slowly back and forth between the two positions to really feel the effects of the breath.

Let Yoga take you to the calm body and mind you know you need. It’s really not that hard to experience when you give some simple attention to the breath.