stuck in a stress loop? free your breath (& feel calmer) with a side-body openers
I often say that the breath is the metronome of now.
In many ways, the breath is also the barometer of our nervous system.
We know that in times of high stress and tension, we breathe short, shallow, and quick, which isn’t inherently bad—it’s a brilliant evolutionary process that helps us quickly access the energy we need to fight or take flight.
However, in our modern life with all of its very real challenges in this moment, we are steeped in a constant state of stress and tension. As a result, our breath can become chronically restricted. When our breath is chronically “stuck," it sends a message to the brain to initiate (or stay in) the sympathetic response — which primes the body for even more stress-related activities.
breaking out of the stress loop
When we talk about combating the harmful effects of stress through neurological relaxation, it isn’t about covering up or bypassing the heavy conditions in our lives and our communities, or suddenly melting the stress away.
It’s about evoking the parasympathetic (rest and digest) to work in optimal balance with the sympathetic (fight, flight, or flee) to guide the body and brain into automated functions that support our respiratory rate, heart rate, blood pressure, immunity, digestion, mood, blood pressure, and more.
The one function we can manually override to help balance our nervous system is the breath. Science shows that slow, controlled breathing is an accessible way to increase vagal tone, which increases our capacity to regulate stress.
Our practice can help us breathe more deeply and rhythmically and fully to shift into a state of calm. It can also allow our diaphragm to move more freely, which massages our abdomen and all of our digestive organs. When we massage our gut—squeezing and releasing the organs below, creating a healthy pulsation—the rhythm leads to more optimal function, a sense of ease, and ultimately lightness and spaciousness in our body and mind.
open your side body, free your breath, & feel calmer
Below, I’m sharing an 8-minute practice that helps us open up the spine and side body to facilitate a full diaphragmatic breath. Although you can try it at anytime you need support, I invite you to roll out of bed and start your morning with this juicy floor routine… then notice how you feel all day long.
OFFERINGS TO NURTURE YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM
a supple psoas workshop (free!)
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Join me for a free 60-minute workshop to learn how the psoas is related to stress and digestion and to practice a short supple psoas sequence that weaves together mindful slow yoga, restoratives, and conscious relaxation.
new practice series: the anatomy of rest and digest
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Join us for a practice series to take a deep dive into the “anatomy” of rest and digest and work with stress and relaxation through practices that focus on the psoas, diaphragm, and vagus nerve.
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restorative yoga teacher training
starts in january 2024! payment plans and partial scholarships available
Called to the journey of creating and guiding practices that help you and your students release layers of tension, calm the nervous system, and feel at ease? My 108-hour training features an extensive curriculum and guest teachers Indu Arora, Hala Khouri, Dr. Gail Parker, Tracee Stanley, Lisa Weinert, and Dr. Christiane Wolf.