Welcome to Donald Altman's The Mindfulness Code,
Keys to Healing,
Relaxation and Stress Management.
Donald is a psychotherapist,
Former Buddhist monk,
Award-winning writer and the author of several books on mindful living.
And now,
Donald Altman introduces you to healing breath.
I'll be guiding you through a number of relaxation and meditation practices today.
These are all excellent tools for reducing stress,
Whether you are experiencing a major life transition,
Daily stressors or feeling depressed or anxious.
Some techniques are targeted for specific things like releasing body tension or improving sleep.
However,
You can use any of these tools to slow you down,
Get centered and feel more at ease and relaxed.
First,
I'd like to take a minute to explain the physiology behind diaphragmatic breathing.
This will help you understand why it is now being taught to those who suffer from ulcers,
Panic attack,
Anxiety,
Depression and stress.
Once you understand how this works,
The technique will make more sense to you.
This is a method of breathing,
By the way,
That has been mentioned on the prevention page of the American Psychological Association.
And when we were little children,
All of us knew how to do this,
Without even trying.
Did you ever watch a baby breathe?
If you notice,
Their little belly moves up and down.
Without being taught,
They are practicing diaphragmatic breathing,
A method of breathing into the bottom most part of the lungs.
This sets in motion a process that turns on the body's relaxation system.
Here's how it works.
Breathing into the deepest part of the lungs presses on the diaphragmatic wall,
Which in turn presses down on the abdominal cavity.
This causes your belly to expand outward.
It also pushes the abdomen out in the back where it presses on the vagus nerve,
A cranial nerve that runs in front of the spine.
Pressure on the vagus nerve is what turns on the body's relaxation system.
This lowers blood pressure,
Heart rate and respiration.
It also reduces lactate,
That's a chemical in the blood that increases feelings of anxiety.
It also releases serotonin,
A neurotransmitter that helps improve mood.
In other words,
It drastically changes your body chemistry by turning down the stress response.
I like to think of this as the air conditioning system for the body and the brain.
When your emotional systems are overheating,
You can cool everything down with conscious breathing.
By retraining your breath in this way,
You actually turn off the alert and alarm system of the body,
Which gets activated when you breathe shallowly.
Now let's take a moment to see whether you're a chest breather or a belly breather.
To do this,
Place the palm of one hand on your chest,
On top of your heart or a little higher up.
Next,
Place your other palm on your belly,
Just above the navel but below the rib cage.
Now take a breath in and then out.
As you do this,
Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose or mouth,
Whichever feels more natural for you.
Take two or three more breaths.
Do you notice which hand is moving?
If the palm over your chest has the most movement,
You're probably chest breathing.
If the palm over your belly noticeably moves out and in with the breath,
Then you're probably belly breathing.
Also,
Both hands might be moving,
And that means you're doing a little of both but are probably a chest breather.
If you're not sure,
Let's do this little test.
Clasp both of your hands behind your head.
If this is a painful motion for you,
Then only reach as far behind your head as you can without pain.
Now take some breaths.
This position opens the rib cage and stretches a group of muscles known as the intercostals that hinge the ribs.
They actually help them open,
Makes it easier to belly breathe.
Do you feel a difference?
Another way to stretch the intercostals is to simply place your hands behind your back.
Do that now.
You may have to move forward in your chair to do this.
Hold your hands together and take a few deep breaths.
You should feel movement in your belly.
For some women,
Sticking out their stomach may feel uncomfortable.
Our body conscious culture doesn't put a value on belly breathing,
And the idea of having your stomach move out even for a moment might not be a pleasant one.
So if you've been trained to breathe into your chest because of body image,
This could be a good time to give yourself permission to belly breathe in order to reduce your stress and feel better.
Besides,
You can always practice this alone or privately.
Eventually,
You may decide to make this kind of breathing your normal style of breathing.
That's up to you.
Personally,
I have done this for some years now,
And when I get stressed,
I notice that I'm chest breathing.
And so I'll take one nice,
Long belly breath and feel instant relief.
A reminder for me to continue belly breathing.
Come back to this introduction whenever you want to get a refresher on belly breathing and how it works.
Now,
Let's begin.
