Cyclic Physiological Sighing

5 Minutes of Cyclic Sighing Outperforms Meditation:
Cyclic Physiological Sighing is two nasal inhales to lungs full, followed by a full exhale to lungs empty, via the mouth, pursing your lips as though you are breathing out through a thin straw.

Recent neuroscience research compared 3 methods of the nervous system regulating and found that cyclic sighing was more effective than meditation or other forms of breathing for reducing stress, and improving sleep, heart rate variability, and mood.

Transcript

Some of these really simple practices,

It's been researched now that cyclic physiological sighing is really helpful to regulate our nervous system.

Let's tune in for a moment and see what's here.

Notice your body.

Is your body in a comfortable position?

What do you feel in your body right now?

Notice feelings,

Sensations,

Emotions.

Also notice the thoughts in the mind.

There's often a theme song going on between the body,

The thoughts,

The emotions.

And then as we're tuning in and noticing,

One of the things we notice is that generally speaking we start to soften a bit.

Our breath starts to get a little bit longer or smoother.

Let's do a practice of cyclic physiological sighing for about five minutes.

This is a deep double inhale.

So you inhale fully and then inhale some more.

So your lungs are pretty full and then a long slow exhale as though you're breathing out through a thin straw through your mouth.

And as you're breathing out let your whole body soften.

I find when we do that double inhale that I'll need to soften my shoulders.

The air moves up into the upper part of the chest as well.

On the exhales let your face soften,

Mouth and jaw,

Neck and shoulders.

Do the practice in a way that feels sustainable so we're not overdoing it.

We're taking in this full double inhale but not too much.

And then a long slow exhalation through the mouth.

And we can breathe out for a long time when we're breathing out like we're breathing out through a thin straw but not to go too far with it.

Don't continue until you're feeling like there's not enough air.

It's a kind gentle rhythm and pace.

Deep double inhale,

Long slow exhale,

Giving our body a chance to release and soften.

Let your mind be here.

Notice how it feels.

Notice how you're doing the practice.

As we pay attention we notice if it feels good.

If we need to adjust it a little bit we could always take a few breaths without the double inhale.

We could notice if we're doing this too strongly we could pull back a little bit.

And we also notice the effect that it has.

Deep double inhale,

Long slow exhale,

Letting everything soften as you breathe out.

And we notice that we might have a different experience after two minutes.

After four minutes our experience changes.

That's okay too.

And then one more deep double inhale,

Long slow exhale through the mouth.

Notice the whole of your body,

Your energy,

Your thoughts.

How do you feel now?

Reviews

It was relaxing and calming for mind and body. Thank you.

Thank you for this guided practice. I've enjoyed practicing this type of breathing method since you shared in one of your lives a few months ago. Sharing this practice with some friends who may appreciate it as much as I do. 🙏🕊️❤️‍🩹

This was the most effective mini breath focus meditation! Much calmer and clearer after. Thank you 🤍

Quick Simple technique to use anytime anywhere for resetting
mind body connection

Straight to the point, something I can do every day with helpful cues.

Hi Lynn. I have a question. This practice tends to escalate anxiety unless the first inhalation is more of a controlled ujai breath. However, I’m aware that studies show positive effects on the nervous system with just 5 minutes a day. Longer practice is hard for me these days as I am doing very deep emotional work. I’d like to commit to this practice for a period of time to see how it “fits” for me, but I’d like to be sure I am doing it correctly. Could you let me know your thoughts and suggestions? Thank you 🙏🏽

This was powerful. I feel so much calmer. Thank you.

What a lovely little practice!
Easy to do anywhere, anytime.
Thank you🌷

A really helpful calming and settling practice. Thank you Lynn!

Really effective practice for calming the nervous system, possibly my favourite one. Thank you Lynn

Thank you for sharing this syclic breathing technique to calm down the nervous system . Very effective . I love the way it made me feel . Much love and gratitude 🙏❤️🕊️

This has become my first go to when my central nervous system is in overdrive and/or when I am experiencing a lot of pain. It seems to soften and takes the edges off; and it also keeps me from attaching to worrisome thoughts about my health. Every single time I do this, it relaxes both my mind and my body and I feel much better!!
Thank you so much Lynn, for all of your tracks and teachings on trauma and healing. ❤️🙏🏽🕊️

Glad I gave this a try. Very effective and relaxing. Thank you 🙏🏻

This breathing felt sooo good. I noticed a lot of tension in my neck and this was very helpful.