Breathwork for Nervous System Regulation

The nervous system is the command center of your body, influencing how your whole body functions. One of the major roles of the nervous system is to moderate the body’s stress response. The most accessible and portable way to regulate your nervous system is using the breath. Breathwork is a powerful tool you can use, anytime and anywhere, to shift your stress, energy, and emotions within a few minutes. This lesson concludes with a breath awareness practice to explore what happens in your body and mind through the breathing process.

The breath is one of the first indicators we have that a stress response is beginning. Stress becomes problematic when the body’s stress response system stays activated long-term. We can learn about ourselves by finding patterns in our stress triggers so that we can better understand our mental and emotional patterns. This lesson concludes with a mindfulness breathing practice to help you bring focus to different areas of the body and the sensations present.

We will explore your two ways your brain operates and how they each create different types of mental and emotional patterns. We will also look at the nervous system stress patterns (fight, flight and freeze) that happen automatically as a reaction to threats. This lesson gives you the opportunity to practice a deep breathing technique that helps to shift you out of the reactive mode and relax.

Everyday you are changing your brain through your actions and thoughts. You have the power to change your brain for the better, with positive habits, or worse with unhealthy habits. We will look at how these patterns are created and how to create more positive patterns that help you feel content and fulfilled. This lesson will end with a breath technique to build mental strength and create separation from distracting thoughts.

This lesson dives into the science of how the breathing process works. You will understand how the inhalation and exhalation work and how your breath impacts the activation and relaxation in your nervous system. We will wrap up with a breathwork practice that’s great to restore physical and mental balance after a stressful event.

The easiest way to identify how the energy is flowing through your body is to explore how the breath is flowing through the nostrils. This lesson will guide you through a simple breath self-check that will help you understand your level of stress. We will conclude with a 4-step breath practice that will build your mind-body connection by taking your mind away from racing thoughts and help you anchor into the present moment.

Stress, adverse experiences, and trauma can make it hard to manage our experiences and emotions. Nervous system dysregulation happens when the body stays in a stress response longer than needed. We will look at the nervous system states of high activation, low activation, and optimal activation to understand how your level of nervous system stimulation affects how you function in daily life. This lesson concludes with a practice of three part breath to feel grounded and feel in greater control of your stress responses.

Hyperarousal is a state of being stuck in activation and heightened responses. You feel excessive energy, often anxiety, fear, or emotional overwhelm, because your internal systems are stuck in an activated state. After looking at strategies to decrease your energy and find balance, this lesson concludes with a breathwork practice to ease the feelings of hyperarousal and bring you back to a more optimal state.

Hypoarousal is a state of shut down and disconnection. Your energy is lower than the optimal zone. You might feel withdrawn, numb, and sluggish. After looking at strategies to increase your energy and come back to your optimal zone, this lesson concludes with a breathwork practice to ease the feelings of hypoarousal and boost your alertness so you can feel more alive and energized.

The optimal zone is where you are able to think, experience, and function without becoming overwhelmed. The natural ups and downs of your emotions are manageable. We’ll look at what can pull you away from this state and how you can expand your optimal zone and increase your resilience and your capacity to handle what comes your way with greater ease. This lesson includes a breath mantra practice that you can customize for your needs in any given moment.

This lesson guides you through part 1 of an interactive activity to create your own personal nervous system care plan. This will help you have a more personal understanding of your experience of being in states of hyperarousal, hypoarousal, and the optimal zone so that you can have more awareness of your personal patterns.

This lesson guides you through part 2 of an interactive activity to create your own personal nervous system care plan. This will help you better understand what pushes you outside of your optimal zone and what in your environment can give you a sense of safety and comfort. You’ll think about the resources you have to regulate yourself and how outside support can help you find balance.