Rest and Digest

[Our newsletter will be a brief one this week, allowing us time to clean up the CONNECT headquarters (aka my home) post Milton.]

What a couple of weeks it has been! 

All this uprooting of daily life has left me craving calm and peace. I find myself thinking, “I just need time to rest and digest - be at peace and process.”

Rest and digest is a phrase we use often in yoga. It refers to the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps your body maintain functional homeostasis. The suggested practice above provides the environment for the functional homeostasis your body needs after experiencing challenging times.

My number one practice to reestablish peace during turmoil is to just breathe (but mindfully).

I don’t know about you, but when I experience something traumatic I feel unwell. My mind races, and I can’t focus. Emotions grab the reins and take over my ability to think logically. I feel jittery, my digestive system rebels, and my heart races. We need internal equilibrium desperately.

A rest and digest practice that everyone can benefit from at all times (but especially when experiencing traumatic events) is mindful breathing. Breathing is an autonomic function of your body, yes, but practicing breathwork teaches you how to regain control of erratic breathing (and erratic thinking).

Here are 3 breathwork practice you can try today:

1. Equal Breath: inhale for a count of 10 slowly; exhale on a count of 10

2. Extended Exhalation: Inhale as deeply and quickly as you can on a count of 5; pause for a count of 3; exhale on a count of 10

3. Breath of Life: Inhale on a count of 7; pause of a count of 3; exhale on a count of 7

NOTE: All breathwork practices above are completed with the lips sealed and teeth apart (aka, mouth closed with a relaxed jaw). Sit upright on a chair or use a yoga mat. Practice for 2-3 minutes each morning when you wake and evening before you go to bed. If you feel lightheaded at any time, stop. You may have to build up to 2-3 minutes slowly. Breath from your belly (diaphragmatic breathing), not your chest.

Why is breathwork important? Breathing slowly and deeply is a superpower. It stimulates the vagus nerve, which sends signals to the brain to moderate your blood pressure, pulse rate, and respiratory rate. This is magic, y’all. 

If you practice controlling your inhalation and exhalation, you can control your autonomic response to trauma. You have the ability to shift the balance between your parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. In other words, you have the power to bring peace and calm to your mind, body, and spirit.

Benefits of Breathwork:

• Calms the nervous system

• Lowers blood pressure

• Slows the respiration rate

• Assists in pain management

• Suppresses inflammation throughout body

• Increases immune response

• Strengthens lungs

• Releases toxins

• Improves sleep

It may seem a simple thing to do, breathing mindfully, but it isn’t something we do. We take the breath for granted. We know breathing occurs automatically, so we don’t think of it. Consequently, we don’t harness its full power. 

Take time to tap into your breath every day. Doing so will ensure you engage in mindful breathing easily when storms knock you off your feet.

Sending you all Peace, Love, and Harmony