Three Breath Practices to Manage Emotional Stress & Keep Your Immune System Strong
Right now, we are all facing the fear of the unknown which is causing daily stress and panic for everyone. When we are under stress, we are dominantly operating from our Sympathetic Nervous System which is our body’s way of being in fight of flight mode which is responsible for keeping us safe by jolting our bodies into action in emergency situations. It is not sustainable to be in constant flight or fight mode and it compromises the immune system making us even more susceptible to illness.
When you practice deep breathing it slows down the heart rate and activates the Parasympathetic nervous system helping us to be in a restorative healing mode for the body. It’s also where our minds can access logical and problem-solving thinking. Below are three breath practices I have learned from Dr. Joseph Michael Levry and at Naam Yoga Los Angeles.
THREE POINT BREATH
Sit with your spine tall, check is tucked in and gaze is straight ahead.
1. Inhale through your nostrils for 5 seconds.
2. Hold the breath for 5 seconds.
3. Exhale slowly through the nostrils for 5 seconds.
Repeat these steps 3-5 times throughout the day especially if you are feeling anxious. The goal is to work up to 20 seconds for each part but you can start with 5 seconds and build up over time.
dragon breath
Sit with your spine tall, check is tucked in and gaze is straight ahead.
1. Place your hands lightly crossed on your chest.
2. Put your mouth in an O shaped position.
3. Breath in and out of your mouth rapidly and pump your belly with the breath. If you are on your menstrual cycle avoid pumping your navel.
breath holding in & out
Sit with your spine tall, check is tucked in and gaze is straight ahead.
1. Place hands open and in front of your solar plexus a little less than a foot apart like you are holding an invisible box.
2. Inhale deep through your nose and hold your breath as you mentally say:
a. Love before me, love behind me, love at my left, love at my right, love above me, love below me, love in me.
3. Exhale all your breath out through your nose and hold the breath out and mentally say:
a. Light before me, light behind me, light at my left, light at my right, light above me, light below me, light in me.
Repeat up to three times and do any time you feel anxious.
