Mental Health – Emotions and the Breath
Breath is life!
We enter the world on the out breath and depart on the in breath. How we breathe influences our health, our quality of life and our life expectancy. It is astonishing that we are taught so little about breath, its significant impact on our health and the importance of breathing in the way our body is designed to do. There is little information or encouragement to visit a Breathwork Coach, nor is this service offered at most GP practices. Headaches, shoulder aches, neck ache, migraine, lower back ache and digestive problems are just some of the ways dysfunctional breath can have a daily physical negative impact.
You may be wondering what breathing has to do with mental health. Through my therapeutic work I became increasingly aware how clients’ mental and emotional states directly impacted their breathing. I wanted to offer breathwork to support my clients through psycho-education and breathwork techniques to have a direct positive impact on emotional, physical and mental wellbeing. Having studied and qualified as a Breathwork Coach, I have now successfully incorporated this into my practice to benefit all clients who wish to participate.
Our natural breath, the optimal breath, is to breathe in and out through the nose with the mouth closed. The heart beats faster when you breathe in than when you breathe out. Breathing into the chest and lower abdomen engages the diaphragm (large circular plate of muscle beneath the ribs) and uses the correct breathing muscles to lift and lower the rib cage. Breathwork and our natural breath promotes resilience and tolerance of difficult feelings and helps us to feel calm and energised with a longer life expectancy.
Breath is the only means we have of taking control and consciously overriding our Autonomic Nervous System and triggered uncomfortable emotional states. Through conscious breath we can transition out of hyperarousal or hypoarousal into the Window of Tolerance where we feel safe, calm and relaxed.
THE WINDOW OF TOLERANCE, HYPERAROUSAL AND HYPOAROUSAL
Window of Tolerance, yellow zone, is when we feel safe, relaxed and calm. We can reason and feel emotionally balanced, our breath is even and calm. We are in rest and digest.
Hyperarousal: he fear of potential threat triggers us into this state where we feel anxious and panic. Physically we are in the fear response of fight or flight. We experience unclear, irrational thoughts leading to emotional distress. Our breath is rapid and into the chest.
Hypoarousal: This is the state of collapse and withdrawal where we feel depressed, numb and unmotivated.
The change to a softer diet has resulted in more people becoming mouth breathers. The change in the shape of the mouth has made it more comfortable to breathe this way and may cause snoring. However, unlike the nose, the mouth cannot warm the air or eliminate dirt particles before the air entering the lungs. It is possible with focus and professional support to change breathing patterns to promote positive wellbeing.
Kerrie Hipgrave – Psychotherapist, Behaviouralist and Breathwork Coach
