^{_{[Control vs. Panic]}}

Good morning everyone,

thanks for being here.

Today we’ll talk about breathing! I have come to find out, that my breath can be my biggest strength, or my worst enemy.

Let’s dive in!

Situation

Our breath is a direct connection to our brain. It is directly influenced by our limbic system, the fight or flight brain. It helps us breathe faster when we’re in danger, loads the body with oxygen and anxiety spikes.

25,000 years ago, this was extremely helpful.

When in any moment you could be a attacked by a giant tiger or assaulted by a Grizzly, having an “automated” response from your brain saves time.

But in the modern world, it can often work against us.

The dangers from 25,000 years ago don’t exist anymore.

But our response is the same.

How can you retake control of your nervous system?

Idea

There are two things we can do, depending on the situation we are in.

One I will call the “No Time, No quiet Space” situation in which you don’t have a quiet space to sit and only a short time to focus on your breath.

The second one I will call “Time & Space” - you do have some time (10 minutes) and a quiet space available.

Let’s start with “No Time, No quiet Space”:

1. Take a deep -but relaxed- breath in

2. Hold at the top for one second

3. Breathe out for longer than you inhaled.

4. Repeat this two more times

The second one “Time & Space” calms your anxiety even further (some call this Non-Sleep-Deep-Rest (NSDR)):

1. Set a timer for ten minutes

2. Lie or sit down in a quiet space (I prefer lying down)

3. Close your eyes and breathe normally

4. Focus on a specific part of your body and focus on the sensations (e.g.: What are the bottoms of your feet in contact with?)

5. From time to time: A relaxed deep inhale, with a long extended exhale through thinly pursed lips (as if you were exhaling into a straw)

6. Switch and scan over other body parts if you feel like it

Why does this work?

“No Time, No quiet Space”:

Extended in- & exhales calm down your limbic system and get you out of fight or flight mode - even in a short amount of breaths.

“Time & Space”:

In this practice you retake control of your nervous system. By focusing on your breath & your sensations, you reload Dopamine (for motivation) and your mind recovers as if you had taken a short nap.

Try this guided YouTube NSDR practice by Andrew Huberman, it’s my favorite:

Thanks for reading, you’re the best and talk to you next week,

Gereon

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