BREATH AND ITS EMOTIONAL BENEFITS:

Breathing is an automatic physiological action that enables the proper exchange of gases. It happens automatically to keep us functioning perfectly and alive.

However, breathing — beyond being an autonomous response — can also be influenced by our own will, which makes it a gateway to the autonomic nervous system. This system operates automatically, generating emotional responses such as stress, anxiety, and so on.

In my personal and professional practice, I have been able to confirm that breathing, as simple as it is, is a wonderful tool for emotional regulation. It allows us to modulate the intensity of an emotion and also to reconnect the mind with the body.

It often happens that, as a mechanism to stop feeling, we tense our bodies and block our breathing, altering our breathing pattern. Sometimes this is a response to a perceived external "threat," or because a certain emotion is also experienced as "threatening" — in that we have learned we may be rejected for expressing it.

When this emotional response occurs, and perhaps the subsequent physical tension to contain it, the abdominal tension causes us to block the diaphragm. At that point, breathing only takes place in the upper chest, and the amount of air we take in is much smaller, leading us to take short, rapid inhalations to compensate. If this continues, we may begin to feel anxiety, chest tightness, dizziness, and so on.

This is why breathing can be a simple and very useful tool to help us manage and sustain certain emotional states — cushioning the effect that emotional reactions have on us.

When we bring our attention back to our breathing, we are first of all allowing ourselves to return attention to the body and its sensations. This may momentarily intensify our awareness of the emotion, reconnecting us with it. However, by breathing through the emotion (not instead of it — we don't want to block it), we send a message to our entire body that it is "safe" to feel the emotion — something like "I can handle this." This makes it easier to move through the emotion without blocking it, exploding, or freezing.

So we allow ourselves to breathe through our fear, still feeling the tension in our body. We counteract the threatening signal with an "I can handle this" message, which somewhat balances the reaction. The same applies to anger — if we allow ourselves to breathe through it, we give ourselves the chance to hold it rather than having to release it by exploding at someone. Likewise with sadness: when we allow ourselves to feel the pain in our chest and keep breathing, we send our body a calming message, reminding it that even though this hurts, it can hold it and will come through.

It may seem very simple — just breathe — yet I repeatedly observe with my clients that it is not. When we are in the grip of an emotion, our mind races through all the mental content that emotion generates (replaying the same story over and over), and we generally lose awareness of our bodily sensations and how we are breathing. But if we can bring our full attention back to the body and use the breath as a regulator — focusing on holding the emotion behind everything that is happening to us, rather than paying attention to what the mind is telling us — then we can move through the emotion, feel it, release it, and make space for something new to emerge. This is generally accompanied by a sense of greater peace, and we feel strengthened by the feeling of being able to face what is happening to us.

I am aware that when emotions are very intense, or when we are not used to feeling them, paying attention to the breath may not be enough. We may also need to move the body, use our voice, cry, punch a pillow, or any number of other possibilities that allow us to release the emotional reaction that has built up in the body. Nevertheless, breathing is a starting point — a regulating mechanism that is always within us, available to return to and use whenever we need it. Sometimes it can act as a buffer; other times it can amplify sensation so that we can feel and release it. It is directly connected to our autonomic nervous system, so it can serve as a communicator with the part of us that reacts automatically, transmitting a message of calm and control when we feel we have lost it.

There are various breathing practices that have been used in many traditions — especially Eastern ones — that allow us to maintain a calmer state on a daily basis, resulting in a less reactive nervous system and, with it, a way to prevent emotional surges in our day-to-day lives.

There are also connected and conscious breathing practices that significantly increase the breathing rate and the volume of air taken in and released, which can facilitate a profound emotional release. This practice, however, is always recommended to be done under the guidance of a professional.

Beyond managing uncomfortable emotions, maintaining a practice of correct breathing can help us expand our capacity to sustain pleasant emotions — spontaneously experiencing feelings of gratitude, joy, expansion, understanding, and more.

On another note, returning to the connection with the mind: breathing can be a way to anchor our attention and thereby calm our thoughts. It can bring about states of greater mental clarity, enable better decision-making, and broaden our inspiration (as the very word suggests) and creativity.

So I invite you all to pay daily attention to the way you breathe, to learn how to breathe correctly, and to enjoy all its benefits.