I have long been interested in breath and how we can use it to energise or calm ourselves, help ourselves to feel safe, improve sleep, reduce stress, wake ourselves up or even feel more confident before a meeting or a presentation. I have been on breathwork courses, read books and learned how to teach breathing techniques (pranayama) through yoga. Knowing the impact this has had on my own life and the lives of other adults I have taught, I have recently turned my attention to young people. This came about through one beautiful student who was experiencing attacks of anxiety and whom I noticed was asking to be excused from class more and more regularly. For the sake of this article, let’s call her Hana. I will return to her in a moment.
I became really curious as to how our kids are breathing. I did an informal survey of a few classes and also checked out what was going on with our young people on public transport, waiting in queues, at the supermarket and other public places. What I noticed was, debatably, quite astonishing. Many that I observed had a couple of things in common – they breathed through their mouths and sat in a hunched position.
Let’s do a wee experiment together. Try assuming the following position (it might help to pretend you are using a phone) for five minutes: Slump your torso and round your shoulders forward, either tuck your chin to your chest (phone on your lap) or extend your chin forward arching your neck (phone down but more towards your knees). Now open your mouth and cease breathing through your nose. What do you notice? I imagine you are now breathing into the top portion of your lungs and feel as though you have less space to breathe into your body, your mouth has become drier and, after a while, you have begun to feel a dull ache in your neck and across your shoulders.
Now imagine that for you this position and way of breathing is a constant. Not only is the position unnatural and uncomfortable but this way of breathing is signalling to your body that you are unsafe. As I wrote in an article in Issue 53, shallow, mouth breathing activates your sympathetic nervous system. Studies have shown that those of us experiencing anxiety and panic attacks are more prone to breathing this way as a matter of course.
Now let’s return to Hana. I noticed she displayed some of the breathing and sitting positions outlined above and asked her if she was open to trying something new. We talked about the nervous system and the role of the breath in the body and altered her seated and standing position slightly. We set up some reminder cues as this doesn’t happen overnight and the body returns naturally to the way it has been trained when we are not consciously aware of what we are doing. I then taught her a simple box breathing technique. Breathing in and out through the nose and extending the out breath. A simple count works well, this also helps the brain to focus. We worked out what the first signs of anxiety were for her and got her to begin the box breath. It is hard to identify these signs when in the middle of a full-blown panic attack. She has continued to practice this and reports having been able to reduce stress levels and has needed to leave the room less. She also reports feeling better using a fuller breath as the more upright body position allows more air to reach the bottom of her lungs, important in activating the parasympathetic (peace) nervous system. Other students – and teachers – to whom I have taught this also report similar outcomes.
This is not just for kids! Adults are equally affected by posture and mouth breathing. If this is you, try changing your body position – roll your shoulders back, straighten your spine (lift out of the hips) and extend the crown of your head skyward. Breathe in and out through the nose and extend the exhale for a longer count than the inhale. Make it easy, use the count of three to inhale, pause at the top of the breath and exhale for a count of six. As you get used to this, you can extend your count (four and eight, or five and ten). Do this for 3-5 breaths. I will be surprised if you don’t notice a difference in the way you and your body feel.