The nervous system can get so overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information coming into the neurology all day… every day. It’s so important that we cultivate practises that help to calm the nervous system 1. When we experience that overwhelm, and 2. Just as a healthy habit to form.

Calming the nervous system is a way of helping us to remain as emotionally balanced and centred as possible, which is definitely a good thing, right?!

Something that is so super easy, simple and accessible to do is also something that we often take for granted… breathing.

Now, I know we all breathe because you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t, but I’m not talking about the regular breathing that your Unconscious Mind is responsible for doing, I’m talking about deep and intentional breathing. If you’re familiar with this concept, you may know this as something called “breath-work” and there are so many different techniques and practices that you can learn and do.

If it is something that you’re familiar with, you may have forgotten about it because breathing is such an unconscious process. But when you connect or reconnect with breath-work you’ll find that it’s a very, VERY powerful and such an effective way of calming the nervous system down.

I won’t go into the science of it here but if you want to look more deeply into the power of breath work, you could start by looking on YouTube or search the internet for “breath-work and the vagus nerve”.

The vagus nerve is like your body’s superhighway that communicates crucial information between your brain and the organs in your body.

So a super simple breath-work technique that you can practise is this:

  1. Take a deep breath into the lower part of your lungs so that you feel your stomach rise
  2. Hold for a count of 5 then release and repeat
  3. Take a deep breath into the upper part of your lungs so that you feel your chest rise
  4. Hold for a count of 5 then release and repeat

Then simply repeat this process – 2 deep breaths into the lower part of your lungs, followed by 2 deep breaths into the upper part of your lungs.

I like to use this as part of my meditation practice and place one hand on my stomach and the other hand on my chest. I then focus on my breathing and allow the expansion of my awareness to occur. It’s actually one of my favourite breathing techniques to do.

It’s super simple and can be done anywhere, not just as part of a formal meditation practise. So practise it when you are feeling overwhelmed to calm your nervous system or just as a way of teaching your body a new more conscious and intentional way to breathe. Or use it as part of your own meditation practise. However you use it, I know it will serve you well.

If you have other practices and ways of remaining balanced and feeling emotionally grounded, I’d love to hear about them and will share them (anonymously of course) with the other people who read this blog so that they too can benefit.

Wishing you a beautiful day or evening wherever you are in the world!