I’ll be honest. I haven’t been the best at keeping this blog updated, however it’s one of my commitments to you and to myself. A lot has changed over the last two years, my oldest drives a car, my middle son is about to start driving, and well, my baby….he’s no longer a baby or even a toddler. He is now five! We are living in the midst of a pandemic, something I never thought I would see in my lifetime. The political climate was the most volatile of which I can ever remember and I found myself in what I can only describe as one of the scariest times that I have experienced since I became a parent. I’ve learned how to parent a teenager, how to homeschool, and I was brought back to exercising the single most important coping mechanism that I have trusted my entire life. The breath.
My serious journey with breath began after I had my first child. In four months, that will be 18 years ago. I suffered from what I now know was post-partum anxiety, but then I was labeled neurotic. Over-protective. Nervous. I was told that I just needed to calm down. Stop worrying. Stop making everything such a big deal. That’s the funny thing about the post-partum/pregnancy time period. You can’t help it.. it’s something that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I certainly wasn’t doing it on purpose. Trust me. I didn’t really like being called the crazy new mom. Finally my OB suggested that I go and speak to someone who specialized in anxiety. One of the first things that she did was tell me to breath. It started as those appointments often do, with all the questions that only seemed to make things worse and really make me anxious. And then she looked me dead in the eye and said, “I need you to breath”. Seemed simple enough, however I could hardly catch my breath. Through a few guided breaths, I felt a huge wave of relief. This was my answer. It was in that moment that I understood how powerful breath is. Sure I knew that we need to breath to stay alive, but the controlled breath worked with my brain and my nervous system and I felt like just maybe I would be ok.
Here is the thing about controlled breathing. It triggers the parasympathetic nervous system which is linked to stimulation of the vagus nerve. This nerve runs from the base of the brain to the abdomen. The influence of breathing impacts our central nervous system. The control of breathing involves interaction of both chemical and neural receptors found in the peripheral and central nervous system as well as organs. The neural receptors are found in the upper airway, respiratory muscles, lungs and pulmonary vessels. (Bolton et al., 2003)
We are born knowing how to breath. It seems simple enough. Right? It’s learning how to use this to your advantage. This is where I can come in. Here’s one of the things that I have learned over the years. Meditation is not easy. It is also not for everyone. There are ways to breath and to use breathe without going into a deep meditative response. I can help you use and understand this. Breathing is also managed in the unconscious, but we grab that at any time. It’s a matter of understanding how.
When I was having my first child, my birth team kept telling me to breath my baby down. They may have well been speaking in another language, because honestly, I had no idea what they were talking about. I was also annoyed as I really didn’t want to learn a skill while I was in active labor, so I did my best while blocking out their repeated attempts to repeat this statement over and over again. I kept trying, but in all honesty I really had no idea if what I was doing was working or what they were asking me to do. Looking back, I was just trying my best to do what they said, however after learning about breath and how to control it, I wasn’t even close. I really believe it is one of the single most important tools you have in your birthing, and well let’s be honest your life toolbox.
Science supports this. Your body supports this. Your mind supports this. Evidence supports this. I look forward to helping you understand and harness the power of your breath. It is why every time my oldest grabs the keys to his car, I inhale deeply, hold for one count, and exhale slowly. I then try to smile and tell him…”Be safe, and I love you.” I am so grateful for that breath.