The Power of Breath
I considered writing a post about my love for the show Ted Lasso, but it feels overly predictable for a happiness blog to wax on about the saccharine qualities of a “nice” comedy. (I am also unapologetic in my love for cheesy Christmas romance stories, the Hallmark channel, and shows such as Gilmore Girls and Heartland.) I do, however, want to refer to a scene in Ted Lasso where his boss Rebecca Welton, the owner of the football club where Ted Lasso coaches, shares her secret for boosting her confidence in intimidating situations (esteem).
What Rebecca Welton is doing is filling herself up with breath to make herself feel bigger and more intimidating. She accompanies this with a predatory pose and facial expression. Richard Wiseman would say that Welton is acting confident and intimidating in order to become confident and intimidating.
Part of why the deep breath works in boosting confidence for Welton (you’ll have to try it for yourself—does it work for you, too?) is that breath is well understood to decrease our stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline) (safety) and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which induces relaxation. Stress can be associated with greater confidence because short-term stress can improve focus and performance. But over time, such as with chronic stress, it tends to have the opposite effect: it reduces cognitive function and decreases self-esteem.
Because of its effect on stress hormones and the parasympathetic nervous system, researchers have found that breathing exercises can help alleviate a number of physiological ailments, especially those associated with chronic inflammation (which is linked with stress), such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.
In stressful situations, we might experience an adrenaline rush—that fight-or-flight response. At such times we might feel overwhelmed or a loss of control (autonomy). Taking the time to breathe not only helps lower the adrenaline, it can help give you space and time to focus and think through your response, giving you a greater sense of control in emotional moments.
Finally, breathing practice can help you focus your attention on a problem to come up with potential solutions to resolve it. Furthermore, deep, slow breathing has been shown to help with the release of neurochemicals related to neurogenesis, neuroplasticity, and neuronal repair, which has been used in research for the treatment of strokes and dementia. Along with the above evidence, it’s clear that breathing exercises can help us with our growth activities, sometimes by literally helping form new pathways in the brain.
How to Harness the Power
Meditation is a great way to practice different breathing techniques, as the breath is often a critical piece of meditation. A wide range of services offer guided meditations. If you cannot find a category for meditation, often you can search for “guided meditation”:
Fitness programs. For example, Apple Fitness+, Glo, and DoYogaWithMe are all fitness services that offer meditation classes.
Music services, such as iTunes and Spotify.
Sleep apps, such as Slumber.
Podcast apps, such as Pocket Casts and Overcast.
If the idea of meditation and mindfulness falls outside your comfort zone, you can also look for apps and videos that are specific to breathwork. Apps such as iBreathe and Breathwrk might be more in your wheelhouse. You can also search for “breathing exercises” on YouTube to find a variety of exercises to practice whenever you have a few moments of downtime.
Do you regularly practice breathwork? If so, why? Has it helped your particular need? What service(s) do you prefer to guide you through your practice? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.