Deep Belly Breaths
Six deep breaths can change our physiology. I am not kidding. If you are willing to experiment, stop reading now and either listen to this recording of Soft Belly (Soft Belly by Klear Water is free on all podcast platforms) or, settle into your chair and take at least six long slow breaths in through your nose (filling your belly like a balloon) and exhale slowly through your mouth. As you do, notice your belly as it relaxes and deflates. Once you have taken these six to eight deep breaths, pause and notice how you feel from the inside out. No judgement. I invite you to experiment with this throughout your day.
The military teaches combat breathing or tactical breathing to help relax people in stressful situations and it is an important part of training for Navy Seals. Regardless of your approach to these belly breaths, the long exhale activates the vagus nerve (yes, this is really a thing and it is not found in Nevada). The intentional practice of taking these deep belly breaths can help with emotional regulation, implicit bias, concentration, and pain.
Each time my son takes part in a painful medical procedure, I am dismayed that not one individual in the room reminds him to take deep breaths to help him relax. Last week was no different. We traveled to a world-renowned medical facility for my son, who is paraplegic, to take part in a stem cell study. As Mason lay on the table anticipating the scapula cutting into his thigh to remove fat for stem cell growth, I reminded him to take his big breaths. Mind you, he is 18 and he has grown up taking these big breaths before dental and medical procedures and especially when he needed to brave shots in arms. Now he knows the benefits, though sometimes I still get an eye roll before he relaxes into his breath.
As Mason and I drove home after the procedure, I mentioned my frustration that breathing is not incorporated into such procedures. Mason replied “Mom, give it 10 years”. Of course, this frustrates me even more. Ten years is too long to wait to incorporate basic breathing that can make medical and dental procedures more bearable and decrease suffering and anxiety. I shared that I considered doing some teaching in the moment, but thought better of it since it was his procedure. He agreed that he definitely would not have appreciated that.
When I was a volunteer first responder, we were called to a scene where the person was writhing in pain on the floor suffering from a kidney stone. I encouraged the patient to take some deep breaths with me. I may have used my “big toe method” that I sometimes use with children so as not to draw more attention to the area of his pain. As we breathed together, he calmed down and was able to speak. “Breathing” with him was truly all we could offer until the paramedics arrived and administered pain meds.
It is my dream to teach medical and dental health care providers to use belly breaths, visualization, and other such tools with patients to ease the stress and pain in procedures. All of these techniques are evidence-based and biologically sound. Consider how easy it would be if a provider in the lab encouraged folks to breathe while preparing to draw blood. Okay, realistically, some people might not appreciate it at first, but what if it was a norm?
What if we taught these skills in classrooms to elementary children? Then children would grow up with belly breathing as a norm and be able to pull it out of their own pockets whenever they chose. It is likely that there would be less conflict and behavioral concerns in classrooms. Children would me more able to concentrate. If you are interested in learning more, watch We Aren't We Teaching You Mindfulness - there are several lengths of this talk on YouTube.
If you are interested in learning more, check out the array of videos and webinars at the Center for Mind-Body Medicine. Feel free to contact me for a speaking engagement at your place of employment! I am happy to do a free one-hour lunch and learn.
Until then, keep using those belly breaths.