It’s At the Heart of Stress Relief.
Your beautiful heart.
Your heart centre; known as Anahata in Sanskrit. Known as the Crimson Palace in the Japanese system of Reiki.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is the Heart Organ (which is exalted with capitalisation) that governs mental health rather than the Western theory that the brain is the only organ which drives our emotions, cognition and mood.
Hooray that Western science is now catching on to many people’s lived experience that mood is not just a function of the brain, but rather of the gut-brain axis. I feel warm and fuzzy about the fact that 90% of serotonin is made within the gut, as this neurotransmitter is central to nutrient absorption.
Chats between gut and brain along our neural pathways result in the brain up taking serotonin to stabilise mood.
Chats between your heart and brain along the vagus nerve and heart-brain axis, have a palpable effect on your ability to manage stress. Crucially, your system’s reliability at responding to the release of appropriate amounts of cortisol and adrenaline.
Here is the even more crucial bit…
Your Heart Rate Variability (HRV) affects the nervous system’s all-important journey of coming down from the heightened stress response.
HRV is the, hopefully, varied number of milliseconds between each heartbeat.
Your heart goes sub dub sub dub. Between each dub and sub is a tiny gap.
If these tiny gaps vary in millisecond length, or you have a nice, flexible HRV, your body is primed to manage stress well; you get the surge of cortisol,
you feel it
you address the stressor, and hey presto, in not too long you begin to feel neutral or calmer again.
If that stressed out, raggedy, overwhelmed, agitated, aggressive feeling persists it may be because there is insufficient flexibility of heart rate. This is an unconscious process.
But, we can consciously improve our ability to handle surges of stress with simple, FREE techniques within Yoga that increase HRV.
We all need support with getting back into the nervous system’s tones of rest and digest/ tend and befriend/stay and play.
Some free techniques for coming down from stress and calming your heart
Kumbhaka Breath
Kumbhaka is a Sanskrit word which means empty pot. One version of this breath technique is often known as Box Breathing.
Sit or lie down quietly and start to notice your breath,
Breath in a natural fashion, in and out of your nose for a minute or so.
Now inhale non forcefully, slowly for your count of 4.
Pause at the top of your inhale for your count of 4.
Exhale non forcefully, slowly for your count of 4.
Pause after your exhale for your count of 4.
Continue for 5-6 minutes if you feel comfortable to.
Exhale in the Spotlight
Breath non forcefully in and out of your nose.
Give equal attention to your inhale and exhale for a few rounds.
Now focus your attention on your exhale only for around 5 minutes.
Notice how this feels.
Coherent Breathing
Breath non forcefully in and out of your nose.
Give equal attention to your inhale and exhale for a few rounds.
Allow your inhale and exhale to last for your slow count of 6.
If 6 feels too long, start with 4 or 5.
Continue for 5-6 minutes.
Pause to notice how you feel.
I hope this helps.
If stress is causing mental health crisis or persistent physical symptoms, reach out to professionals for medical support or therapy.
You deserve to feel better xox
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