A certified breathwork instructor explains why breathing works for stress: it's the only bodily function you can consciously control that also influences your nervous system. Slowing your breath reduces heart rate and activates your parasympathetic system, calming your whole body.
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Do you have things that, that you're like, oh, I know right away that this is in my toolbox, things that I can use to help me?
Yes. So I use breathwork a lot. I'm also a breathwork instructor. Breath is very powerful because actually it is the only thing that is both in autonomous nervous system and involuntary nervous system, right? You know, when you get stressed, you get all of these symptoms like your heart fastens, you sweat more, your digestion, your breath becomes more shallow and all these things you cannot control. Tons of things, dozens and dozens of things, all the systems in your body that you cannot control except breath. Breath is the only one that you can control, and by slowing down your breath, you can slow down your heart rate, switch on the parasympathetic nervous system, which is about rest and digest, and everything else slows down and you calm down. So it's very powerful.