LOWER YOUR STRESS AND PAIN LEVEL NATURALLY
Everyone says we should breathe deeply when we are stressed, but how does that make you feel less stressed? Your body’s stress hormones are regulated by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The sympathetic nervous system (SNS), and the Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). The SNS turns on our fight or flight response under high stress levels. The PNS turns down the nervous system to help us keep calm. It helps us to sleep, relax and promotes drowsiness by lowering our heart rate and slowing our breathing. The Vagas Nerve comes from the brain and touches every organ in our body. It is responsible for controlling our Parasympathetic Nervous System and the relaxation response. The PNS releases neurotransmitters acetylcholine that helps your body to communicate with your diaphragm.
As you continue breathing your muscles will relax, dropping your worries. The oxygen supply to your body increases and helps produce endorphins, the body’s feel-good hormones. Deep Diaphragmatic Breathing like this helps the Brain, Pain/Inflammation, and Positive Emotion. It helps to fight depression, improve memory, lower blood pressure and heart rate and boost the immune system. When you take deep breaths and relax and expand your diaphragm, your Vagas System is stimulated and you instantly turn on the Parasympathetic Nervous System, your cortisol levels are reduced and your brain heals, inflammation decreases, and you feel good. Hope you find this helpful! Give our office a call if we can answer any questions: (925)417-8005.
How do I activate my Vagas nerve to promote relaxation? Practice deep diaphragmatic breathing, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
• Breathe slowly
• Breathe deeply, from the belly
• Exhale longer than you inhale
Take a deep slow breath in through your nose to the count of 5 letting the air fill your lungs, letting your stomach expand by an inch or two. Hold for a second, then exhale fully through pursed lips. Most people take about 10 -14 breaths per minute. Ideally reduce your breathing to 5-7 times per minute. Make your breathing a conscious process, not a subconscious one. This skill is inborn in each of us but often lies dormant from stress of everyday life. Reawakening it allows you to tap into one of your body’s strongest self-healing mechanisms.
by Darlene Philippe
www.pt-specialties.co
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker