We have all experienced anxiety at some point in our lives, and it is normal to feel that fear of uncertainty before a trip, an exam, an important event, and so on. The problem arises when anxiety becomes a constant presence in our day-to-day lives, preventing us from enjoying life. A paralyzing feeling of anguish that settles in the chest and makes us feel very small.
The pharmaceutical industry makes fortunes from the sale of benzodiazepines and all manner of medications that depress the nervous system, which in medium-to-high doses also induce sleep. The pharmaceutical companies' solution to combating anxiety sounds wonderful — if it weren't for the fact that the side effects of regular use are frightening. You will stop feeling anxiety in exchange for becoming a zombie.
Of course, beyond the drugs a doctor can prescribe, you have a wide range of illegal substances that will also ease your anxiety — from a beer and a joint to heroin. And you can also use sex to soothe that feeling of deep anguish, you can go shopping, exercise, or inflict pain on yourself.
Each person, depending on their personality and circumstances, will choose one way or another to alleviate anxiety, but the great problem is that none of these actions will truly put an end to that heavy feeling of anguish deep in our gut. They may relieve anxiety for a couple of days at best, but when you least expect it, it will resurface — because you have not dealt with the core of anxiety itself.
Nothing will do as much to help you manage anxiety as pranayama and meditation— that is, becoming still and learning to control your breathing. Not pills, not orgasms, not exercise: nothing can compare to the effectiveness of breathing techniques in managing stress. Of course, it is important that you practice regularly and do not try to learn pranayama when you are having an anxiety attack. In fact, if you practice daily, you can already start saying goodbye to palpitations and sleepless nights.
In this post I briefly explain the mechanics of Pranayama and its benefits; on my website Legado Yogi you can find more information.
Understanding Anxiety Processes
First, we need to understand the internal mechanisms that trigger anxiety in us — let us grasp what happens within us that causes that nervous discomfort. Essentially, every time your nervous system becomes stressed it enters a survival state: the sympathetic system activates upon identifying a threat and we enter a state of alert.
Faced with this, your nervous system has two options: fight or flee — and in the case of an anxiety process, we always tend toward flight. So, let us start from the premise that to exit a state of stress we need to activate the parasympathetic system, which is the one that will send the signal to our brain that we are safe and can relax.
Exercise is undoubtedly a great way to activate the parasympathetic system; however, it does not have the capacity to impact the deepest levels of the psyche. Breathing techniques, on the other hand, address the unconscious mechanisms of the mind— the very ones that led you to an anxious state in the first place. I am speaking of lack of self-worth, fears, limiting beliefs…
The practice of controlled breathing cleanses your mind and unblocks it, causing everything that was limiting, depressing, and stressing you to lose its grip. The practice of Pranayama will free you from all those invisible ties that pull at us from the deepest layers of the subconscious mind.
Below, I share the main benefits you can experience when you practice breathing techniques on a regular basis.
Benefits of Breathing Techniques for Reducing Anxiety
- Regulates the Nervous System: The pranayama helps regulate the nervous system by activating the body's relaxation response. Through conscious, deep breathing, the vagus nerve is stimulated, which in turn triggers a decrease in sympathetic nervous system activity (responsible for the "fight or flight" response) and an increase in parasympathetic nervous system activity (responsible for the "rest and digest" response). This regulation of the nervous system can lead to a reduction in stress, anxiety, and muscle tension, thereby promoting greater emotional balance and overall well-being.
- Reduces cortisol levels: The practice of pranayama helps counteract the harmful effects of excess cortisol in the body, such as inflammation, increased blood pressure, and sleep disorders.
- Mental clarity: The practice of pranayama helps you become more aware of your body and mind, you become more attuned, and this allows you to release negative thought patterns that feed anxiety. When we are anxious, our mind can feel like a whirlwind of thoughts and worries, making it difficult to concentrate on anything. However, by practicing breathing techniques, we can calm that mental storm and gain greater mental clarity, allowing us to make decisions with greater conviction and face our challenges with greater serenity.
- Improved mood: Anxiety can make us feel trapped in a depressive state that seems like we will never escape. The magic of pranayama lies in dissolving those dense energies that pull us down. After a couple of rounds of controlled breathing, half of the things that were troubling you have disappeared as if by magic. If you don't believe me, I dare you to try it!
Our society has evolved greatly, but our brains have barely done the same, and the generalized anxiety we experience as a society may be a mismatch between a Cro-Magnon brain and a life full of stimuli and triviality to which it cannot adapt, no matter how hard it tries. But this is nothing more than a personal reflection.
I recommend that if you have tried everything to calm your nerves, but you can't help getting stressed easily when faced with the daily challenges of life, give ancient yoga breathing techniques a chance. If you control your breathing, you are master of yourself.
If this post has sparked your curiosity to learn more about pranayama, try my completely free online class so you can experience first-hand the transformative power of controlled breathing. Write to me on WhatsApp and we'll set a date 🙂
