The Yinside of Breathing. It can be argued that stress is the number one killer in the Western world today. The above quote is from Dr Timothy Mc. Call. In his book Yoga as Medicine, he goes on to say,. Pranayama Breathing Techniques Pdf' title='Pranayama Breathing Techniques Pdf' />MS and rheumatoid arthritis. While there isnt a lot of evidence that stress causes cancer, it appears to increase the odds of dying from the disease. Whew. stress Who needs it Stress is unavoidable in our culture and some amount of stress is actually needed for our bodies to be strong and healthy. All exercise includes the dual components of stress and rest. However, when we experience too much stress and not enough rest, problems arise. In physiological terms we are hyperactive in our Sympathetic Nervous System SNS and hypoactive in our Parasympathetic Nervous System PNS. The SNS and PNS are part of our autonomous nervous system, and our yoga practice, especially the Yin Yoga practice, can help rebalance these two important systems. Before we examine how Yin Yoga, combined with mindful breathing, can help reduce our stress levels and dial back the SNS, lets look a bit more at what these two systems do. The Sympathetic Nervous System. The SNS is our basic fight or flight system. When our ancestors were being chased by a sabre tooth tiger or being attacked by the tribe in the next valley, their SNS would strongly activate and give them the energy and focus needed to flee, or fight. The brains amygdala recognizes the threat and stimulates the hypothalamus, which in turn releases hormones that activate the pituitary gland. The pituitary then releases hormones that cause our adrenal glands to release several other hormones including adrenalin, which speeds up our heart and respiration rates, and cortisol, which temporarily enhances our immune system. Stimulating the SNS diverts blood from the digestive organs to our muscles who needs to digest now when the most important thing is to run for our lives Often, when we are really stressed, our bowels loosen diarrhea helps to lighten the load so we can run faster. Our blood thickens coagulating factors are released into our blood to help us stop bleeding if we are cut. Pryma Sanskrit pryma is a Sanskrit word alternatively translated as extension of the pra breath or life force. Yoga Made Easy A PRIMARY SHORT BOOK ON YOGA AND PRANAYAMA Sant Shree Hari Vanprastha Asharam. PRANAYAMA The Science of Vital Control and DESCRIPTION OF 99 YOGA PRANAYAMA TECHNIQUES BY Yogamaharishi Dr. Swami Gitananda Giri Guru Maharaj. Our ability to focus is temporarily increased and memories can be imprinted for the rest of our lives. Today, our bodies react in the same way to threatening signals from our environment, but there are few sabre tooth tigers around to really scare us. Our stresses are mostly caused by our way of viewing our life, not by actual external threats. The neighbouring tribe may be your ex mother in law or boss. Oxygen and breathing related products, breathing exercises, capnotrainer, biofeedback, capnography, breathing techniques, portervison, patrick porter, breathing. Controlled breathing may improve health conditions ranging from insomnia and anxiety to posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD, high blood pressure and depression. Just Breathe Body Has A BuiltIn Stress Reliever Deep breathing is not just relaxing its also been scientifically proven to affect the heart, the brain. Good gut health is central to our overall wellbeing. Where our ancestors might have encountered a stressful situation once or twice a week, we are faced with stressful situations constantly. Simply listening to loud music, watching the news, listening to a friend complain about her life, viewing commercials, eating hot or spicy foods, watching action movies can all trigger our SNS. This is in addition to the stresses we encounter daily in our jobs, in our relationships, in commuting to work each day. We are in a constant state of SNS activation we are over stressed. The result of chronic stress is chronically high levels of cortisol. High cortisol levels are linked to elevated fasting blood sugar levels, higher blood pressure and insulin resistance. We may begin food seeking behavior due to our stress Dr Mc. Call noted a study that found stressed out children will consume more than twice as much food as their calmer fellow students. While a temporary spike in cortisol can sharpen our mental focus, a continually elevated cortisol condition will lead to poor mental abilities, decreased memory and a depressed immune system. Our blood viscosity remains too thick, causing many heart problems. Bone loss, insomnia, poor wound healing, weight gain, depression and fatigue are all a consequence of prolonged stress. The Parasympathetic Nervous System. The PNS works in the opposite direction it is our rest and digest response. Through stimulation via the nerves running to our internal organs primarily the vagus nerve, and through the release of acetylcholine, our heart rate slows and blood pressure drops. Blood flow that was diverted away from the intestines and reproductive organs, whose function isnt essential in an emergency, returns. Our saliva can be secreted again ever notice that when you are stressed, your mouth is very dry When we relax, our tears can flow. The second most common neurotransmitter in our central nervous system is called GABA. GABA decreases brain activity it helps to turn off the lights when we are no longer in a room. If we are stressed, all the lights are on, even if we are not home. Similar to the PNS, GABA helps to reduce our stress response. Our yoga practice, when done properly, can increase our GABA levels and turn on the PNS. Tapping into the Rest Digest System. Boston University Medical Center reported in August of 2. GABA levels and mood are positively affected by yoga practice. The researchers note that low levels of GABA are linked to depression and anxiety. Their study has shown that yoga will increase GABA levels in the brain and improve our mood. But, we dont need a study and there have been several. We just need to know how to tap into the practice more deeply. Dining Philosophers C Program. What is it about yoga that makes us feel so good While we are asking questions, how come yoga doesnt increase our stress levelsWe are doing physical work why doesnt the effort we put into our practice trigger the SNS Certainly, for some people, yoga can be stressful if you arrive to a class with expectations of having a great class, of doing it right, or achieving a challenging posture, of looking good for the ladies, you may well stress yourself out. But, if you allow the practice to just flow and surf your breath, you will successfully master stressless stress. Effortless effort. Canada Postal Service Zip Code on this page. Action without acting. Wu wei. Do without doing. Surfing the Ocean Breath. The key activity that turns off the fight or flight system and activates the rest digest system is breathing. Not just any old breath, but a proper yogic breath. A slow, deep, even breath will create a relaxed nervous system, yielding a calm mind, which in turn will help the breath become slower and more even. A positive feedback loop can be established that increases the effectiveness of the PNS and increase GABA production. There are many forms of breathwork in yoga called pranayamas. Some are very active and stimulating, and there are times when these pranayamas are beneficial, but to turn on the PNS, we need the slow, deep pranayama known as ujjayi. Ujjayi means victorious breath. A nice modern term for this kind of breathing is ocean breathing. Max Strom in his wonderful new book, A Life Worth Breathing, describes the practice of ocean breathing. It is quite simple imagine you are trying to fog your sunglasses for cleaning. You would naturally make a haahhh sound. Try that now. Try to make this sound on both exhalations and inhalations. At first, keeping doing this ocean breathing with your mouth open, until you can create the soft sound of the waves coming ashore habitually, without thinking about it. Only then, move to making the same sound with your mouth closed. Max says that ocean breathing enlivens the lungs and expands them, dynamically pulling in fresh air prana and then expelling stale air and stress apana. It is known for calming the mind and can also be very effective for helping to process grief.