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The Ecology of Breathing: Enhancing Your Cuddle Hormone During this Surreal and Trying Health Crisis
During this current time of dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, we are constantly being bombarded with words and images, many of which are needed to protect us, yet can also perpetuate stress and fear. Political and media commentators are constantly resorting to sensational and provocative messages, ignoring the more positive narratives that we need to be reminded of that also exist. It has only been recently that the American Medical Association officially recognized that complicated stress is the cause of all chronic diseases. Common sense tells us that it’s time rigorously deal with harmful stress that surrounds us.
The Art of Breathing
One of the few ways to adjust our Autonomic Nervous System, when it is stuck in “fight or flight,” fending off negative stimuli, is breathing. My favorite technique is called Coherent Breathing, developed and extensively researched by Stephen Elliott (www.coherence.com), which consists of five breaths per minute as compared to our usual average of fifteen. A bonus of this practice, especially when you exhale with thoughts of compassion, is that you stimulate the awesome Vagus Nerve. This is the nerve that covers much of your upper body — from the gut to your brain — and regulates metabolism, heart rate and general…
