Let’s think of life stress as experiences that produce strain. These experiences may involve relationships, employment, finances, and parenting, to name a few.
Strain refers to the body’s response to the experiences, which is mainly unconscious.
The unconscious actions are where the nervous system connects to organs and muscle function, and ultimately your workouts. In essence, I tell you that muscles are essential. However, muscles function via neural innervation, hormonal responses, and nervous system regulation.
As a movement expert, I’m interested in helping clients get the most out of the time they invest in exercise and receive desirable outcomes. Let’s take a look at a member, Dr. Colin Ellis, who recently spent some time breathing and addressing his nervous system.
We lean on experts within fields of study to guide our recommendations. When we discuss the ideal autonomic state, we reference Dr. Watkins, the founder of Complete Coherence Ltd. For those of you who want to understand everything we are talking about, watch Being Brilliant Every Single Day (Part 1) and (Part 2).
In these videos, you can see that breathing rhythmically, smoothly, and heart-centered brings you to a baseline that opens the door to positive emotional states.
As you know, positive emotional states release dyhydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a vitality hormone often referred to as the elixir of youth. On the other hand, negative emotional states increase the hormone cortisol and result in various issues. Read the article Life Stress and Health: A Review of Conceptual Issues and Recent Findings.
Muscle function, neural innervation, hormonal response, and the nervous system function in harmony to bring desired results.
In conclusion, next time we spend time breathing or encouraging you to breathe, be sure to appreciate the research-based benefits of this critical function.
Just remember to B.R.E.A.T.H. (Breath Rhythmically Evenly And Through the Heart).
