Toa Porchon-Lynch held the Guinness World Record as the oldest yoga instructor. At 98 her body and mind are young and fresh. She shows off her agility through yoga poses, but with her students she emphasizes the breath.
“Breathing is more important than anything else—poses that are not done correctly are not going to help. It’s how much you can feel the breath moving throughout your body. If you’re in touch with the breath inside you, there’s nothing you can’t do,” Toa Porchon-Lynch told the Yoga Journal.
Reading this became an ‘ah-ha’ moment for me. My primary objective in life has been keeping up – with yoga poses, with clients, with family, with employees, with volunteer organizations and the list goes on. It is with great relief that my primary focus becomes breathing – something I have been doing successfully since birth.
Shallow breathing does not have the same impact as deep breathing in fighting anxiety and stress. My therapist taught me a breathing exercise that has had a positive impact on my anxiety. The first step is to sit up straight in a chair with feet on the ground. Place your hands on your stomach and take deep breaths that move the stomach, not the chest. Focus on the breath by saying (aloud or to yourself) these words as you breathe.
Breathe in rest & relaxation (pause)
(slowly) breathe out stress & tension
Repeat
How does the simple act of breathing make such a big difference with our mental health?
Stress is a physical response to a perceived threat. It’s the ‘fight or flight’ response of the caveman to the tiger. Today we don’t have tigers to fight, but we still respond to real or perceived threats. The body responds by a rush of adrenalin, an increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, and shallow breaths. And get this – recurrent stress response to the events of everyday life can result in anxiety and depression.
Belly breathing helps our bodies change course, moving away from the stress response to a calming response. Breathing slow deep, diaphragmatic breaths can actually slow our heart rate and lower or stabilize blood pressure. This video on belly breathing is not sexy, but it demonstrates the basics of belly breathing.
Incorporate belly breathing and the focus of the breath into your life. Perhaps 5 minutes a day is a good place to start. Plan in advance what time of day will work best for you. My challenging part of the day is morning, just when I wake-up. So before getting out of bed I belly breathe and focus on the breath for 10 minutes. Breathing really helps me start my day and apparently has helped Toa live successfully for 98 years.
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