1:2 Breathing Ratio - Vagus Nerve Shortcut
A Pranayama Practice
Here is the audio to follow for the pranayama practice.
TRANSCRIPT:
Hello and welcome to Cultivating Chill.
My name is Vikki Velasquez and thank you for joining me as we learn how to use our breath to activate our parasympathetic nervous system and go from stressed to calm.
We are going to use a 1:2 breathing ratio technique, where the exhale is twice as long as the inhale.
This breathing technique is a simple way to tap into the vagus nerve and reduce our stress response.
The vagus nerve is one of the longest nerves in the body, starting in the brain and ending at the colon. It plays a crucial role in regulating the autonomic nervous system, which controls heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate.
Before we begin – Please note - If you are experiencing a shortness of breath or experience chronic breathing disorders, please do not participate in the practice but feel free to observe. Also, if at any time you feel overwhelmed or short of breath, let go of practice and let your breath breathe itself.
For our 1:2 breathing ratio practice, there will be no active retention of breath, just a simple inhale and exhale, with the natural pause that occurs while breathing.
We will inhale for a count of three, and then exhale for a count of six. I will cue your inhales and exhales.
Practice will be about 5 minutes.
It might feel kind of awkward at first but give it a few rounds and you will find the rhythm.
The inhale is kind of big and full while the exhale is slow and kind of lingers.
I invite you to find a comfortable seat, either on the floor in Easy Pose or sitting comfortably in a chair or even on the bed.
If you are sitting on the floor, I recommend using a cushion or yoga block or folded blanket to elevate the hips over the thighs. This will create more space for the air to flow through the body.
You can rest your hands on your thighs or knees, palms up or down.
Palms up means you are open to giving and receiving energy.
Palms down means you are trying to conserve energy.
I invite you to gently close your eyes.
For the moment, just let your breath breathe itself.
As you breathe, use your inhale to lengthen the spine so the head, neck, and back become aligned and chest and belly have plenty of space to move with the breath.
Use your exhale to relax the shoulders away from the ears, release any tension from the jaw, the ears, the spaces around the eyes.
Inhale to stretch and find space.
Exhale to relax and take up space.
Take a few more natural, full breaths through the nose, feeling your breath as it flows in and out.
(about three to five natural breaths)
Let’s begin practice by taking a breath to align with one another. Inhale–exhale.
Inhale–1, 2, 3. Exhale–6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Inhale–1, 2, 3. Exhale–6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Inhale–1, 2, 3. Exhale–6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Inhale–1, 2, 3. Exhale–6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Inhale–1, 2, 3. Exhale–6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Inhale–1, 2, 3. Exhale–6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
(repeat for about five minutes)
Inhale and let the breath breathe itself.
Release your practice and just breathe.
(three to five breaths)
If your eyes are closed, whenever you are ready, feel free to gently open your eyes.
Let’s bring our hands to a prayer position, hands to heart center.
The light in me honors the light in you.
Namaste.
Cultivating Chill hopes you found the information and breathing practices informative and helpful. If you have any questions or want to share anything, please feel free to leave a comment.