{"id":63954,"date":"2018-11-01T16:28:27","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T20:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wanderlust.com\/?p=63954"},"modified":"2018-11-19T14:33:42","modified_gmt":"2018-11-19T19:33:42","slug":"breathing-way-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wanderlust.com\/fr\/journal\/breathing-way-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Breathing Your Way Through the Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

What presents or experiences do you give to your tribe that are meaningful and memorable?\u00a0This holiday season give yourself the greatest gift you will ever know: the gift of breath<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When we consciously breathe we go within, we connect to a higher self, we feel more love, we give more love, and we live our lives with more purpose. And this is not just yogi-speak\u2014there is real hard evidence that says a bit of breath can do you a world of good. Consider this your holiday survival guide. Whenever you feel stressed or that it’s all moving too fast, slow it down by coming back to basics. You are everything you need.<\/p>\n

Breathing for Your Health<\/h3>\n

Breathing, deep breaths in particular, have been medically shown to: reduce anxiety, depression, lower\/stabilized blood pressure, increase energy levels, improve muscle relaxation, and decrease feelings of stress.<\/p>\n

During the holiday season, the build-up of getting your list of to do\u2019s done before Christmas Day, the logistics of traveling home to see family, or even getting ready to take time off work can stimulate your sympathetic nervous system.<\/p>\n

This system triggers your body\u2019s ancient fight-or-flight response, giving you a burst of energy to respond to get everything done. So basically around the holidays people are walking around in a state of panic. The idea of it is almost comical, but there is nothing funny about your breathing becoming shallow and rapid, and experiencing a shortage of breath. In this state you primarily breathe from the chest and not the lower lungs.<\/p>\n

Conscious breathing<\/a> can reverse these symptoms instantly and create a sense of calm in your mind and body. When you breathe deeply and slowly, you activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which reverses the stress response in your body. Deep breathing stimulates the main nerve in the parasympathetic nervous system\u2014the vagus nerve\u2014slowing down your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, and calming your body and mind.<\/p>\n