The two sides to our nervous system
Our nervous system has two "sides" to it.
Sympathetic and Parasympathetic.
The sympathetic system controls “fight-or-flight” responses, it prepares the body for strenuous physical activity.
The parasympathetic system regulates “rest and digest” functions, it conserves and stores energy to regulate basic body functions like digestion.
Just looking at these descriptions, it's clear that these systems are "at odds" with each other, they oppose one and other. They can't both be active at the same time: when the sympathetic nervous system is activated, the parasympathetic isn't, and vice versa.
Which is why using slow deep breaths to activate our parasympathetic nervous system is so effective in helping us turn down stress -- because it dials way back that stressful "fight or flight" feeling by sending our body signals that it's time to "rest and digest."
Our breath is direct line to controlling our nervous system and that's a freaking superpower.
In an hour-long breathwork practice, we do several different kinds of breathing - some which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and some which stimulates the sympathetic nervous system.
Why would we want to stimulate our “fight or flight” response in a breathwork session? Isn’t it meant to just relax us and powerfully turn us into “rest and digest” mode??
Yes AND by overbreathing (and tapping into the sympathetic nervous system) for a short period of time, we allow our nervous system to process all the stored stress, anxiety, frustration, anger, worry (anything we’ve been too busy to really deal with) and creates space for a true switch off into our parasympathic state on the other side. The post-breathwork feeling of deep, deep relaxation comes AFTER the overbreathing acts as a complete reset for our mind and body.