Introduction
For several months the pandemic di Covid-19 and the consequent problems related to health, economic precariousness e social justice have taken i to the extreme anxiety levels of many people every day.
Very high peaks of stressHowever, they are highly harmful and can interfere with the ability to relate and to do their job better.
One way to try to keep them at bay is focus on breathing, putting into practice specific exercises that help to manage and overcome all the negative emotions that arise during the day.
Also helping to keep him under control is maintaining a good quality of sleep which can be increased by sleeping naked.
What is the SKY Breath Meditation technique
One of the techniques that promises the best results appears to be the SKY Breath Meditation (Sudarshan Kriya® Yoga), which includes a complete set of breathing and meditation exercises split over several days and designed to induce calm e Resilience.
This discipline has its roots in oriental culture, especially in the methodology devised by the spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
In practice it is based on an inset of precise postures and breathing techniques which aim to relieve stress and counteract mood disorders, rebalancing the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
Results and benefits
I benefits induced by embracing this type of breathing would be many: from improved mental health and social connection, up to the development of positive emotions and greater awareness and, of course, to the reduction of stress and depression levels.
Its effectiveness would be so evident that it was also used on veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who fought every day with strong trauma resulting from the experience lived during firefights. Even they, practicing it, after a week would have normalized the anxiety levels and even after a year they would continue to feel better mentally.
Breathing could also be useful for treating stress related to climate change, which has several negative effects on health, not just the environment.
Laughter yoga is also very useful to relieve stress and stimulate psychological well-being.
What makes this breathing so effective
Different emotions are associated with different forms of breathing, so changing the way you breathe can change how you feel. This, in essence, is the key to the success of the SKY technique.
When you try gioia, respite è regular, deep and slow, while during an anxious state or becomes angry irregular, short, quick and superficial. Being able to change the respiratory rhythm, then, relax, slows the heartbeat and stimulates the vagus nerve, activates the parasympathetic nervous system, helps to calm down and feel better.
It is very complex to get out of strong emotions such as stress, anxiety or anger, just think of how ineffective it is when one person tells another to calm down during a moment of extreme stress.
This is because when you live strong moments of anxiety, the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for rational thinking, is compromised. It is difficult to think clearly and be productive at work until it returns to normal, but with breathing techniques it is possible to gain some mastery of the mind.
How it is practiced
The exercises of SKY Breath Meditation they are rather simple and, once learned, they can be performed on their own without the support of a teacher or personal trainer.
The basic elements of this technique are three: posture yoga (asane), essential for relieving joint and muscle tension; relaxation techniques and techniques respiratory.
The latter, which are the fundamental ones for the success of the practice, derive from pranayama, the yoga of the breath, and are made up of exercises aimed precisely at the rhythmic control of the respiratory act.
The main exercises
- fundamental exercises are four, each with different purposes. If carried out according to pre-established frequencies, after a couple of weeks they promise the first results.
The first is called Ujjiai Pranayama and consists of a three-stage breathing, abdominal, thoracic, clavicular, which slows down the metabolic rate and generates a calming effect through the stimulation of the parasympathetic system and the rebalancing of the sympathetic-vagal balance.
Following the Kapalabati, which balances the two cerebral hemispheres and stimulates the Beta waves of the brain, or the electromagnetic ones that the psyche uses to evaluate the stimuli that come from the outside world. The result is a significant calming effect.
The third step is called Bastrika and stimulates the sympathetic system by infusing enormous energy at first, followed immediately by deep relaxation.
The final passage, on the other hand, is called Sudarshan Kriya, and involves the alternation of various natural rhythms of inhalation and exhalation done only with the nose, which lead to a spontaneous meditative state and a final relaxation.
To get an idea of ​​how breathing can affect the body and the stress felt, it is sufficient to change the relationship between inhalation and exhalation. When you inhale your heart rate accelerates, while when you exhale it slows down. Inhale for a count of four and exhale for a count of eight for a few minutes can begin to relax the nervous system. Furthermore, when the state of agitation rises, lengthening the exhalations can be a good way to bring it back to normal levels.
Good breathing results can also be achieved with treadmill training.
There are also breathing exercises for abdominal cramps.
To improve stress problems, LnB-Motion gymnastics is indicated.
