What happens when we mindfully (use our aware mind) to focus on our breathing? We heal. When we experience and feel stress, our bodies tense and our nervous system gets stuck.  The Core Reset Breathing technique is one way I have found that helps reset body and mind. I’ve taught highly experienced meditators who still have a tight diaphragm from stress. This is a wonderful coping technique that is easy to use anytime.

HOW TO RESET the CORE: Lie on your back with your knees bent and a comfortable pillow under your head. You can also do this while sitting at your desk or even while standing. Focus on feeling your ribcage as you breathe. Does it feel relaxed and is it expanding to the sides? Try this breathing reset and guide the breath to move more three dimensionally. Tune into your physical body sensations between your ribs and belly.

Try increasing the lift of the navel after your inhale with a few “sniffs” of extra air. Only use the belly – try to relax the neck, back and shoulders while you lift the belly button. Inhale through your nose, then sniff, sniff and lift, lift. 

Then after you exhale with an open mouth, blow a few extra puffs of air out and gently pull the navel to the spine. Try to isolate just the belly muscles again; use just a little effort as too much may cause you to tighten the back, neck or shoulder muscles. The “accessory breathing muscles” are habitually engaged when our breathing becomes stressed. Exhale through your mouth and then pull in, blow, pull in, blow. It takes some practice to pull the naval into the belly as you exhale. Stress can “reverse” our breathing and we start to push the air out which is not as relaxing to our diaphragm and body/mind.

Gently repeat this exercise 5-10 times until you feel it is easier to keep your belly as the breathing “motor” and stay more relaxed in neck, shoulders and back.

With body-based relaxation techniques like this Core Reset I teach all of my clients, we can train our body and our brain to connect. When we practice connecting regularly and keep coming back to our breathing awareness, our nervous system will heal profoundly.

Viparita Karani or “Legs up the wall Yoga Pose”