Last Sunday afternoon, I had some alone time—a quiet, warm, still afternoon where I decided to relax with an amazing book.
After a couple of pages, I felt myself relaxing, really getting into the story. After a chapter or two, I decided to treat myself to an ice cream… but there were none in the house. The shop was only a couple of blocks away, so off I went.
With my head still completely in my book, lost in the story, I stepped off the pavement.
And then it happened.
An oncoming car hooted loudly, screaming at me of its existence.
My state of calm was shattered in an instant.
My heart rate and blood pressure shot up. I was instantly alert, looking for ways to combat this danger, my breathing changed dramatically, short, sharp, and shallow, as I jumped back onto the pavement.
When I finally calmed down and my breathing returned to normal, I realised something important—the hooting of that car, just a simple warning, had shifted my entire state instantly from rest and digest (parasympathetic) to fight or flight mode (sympathetic state).
And I noticed the difference.
When we enter fight or flight mode, everything other than what’s needed to help us avert danger shuts down. Our focus, creativity, digestion, executive functioning skills, reasoning, and memory—they all take a back seat while our heart pumps blood through our veins and adrenaline floods our system.
However, both states are important for us to survive.
Yet due to increased workloads, deadlines, global uncertainty, and constant demands, etc., we’re residing more and more in fight or flight mode. This doesn’t just shut down the systems we need most—it also increases blood pressure, heart rate, and leads to stress and anxiety.
For your staff, students, and entrepreneurs, this isn’t just a personal wellness issue—it’s an organisational performance issue, and detrimental to overall wellbeing.
When people are stuck in fight or flight, their creativity suffers, their decision-making suffers, their ability to collaborate and problem-solve suffers, and their general well-being takes a toll.
The good news?
Our bodies react more to our breathing than to our minds.
Change your breathing, and you can begin to shift your state.
Long, slow exhalations send a message to the vagus nerve and nervous system that all is okay, which begins the process of the body returning to normal.
There’s a saying: “When in doubt, breathe out.”
Here’s a simple technique that can start the shift back to rest and digest:
- Take a long inhalation through your nose
- Pause, then take another “top up” inhalation (so you’ve taken 2 breaths—one long, one shorter)
- Let it all out through your mouth—just like a sigh!
- Repeat a few times until you feel relaxed
If you’re interested in exploring how breathwork can support wellbeing and performance for you or your organisation, reach out directly and let’s chat further about your specific needs.
Happy breathing,
Gary
