For the love of breath: your brain on yoga

By Anzari Atik

Anzari has a PhD in neuroscience and is currently working in the clinical research field as a regulatory affairs and clinical research associate. Anzari is also a certified yoga teacher who combines her passion for neuroscience with yoga when teaching. 

Breathing is such an essential part of life but when was the last time you checked in on your breath? This simple task of checking in on your breath has a profound impact on your wellbeing and is a fundamental part of any yoga practice. The attention given to inhales and exhales, or conscious breathing has been shown to activate regions in the brain linked to emotion, attention, and body awareness, and could be the reason why conscious breathing can improve attention as well as regulate the nervous system. This and many other pranayama (breathing) techniques commonly utilised in the practise of yoga, has a unique ability to regulate our mood and our response to various stimuli. 

Take deep breathing for instance, such as diaphragmatic breathing, which involves fully engaging the stomach muscles and diaphragm when breathing (slow, deep inhales and exhales) has the potential to improve cognitive performance, particularly, sustained attention, so your ability to focus on an activity over a long period of time. This has been shown to be attributed to a decrease in cortisol levels, cortisol being a hormone that acts kind of like your body’s alarm system and is your body’s main stress hormone. This deep breathing technique may remind you of Ujjayi breath in yoga or oceanic breath, which establishes that same breathing pattern of slow, long inhales and exhales. 

Now for my favourite, favourite breath technique that is. Have you ever had a yoga teacher talk you through a breath pattern where the inhale, the holding of the breath, and the exhale are all the same count (duration)? Well, this is termed box breath (visual below). But before I get into that let me delve a little into why I am so fascinated with this breath technique, stay with me! Chronic stress really has a negative effect on the brain. For instance, chronic stress has been linked to degeneration of the hippocampus (via Latin from Greek meaning seahorse; it looks like a seahorse when taken out of the brain), essentially the brains memory centre, and it can also lead to impaired function of the prefrontal cortex (involved in planning, decision making, short-term memory etc.). Coming back to box breathing. This technique, usually done as a 4-count inhale, 4-count breath hold and 4-count exhale, really helps you take control of your automatic breathing patterns and it is a breathing technique used by navy SEALs. Box breathing has been shown to be beneficial in reducing and controlling stress and therefore acts like a protective tool for the brain regions I mentioned earlier. The reason why I love this breath is because it is the perfect combination of optimal breathing that requires concentration, and it activates the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxed state). 

image via pinterest

While I could talk about breath, the brain and yoga endlessly and while these few words do not do justice to the decades of research on breath and of the ancient practise of yoga, I hope it provides you with some insight on the connection between the breath and the brain and reminds you to check in with your breath. I also have a few of my favourite resources/accounts (applied neuroscience) that I follow, below if you would like to check them out. With that, I leave you with this beautiful quote. 

“It’s like when you’re flying in an airplane. Whenever severe turbulence comes along, the seatbelt keeps you from getting thrown around the cabin. Mindful breathing is your seatbelt in everyday life - it keeps you safe and in the present moment. If you know how to breathe, how to sit calmly and quietly, then you have your seatbelt and you are always safe.” - Thich Naht Hahn 

My favourite daily resources:

1. zhealth – a great resource for applied neuroscience for movement (check them out online and on insta)

2. Huberman Lab – podcast and insta (just all things neuroscience but applied to daily life)