GB03: Midlife Stress Tip: A Breathing Practice You Can Do Anywhere

In this week's Glow Bite, Alicia and Nicole guide women in perimenopause through a simple yet impactful breathing exercise to promote calmness and clarity even during the busiest days. The episode introduces the extended exhale breathing technique, which enhances parasympathetic nervous system activity by slowing down the breath and focusing on extended exhalations; an easy, quick technique for midlife women. They discuss the benefits of this practice in reducing stress, improving sleep, and supporting digestion. The session concludes with a practical breathing exercise and a reflective quote about the importance of relaxation.

00:00 Introduction to This Week's Glow Bite
00:35 Understanding the Power of Breathing
01:17 The Science Behind Breathing Techniques
02:48 Extended Exhale Breathing Technique
03:25 Practical Applications and Benefits
04:52 Guided Breathing Exercise
06:52 Final Thoughts and Additional Resources

Get the Radiant Rest Yoga Nidra Sessions here 👉 https://stan.store/thedailyglowlife/p/radiant-rest-yoga-nidra-sessions

Transcript

Alicia: 0:00

Hey there, and welcome to this week's glow bite. We're Alicia

Nicole Maholy: 0:03

and Nicole, and today we're walking you through a quick, powerful breathing practice to help you feel more calm, clear and centered, even on the busiest days. The practice we're sharing today is not only simple, you can do it anywhere without anyone even knowing you're doing it. it.

Alicia: 0:18

Sounds scandalous. when I used to think about breathing exercises, I always kind of thought that was a little woo woo. A little strange. And like where you're doing something that's quite the spectacle.

Nicole Maholy: 0:33

Oh sure. Okay. I see. Interesting. And there are breathing techniques that would be noticeable that's not we're gonna show Today I'm gonna share something with you that no one will even know you're doing it. So there are definitely techniques that might appear different. But I've also heard people express doubt that a breathing practice would be very impactful to them because mm-hmm. You breathe every day anyway. Right? So there's a little bit of doubt that okay, I don't think that breathing technique is gonna do much for me, but it actually really does. It's pretty amazing how powerful shifting your breathing can be for your nervous system, and I think that's the super cool thing, that it's just so easy. So in our main episode this week, we talked about the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and how important being in parasympathetic activation is to healing and an easier perimenopause transition and breath work is the perfect way to activate that part of your nervous system. If you think about when you're in a stress response, you start breathing faster, right? Your breath pace quickens. Mm-hmm. Well, you can actually stimulate your sympathetic nervous system by purposefully breathing fast, right? It's bidirectional. When you are stressed, you breathe faster. When you breathe fast, you can stimulate sympathetic activity. The opposite is true of slow paced breathing. So Slow paced breathing is associated with more parasympathetic activity. So when you're feeling stressed, if slow down the pace of your breath, that supports more parasympathetic activation, and we can layer in another component to really amplify it even further by extending the exhale portion of the breath. So when we breathe in, that naturally slightly stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. There's a slight uptick in your sympathetic activity when you inhale. When you exhale, there's a slight uptick in parasympathetic activation. So by focusing more of your breath on the exhale, by extending that exhale, you really are increasing the parasympathetic activation, and That is the technique that I'd love to share with you today. It's called extended exhale breathing. Quite simply. and as I mentioned, you can do it anywhere. You don't have to do anything fancy with your hands. There's fancy techniques like alternate nostril breathing where you're closing one nostril and you know you're doing things that might be a little bit more obvious. But with this technique, it's super simple. You're just breathing in a way that is extending the exhale.

Alicia: 3:11

Mm-hmm. Hey, Even I can incorporate it and I actually have been, I've been doing it before bed mm-hmm. To try to get that parasympathetic activation going so I can work on getting better sleep.

Nicole Maholy: 3:24

I love that. And that's a really good point when is a good time to incorporate this? Anytime you're feeling stressed, anytime you want more of that relaxation mode. So obviously before bed, that's the perfect time to incorporate this, especially if you're struggling with sleep. Another time, if you think about what we refer to the parasympathetic nervous system as rest and digest That indicates that the parasympathetic nervous system governs your digestion. So if you're struggling with digestion, doing a technique like this before your meals is a really great way to support more parasympathetic activity. Mm-hmm. will support better digestion as well. And then of course, when you're in that stress response and you're looking for a technique to help you shift. Into this relaxation mode. You can use it then too. But as I said, anytime is a good time to use this technique. Mm-hmm. So as I mentioned, quite simply, it's just extending the exhale portion of the breath. So you would inhale for a count of four and then exhale for a count of six to eight. We'll use it a six count in the technique, we're gonna do it together. So we'll do that in a minute, but you can use a breath count that works for you. So if it feels like an inhale for four is too long for you, you can do an inhale for three and then an exhale for six. Whatever count feels good, that doesn't feel stressful, is what you're looking for. As long as the exhale is longer than the inhale, you're doing the technique correct, so to speak. So let's do it together. We're gonna inhale through and exhale through the nose. So let's inhale two. three. Four. Exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Inhale, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Inhale, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5. Six. One more. Inhale, 2, 3, 4. Exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. And just let your breath come back to its normal natural rhythm.

Alicia: 5:45

I feel very breathy.

Nicole Maholy: 5:47

So pay attention right now to how you're feeling after just four rounds of that simple technique. How do you feel in your body right now Do you feel a little bit more calm? do. you feel a little bit more easeful, a little bit lighter maybe.

Alicia: 6:03

I always do. And it, And it sets the stage for a better night of sleep.

Nicole Maholy: 6:07

Mm-hmm. Yeah. As I mentioned, you can do this Anywhere You can do it before a meeting. So if you know that you're going into a stressful situation. It's really a technique you can tuck in your back pocket and do anytime, anywhere. Generally you wanna do it for at least six rounds at a minimum. And that's only one minute of doing that technique. And you'll notice a difference. You'll notice you're feeling a little bit more relaxed. If you can do it longer, that's amazing. You know, doing five to 10 minutes of deep breathing, belly breathing can be a really powerful way to shift into that parasympathetic response. But I just wanna Reiterate that it doesn't require an extremely long period of time of doing an activity to have an effect on the parasympathetic nervous system. The glow reflection that we wanna share with you today is a quote. It's one of my favorite quotes, which I feel like I say that about all quotes. But I do really like this quote, and it fits perfectly into this conversation about stress. And in our episode earlier this week, we talked about the societal pressure of needing to be busy and needing to be doing all of the things. And how stress can be such a significant factor in our lives. And this quote from Mark Black, he says, sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.

Alicia: 7:24

I love that.

Nicole Maholy: 7:25

Thanks for breathing with us today. If you want even deeper ways to recharge your nervous system, check out our Radiant Rest Yoga Nidra series. Yoga nidra is often called non sleep deep rest as it's a practice that's somewhat meditative and incorporates a body scan, but it's deeply restful. And this specific series we created for you is designed to help you deeply restore, recharge, and reconnect with yourself during this season of change. It's a great way to support your nervous system and help your body shift into the relaxation response.

Alicia: 7:54

And, hey, if you know a friend who could use a little breath of fresh air today, share this glow bite with her. We'll see you next time.