Our body's autonomic nervous system is designed to keep us safe and alive. It controls things like our heart rate, digestion, blood pressure, and breathing - automatically.
When it becomes dysregulated, it causes these functions, and us, to over-react or under-react in certain situations. This is usually caused by unprocessed stress responses from our past or present, which could be from trauma, major life changes, grief, prolonged exposure to fear, etc.
A dysregulated nervous system can show up as mental health symptoms, anxiety, chronic pain, depression, exhaustion, insomnia, lack of focus, addiction, poor memory, digestive issues, and more.
Practicing breathwork is a powerful way to regulate our nervous system so we can get back into balance. By changing the pattern and rate of our breath with conscious breathing techniques, we can access different nervous system states, strengthen the vagus nerve, and become more resilient to stress over time.