Shift swiftly to calm with the physiological sigh

It never ceases to amaze me how powerful breathwork can be in shifting our physiological state. I shared the extended exhale practice last week, and the featured practice in this article is a kind of extended exhale practice with some simple tweaks that can really make big shifts happen. It is known as the physiological sigh, or cyclic sighing, and it is a practice for down-regulation - shifting from a sympathetically activated nervous system to bring in more parasympathetic activity.

The Practice

To do the physiological sigh, you simply inhale through the nose, pause, then do another inhale, then exhale slowly and fully through your mouth. If you can remember the last time you had a crying jag, or witnessed one (especially in kids) you will recognize this breathing pattern as one that occurs when we are coming off of a lot of emotional activation and settling back down to a more balanced nervous system state. It happens naturally without us having to consciously do it!! Doing it consciously can have really powerful effects.

The Effects

In addition to helping to shift your nervous system to a calmer state in the moment, this practice can help shift your baseline mood over time if practiced regularly. In 2023, David Spiegel and Andrew Huberman published a study where they were comparing the different effects of breathing exercises on participants anxiety and overall affect aka mood/emotional state. Even though this study was conducted fully remotely at the height of the pandemic, breathing exercises helped decrease anxiety, decrease negative emotional states, and increase positive emotional states. Of the three breathing exercises they studied, the physiological sigh (which they refer to as "cycling sighing") had the most significant effects, even beating out mindfulness meditation focusing on the breath by a good margin.

Practice Pro Tips

So how often did they do it in that study to see those effects? The participants were instructed to practice for five minutes a day for 30 days. That was it to see those big shifts! And let's be real, these participants were self-reporting their breathwork activity in the middle of the pandemic so we can be sure they missed days here and there and probably didn't make it the whole five minutes every practice. 🤪

Knowing this, for your practical application, think about where you can sneak in a few rounds in your day, or throughout your day. Maybe first thing when you wake up to start the day with a calm body and mind. Transitions are great opportunities for short breathwork practices in my experience...when you sit down to work for the day, or come home- or have to shift gears for a social event or Zoom meeting. Even in between meetings or if you see clients, between client sessions, this practice can help clear the slate and keep your from accumulating a bunch of extra stress throughout the day. The physiological sigh also makes a fantastic incorporation into your winding down routine 🥱 at the end of the day as well!

Without further ado...

The physiological sigh in a five-minute practice video. I also got to further hone my skills of adding text to videos so I could include written instructions as this one is a little challenging to guide and demonstrate at the same time 😑 Give it a go and let me know what you think!!

In deepest appreciation,

Carly💕

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter!! If you know anyone who would benefit, I would be delighted if you shared the love and passed it along 🙏

I greatly appreciate any feedback, comments, or requests for practices/info. I've got a lot of knowledge and skills to share with people, so tell me what ya need and we'll see what I can do!! Simply respond to this email to send me your thoughts 😊