What do counting and worry have in common?

I love learning about all things related to breathing. It is one of the main focuses of my life, from my yoga practice, pranayama (controlled breathing), and meditation, it is woven into every corner. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time talking about breathing, but I also spend a lot of time studying and reading about it. 

One of my teachers introduced me to the practice of holding my breath at the end of my inhale for an extended period of time. It has been surprisingly challenging, but also really exciting and interesting. 

Holding my breath is nothing new to me. As a swimmer, you could go faster in a sprint if you didn’t have to break your flow and breathe. This only applied to short races. I learned from a young age how to hold my breath and race for less than 30 seconds.

If you have ever tried to hold your breath for any length of time you may remember how quickly your mind starts telling you that you need to breathe. Your mind creates fear and anxiety around breathing because it is trying to protect you and keep you alive. But the reality of the situation is, most likely, you actually don't need to breathe. 

When you start to hold your breath for extended periods of time you are putting your body under stress. Your brain is really good at protecting itself, and it works to keep the level of blood in the brain about the same to minimize stress. While your brain is trying to find balance, what is happening in your mind is a whole different story. 

When I first began holding my breath in my pranayama practice, my mind started talking to me after about 45 seconds. I keep hearing this voice telling me to exhale to get rid of the build-up of carbon dioxide in my body. I knew that I could hold my breath longer but I needed to find something else for my mind to focus on. Something told me to start counting. Counting gave my mind something else to focus on and allowed me to hold my breath for longer and longer periods. 

Imagine my surprise when I read that counting and worry are controlled by the same part of the brain. You can't do them at the same time. So by counting I was helping to eliminate the worry from my mind. 

In her book, Heart Breath Mind, Leah Lagos, says, "Counting is handled by the same areas of the brain that's responsible for worrying. It's difficult to do both at the same time, so counting is exceptionally effective at crowding out stress, calming a busy brain, and enhancing focus."

So while you may not be interested in holding your breath for long periods, I'm pretty sure we are all looking for ways to help us to manage worry, stress, overwhelm, and anxiety. I've also found it extremely helpful to count when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep. And if you combine counting with breathing, well my friends, you have found the golden ticket to lower your stress by tapping directly into your nervous system. 

It’s so interesting how our bodies have an intuition to help us manage stress and find better ways to control our minds. We just need to tune in and listen. Although it never hurts to get some scientific evidence to back up that intuition.

Have you ever used counting and breathing to lower your stress? Or if you don't, are you going to start now that you know that your brain can't worry and count at the same time? Comment below and let me know. I’d love to hear!