Hacking the Central Nervous System

The Meditation

Several years ago, while attending a yoga training, I learned several styles of meditation. I found one of them deeply resonated with me. It was a sequence of sounds vocalized in a specific pattern. As several of us sat in a circle, inhaling through the nose and vocalizing the sounds, I felt the force of the sound waves hit me. It was the first time I felt like I was really meditating. I found the meditation powerful, calming, and grounding. I began practicing it daily.

The Meditation is Breath Work

Unbeknownst to me at the time, powerful breathwork forces were operating behind the scenes of that meditation. In an article entitled Your Breath is Your Brain’s Remote Control, Crystal Got discusses the scientific study that demonstrates a direct link between nasal breathing and cognitive functions. This helps to explain why the advice to take a deep breath to calm down works, as long as you breathe in through your nose.

Goh expands on the adage: “voluntarily inhaling and exhaling to control our breathing rhythm—has been known and used throughout history. … we know that slow, deep breathing can calm the nervous system by reducing our heart rate and activating the parasympathetic (calming) nervous system. In this way, our bodies become calm, and our minds also quieten.” For example, U.S. soldiers in tactical situations use this practice to stay calm and focused. And anyone familiar with Wim Hof knows he has utilized a specific breath practice to tolerate cold exposure.

Goh goes into detail about the findings from Northwestern Medicine, which “show a system where our in-breath is like a remote control for our brains: by breathing in through our nose we are directly affecting the electrical signals in the “smell” regions, which indirectly controls the electrical signals of our memory and emotional brain centers. In this way, we can control and optimize brain function using our in-breath, to have faster, more accurate emotional discrimination and recognition, as well as gain better memory.”

Benefits to the Central Nervous System

Goh further explains that “while the in-breath specifically alters our cognition, the act of slow, deep breathing, whether the inhalation or exhalation, is beneficial for our nervous system when we wish to be more still.” So, every time I practice this meditation, I am calming my nervous system and improving my ability to regulate emotionally. That explains why I find it powerful, calming, and grounding.

That is my Breath. That is my Power.
May you find the power of your breath.