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BARRE3 CAN HELP YOU REWIRE YOUR ABILITY TO HANDLE STRESS. HERE’S HOW.
Those last few minutes of class are magic: You’ve just finished a heart-pumping workout, and you move into the breathwork section of class. No matter how challenging the workout was, breathing with intention at the end leaves you feeling calmer and even more energized than before.
But what’s the science behind the feel-good effects of breathwork? To get the low-down on its positive impacts, we spoke with Gloria Han, a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at Vanderbilt University and a certified barre3 instructor.* Dig into our conversation below to find out what’s happening in our body and mind as we engage in breathwork. (Bonus: Gloria also shares simple but effective breathing exercises that will help you relieve stress throughout your day.)
B3 MAGAZINE: When we say “breathwork,” what exactly are we talking about?
GLORIA: Breathwork is the practice of diaphragmatic breathing, or deep-abdominal breathing. This kind of breathing naturally slows your heart rate, stabilizes blood pressure, and stimulates the vagus nerve (which helps control muscles in the throat and voice box). This allows your sympathetic nervous system (which is responsible for your body’s natural “fight-or-flight” response) to calm down and your parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” system) to relax the body. These effects are all important because they have been associated with decreases in anxiety and depression symptoms and even improved psychological wellbeing in individuals with chronic pain.
Deep breathing is a way for us to increase our ability to notice our somatic, visceral, and sensory inputs. In other words, during breathwork, you become much more attuned to what’s happening in your body, in your mind, and in your heart.
B3 MAGAZINE: Although we dedicate the end of class to guided breathwork, we cue intentional breathing throughout class. How does this support us during the workout?
GLORIA: Let’s use Toe Taps as an example: If we’re doing a move that lifts your heart rate—which, from a physiological standpoint, is a kind of stressor on the body—it’s great to focus on a slower, stable breath. Doing this, you’re teaching yourself that you can be stable, confident, and capable during those times of stress.
B3 MAGAZINE: How can we apply this more broadly to our overall well-being?
GLORIA: Diaphragmatic breathing is an effective way to physiologically relax the body, and because we know that our physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions are all connected, it allows us to balance those other aspects of our awareness as well.
Every day, we experience stress because of the unpredictability of our lives. One of the really great things about a regular breathwork practice is that it counters this natural stress response.
The more we engage in diaphragmatic breathing during times of physiological or emotional arousal, the more we’re training our body that the next wave of anxiety or arousal doesn’t have to be as scary.
The first time you encounter a stressor, it’s natural and healthy for our bodies to have a physical, emotional, and cognitive reaction to it. But as we pair those events with diaphragmatic breathing, over time, you’ll still feel something, but you may start to find these stressors more manageable and easier to overcome. With breathwork, we can train our minds and bodies to realize that daily stressors don’t need to be as activating (or scary) than we previously thought.
B3 MAGAZINE: So the goal of breathwork isn’t to eliminate stress from your life completely, but to be better equipped to cope with it?
GLORIA: That’s exactly right, and it’s something we talk a lot about in the field of Clinical Psychology. It’s not that you’ll no longer feel stress or anxiety, but you’ll be able to use your breath as this portable tool to increase awareness and acceptance of stressors while stimulating the relaxation response of your parasympathetic nervous system. This process can be a gamechanger. By changing our (uncomfortable) relationship with negative emotions, we can feel empowered to embrace both the good and bad.
B3 MAGAZINE: Do you have a favorite breathing exercise you like to use every day?
GLORIA: Absolutely! I’m a big proponent of mindfulness-based practices, but it doesn’t need to be fancy at all. You can work on mobilizing your breath anywhere. You could be sitting in the car during your commute, you could be at your desk, or just walking from one place to another. Here’s how to get started:
- Breathe in for five seconds. As you’re inhaling, you want to focus on keeping your chest very still and relaxed, letting only your belly expand.
- Hold the breath for five seconds.
- Slowly let the air out of your mouth for eight seconds.
Something as quick as even just three to five of these breaths done intermittently throughout the day can be really effective. It’s like hitting a reset button, allowing you to encounter the next thing you’re working on with a different mindset.
You can also pair this with visualization. Imagine either an equilateral triangle or square. With each inhale, imagine tracing one side of the shape, then imagine tracing the next side of the shape as you hold your breath, and then trace the next side as you exhale. Continue this as you traverse the imaginary shape in your mind. This is great if you’re prone to mind-wandering during your breath practice.
Ready to build your breathwork practice with barre3? Find your local studio or sign up for a 15-day free trial of barre3 online today!
*Gloria is currently completing her clinical residency at Brown University and recently moved to Providence, Rhode Island from Nashville, where she was a barre3 instructor for 5 years.
Those last few minutes of class are magic: You’ve just finished a heart-pumping workout, and you move into the breathwork section of class. No matter how challenging the workout was, breathing with intention at the end leaves you feeling calmer and even more energized than before.
But what’s the science behind the feel-good effects of breathwork? To get the low-down on its positive impacts, we spoke with Gloria Han, a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at Vanderbilt University and a certified barre3 instructor.* Dig into our conversation below to find out what’s happening in our body and mind as we engage in breathwork. (Bonus: Gloria also shares simple but effective breathing exercises that will help you relieve stress throughout your day.)
B3 MAGAZINE: When we say “breathwork,” what exactly are we talking about?
GLORIA: Breathwork is the practice of diaphragmatic breathing, or deep-abdominal breathing. This kind of breathing naturally slows your heart rate, stabilizes blood pressure, and stimulates the vagus nerve (which helps control muscles in the throat and voice box). This allows your sympathetic nervous system (which is responsible for your body’s natural “fight-or-flight” response) to calm down and your parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” system) to relax the body. These effects are all important because they have been associated with decreases in anxiety and depression symptoms and even improved psychological wellbeing in individuals with chronic pain.
Deep breathing is a way for us to increase our ability to notice our somatic, visceral, and sensory inputs. In other words, during breathwork, you become much more attuned to what’s happening in your body, in your mind, and in your heart.
B3 MAGAZINE: Although we dedicate the end of class to guided breathwork, we cue intentional breathing throughout class. How does this support us during the workout?
GLORIA: Let’s use Toe Taps as an example: If we’re doing a move that lifts your heart rate—which, from a physiological standpoint, is a kind of stressor on the body—it’s great to focus on a slower, stable breath. Doing this, you’re teaching yourself that you can be stable, confident, and capable during those times of stress.
B3 MAGAZINE: How can we apply this more broadly to our overall well-being?
GLORIA: Diaphragmatic breathing is an effective way to physiologically relax the body, and because we know that our physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions are all connected, it allows us to balance those other aspects of our awareness as well.
Every day, we experience stress because of the unpredictability of our lives. One of the really great things about a regular breathwork practice is that it counters this natural stress response.
The more we engage in diaphragmatic breathing during times of physiological or emotional arousal, the more we’re training our body that the next wave of anxiety or arousal doesn’t have to be as scary.
The first time you encounter a stressor, it’s natural and healthy for our bodies to have a physical, emotional, and cognitive reaction to it. But as we pair those events with diaphragmatic breathing, over time, you’ll still feel something, but you may start to find these stressors more manageable and easier to overcome. With breathwork, we can train our minds and bodies to realize that daily stressors don’t need to be as activating (or scary) than we previously thought.
B3 MAGAZINE: So the goal of breathwork isn’t to eliminate stress from your life completely, but to be better equipped to cope with it?
GLORIA: That’s exactly right, and it’s something we talk a lot about in the field of Clinical Psychology. It’s not that you’ll no longer feel stress or anxiety, but you’ll be able to use your breath as this portable tool to increase awareness and acceptance of stressors while stimulating the relaxation response of your parasympathetic nervous system. This process can be a gamechanger. By changing our (uncomfortable) relationship with negative emotions, we can feel empowered to embrace both the good and bad.
B3 MAGAZINE: Do you have a favorite breathing exercise you like to use every day?
GLORIA: Absolutely! I’m a big proponent of mindfulness-based practices, but it doesn’t need to be fancy at all. You can work on mobilizing your breath anywhere. You could be sitting in the car during your commute, you could be at your desk, or just walking from one place to another. Here’s how to get started:
- Breathe in for five seconds. As you’re inhaling, you want to focus on keeping your chest very still and relaxed, letting only your belly expand.
- Hold the breath for five seconds.
- Slowly let the air out of your mouth for eight seconds.
Something as quick as even just three to five of these breaths done intermittently throughout the day can be really effective. It’s like hitting a reset button, allowing you to encounter the next thing you’re working on with a different mindset.
You can also pair this with visualization. Imagine either an equilateral triangle or square. With each inhale, imagine tracing one side of the shape, then imagine tracing the next side of the shape as you hold your breath, and then trace the next side as you exhale. Continue this as you traverse the imaginary shape in your mind. This is great if you’re prone to mind-wandering during your breath practice.
Ready to build your breathwork practice with barre3? Find your local studio or sign up for a 15-day free trial of barre3 online today!
*Gloria is currently completing her clinical residency at Brown University and recently moved to Providence, Rhode Island from Nashville, where she was a barre3 instructor for 5 years.
