Why the Answer to Managing Stress Might Be Under Your Nose

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How can we effectively manage the stresses in our everyday lives? The Breath Guy, Richie Bostok, believes the answer to many of our modern-day stresses is just right here under our nose.

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Topics Discussed in this Episode:

The Wim Hof Method
Surviving in the cold
The benefits of cold exposure
The benefits of breathwork
Coherence breathing and other breathing techniques for stress management
The effects of having low carbon dioxide in the body

Key Takeaways:

The Wim Hof Method has a breathing component and then a cold exposure component. When you do the breathing component, it increases the pH level of your blood and makes your blood more alkaline, which has an effect on your thermal receptors such that you don’t feel the cold as much. This effect lasts 20 to 30 minutes after you finish your breathing.
If we are able to stay relaxed and calm in a stressful situation like being in the cold, then the body will be able to do what it needs to do to keep us alive. It’s essentially stepping out of our own way, not allowing our bodies to become overwhelmed, not going into that stress or panic mode.
Breathwork is anytime you become aware of your breathing and then use it to make a physical, mental, or emotional change.
The way that we breathe is so intimately linked to our nervous system. It’s really the only function that’s governed as part of our autonomic nervous system that we actually have complete control over at the same time.
You can use breathing as a full-blown form of therapy where you breathe in certain ways and it helps you to be able to uncover and to release emotional blocks, past traumas, any limiting beliefs.
When you breathe slowly, it helps you to go into your parasympathetic systems.
90% to 95% of people habitually breathe up into the chest. This is a dysfunctional breathing behaviour or breathing habit that is actually neurologically linked to the stress response.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is a great measure of neuro flexibility. It determines your cardiovascular and neurological ability to adapt to stress and relaxation. If you have a very low HRV, it means that your cardiovascular system is quite rigid and stuck. If you have a high HRV, it means that you’re much more flexible, and therefore, more able to be in a relaxed zone.
The quickest way to increase your HRV is to breathe somewhere between three and a half to five breaths per minute. A great way to do that is to breathe five seconds in, five seconds out, through your nose, and into your belly.

Action Steps:

Learn two- to three-minute breathing techniques that allow you to relax when you’re feeling stressed or to help you fall asleep or to help you to create energy.
Use apps like Calm for meditation and breathing exercises.
Breathe slowly, breathe low, and breathe through your nose.

Richie said:

“In so many of these things and challenges that we face in this modern life, breathing can go such a long way into helping you to increase your overall health, your overall happiness, and performance in all these areas.”

“Breathing is truly so personal, and there are so many ways that you can take it… See what feels nice and what makes you feel comfortable, and then continue with that.”

Thanks for listening!

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