Extend Exhalations
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In the Classroom - Lesson 9
Lesson:
Extending exhalations is something that can have an impact on your health. For two reasons.
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Reason One:
Lower heart rate and blood pressure:
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As we breath in our heart rate goes up, and our nervous system is more fight-flight-freeze-fidget-fret directed. Think of all the times you’ve been startled and held your breath. That was on a huge inhalation, if not gasp, am I right? Conversely, as we exhale our heart rate goes down and our nervous system is more relax–rest–repair–replenish directed. Think of sighing and relaxing. You let everything out, right? You can have your class experiment with both those experiences. Remembering being afraid or startled and gasping air in, and remembering feeling relieved, relaxed and letting out a breath of air or sighing.
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You can also test this at your next doctor office visit. Or if you have a heart rate monitor you can check it. As you breathe in, the heart rate goes up. As you exhale it goes down.Now, you can have your class do some math. If you draw two columns, one for in breath and one for out breath, and if you count how long each breath is, putting the number in the appropriate column, and if you let the out-breaths, the exhalations, be longer. Which column will have the bigger number? The exhalation column, of course. And if the exhalation column is the column for lower-heart rate and lower blood pressure, then that side wins. And so,...
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by extending your exhalations, having them be longer than your inhalations, you will lower your blood pressure and heart rate.
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Reason Two:
Increased heart rate differential.
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Doctors now use the difference between the two heart rates (tthe heart rate during the inhalation as compared with the heart rate during the exhalation) as a diagnostic tool to determine heart health and physical longevity.
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The bigger the difference, the better the prediction of heart rate and overall health and longevity. And this exercise promotes an increase of difference!
