“Your body has numerous major systems, including the endocrine (hormone), cardiovascular, immune, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems. If you want to use the mind-body connection to lower your stress, cool the fires, and improve your long-term health, what’s the optimal point of entry into all these systems? It's the autonomic nervous system (ANS).” (my emphasis)
- Rick Hanson, PhD, Buddha’s Brain
And what’s the optimal point of entry into the ANS? The breath.
As Deb Dana says, “Breath is a direct, easily accessible, and rapid way to shape the state of the nervous system.”
When we change the breath, we change the nervous system, and we change all the major systems of the body.
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P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the US! Here are 3 Ways Your Breath Can Help You Cultivate Gratitude Today