Find Calm in Every Pose: How Breath Management Can Soothe the Nervous System

Beneath the postures and movements of yoga as a physical practice lies a profound tool for calming the nervous system: breath. You can cultivate flexibility, strength, and balance while slowing the heart rate, reducing stress, and creating a deep sense of calm. This is unlike cardiovascular fitness exercises, which seek to increase heart rate and stimulate the body. Yoga’s emphasis on slow, deep breathing allows us to practice to achieve the opposite effect.
In this post, we’ll explore how managing the breath during your yoga practice can help you maintain a calm nervous system, why the diaphragm plays such a key role, and how you can use breath to activate the body’s relaxation response. Whether you're new to yoga or a seasoned practitioner, understanding how to harness the power of your breath is essential to experiencing yoga's full benefits for mental and physical well-being.

The Role of Breath in Yoga

At the heart of most yoga practices lies the awareness of breath. Unlike in high-intensity cardio activities, where the goal is to elevate the heart rate and challenge the body’s endurance, yoga encourages slow, controlled breathing. The aim is not to increase heart rate, but to stabilize and harmonize it. Slow, mindful breathing engages the parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the "rest and digest" functions of the body. This is the opposite of the "fight or flight" sympathetic nervous system response, which is activated by stress, anxiety, or exertion.

By focusing on the breath, yoga practitioners can ultimately lower their heart rate, reduce blood pressure, and create a calm, grounded presence. This is why yoga is so effective in managing stress: it helps to bring the body’s physiological state into balance and encourages relaxation.

Breath and the Nervous System

Understanding how breath influences the nervous system is key to mastering breath-based techniques in yoga. When we breathe slowly and deeply, we activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is directly involved with the vagus nerve—a critical component of the body’s relaxation response. The vagus nerve helps to lower heart rate, reduce inflammation, and improve digestion. By engaging this nerve through conscious breathwork, we can reduce stress and create a profound sense of calm.

Breathing in yoga involves diaphragmatic breathing, which can be especially effective at stimulating the vagus nerve. The diaphragm is the large, dome, bowl or mushroom shaped muscle located just below the lungs. When we inhale deeply, the diaphragm muscles contract, allowing the lungs to expand fully. As the diaphragm moves, it creates a gentle massage effect on the vagus nerve, which in turn signals the brain to lower heart rate and encourage relaxation.

The Diaphragm and the Breath Cycle

In a yoga practice, the breath is meant to be steady and even. Inhale, exhale, and pauses in between should all be synchronized in a calm, controlled rhythm. This type of breathing helps prevent hyperventilation, which is common during stressful moments or in high-intensity exercises.

When practicing yoga, focus on the diaphragm's movement with each breath. As you inhale, allow the diaphragm to expand downward and the abdomen to rise slightly. As you exhale, allow the diaphragm to lift back up and the abdomen to soften. This diaphragmatic breathing helps keep the abdomen toned but not rigid, which is key for maintaining a calm state.

Think of it like a gentle pump, with each inhale bringing in fresh oxygen, and each exhale clearing out tension and stress. The rhythmic rise and fall of the diaphragm signal to the nervous system that all is well and that the body can relax.

Toning the Abdomen, Not Rigidifying It

A common misunderstanding in yoga is the need to “engage” the core in every pose. While engaging the core is important for stability and alignment, it’s equally important not to over-activate the abdominal muscles to the point of rigidity. In contrast to intense fitness regimes where abdominal engagement may be used to create strength or endurance, yoga seeks to tone the abdomen in a way that allows for fluidity and breath.

When you’re in a yoga pose, maintain a subtle, steady engagement of the core that supports the spine and encourages deep, diaphragmatic breathing. This is different from clenching or holding tension. A rigid abdomen could prevent the full range of diaphragm movement, making it harder to breathe deeply and activate the vagus nerve. This abdominal tone will not only help stabilize your body, but will also make your breath cycle smoother, allowing for greater relaxation in each pose.

Calm Does Not Mean Passive: Active Postures and Vinyasa as Calming Practices

It’s important to note that calm in yoga doesn’t always mean staying still or engaging only in passive postures. While restorative poses and gentle stretches are wonderful for relaxation, many yoga practices—particularly active postures and dynamic sequences like Vinyasa—can also foster a deep sense of calm. The key lies in how you approach the breath and body movement. Even in more vigorous postures or flowing sequences, by maintaining a steady, deep breath and staying connected to the diaphragm’s rhythmic expansion and contraction, you can activate the parasympathetic nervous system and soothe the body’s stress response. In fact, the continuous movement with breath in Vinyasa can serve as a moving meditation, where the focus on breath management creates space for the nervous system to calm, despite the physical intensity of the poses. Through mindful breathwork, you can transform even the most dynamic and physically demanding practices into opportunities for inner stillness and balance.

Stress Attenuation through Deep Breathing

Stress is an inevitable part of life, but managing it effectively is key to maintaining overall health. Yoga offers a unique opportunity to interrupt the stress cycle by engaging in practices that reduce the physiological impacts of stress. Deep and slow breathing triggers the body’s parasympathetic nervous system and helps to attenuate the fight-or-flight response that is often responsible for feelings of anxiety and overwhelm.

One of the simplest ways to reduce stress in yoga is through a breathing practice called ‘Nadi Shodhana’ or alternate nostril breathing. This technique, done separately  to moving posture practices, involves closing one nostril at a time and breathing deeply through the other, alternating sides. The slow and deliberate nature of this breathwork has been shown to enhance parasympathetic activity and lower blood pressure, making it an excellent technique for calming the nervous system.

Another effective breath technique is ‘Ujjayi breath’, also known as ‘victorious breath.’ This is achieved by slightly constricting the inlet of air within the throat as you breathe in and out, creating a soft ocean-like sound. This breath is often used in Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga practices to help maintain focus and control over the breath, providing both physical and mental grounding during dynamic movement.

Conclusion

Incorporating mindful breathwork into your yoga practice is one of the most effective ways to promote relaxation and reduce stress. While cardiovascular fitness practices aim to elevate heart rate and challenge the body, yoga works in the opposite direction by calming the nervous system through controlled, deep breathing. The diaphragm plays a key role in this process, and by maintaining tone in the abdomen, you create space for the breath to flow freely, activate the vagus nerve and promote a sense of calm.

Remember, the goal of your yoga practice is not to rush or strain, but to cultivate a steady, mindful connection between your body, breath, and mind. As you practice, take time to slow down your breath, focus on diaphragmatic expansion, and let the nervous system rest in every pose.
Yoga can be calming, even during more active and dynamic sequences, as long as breath and focus are maintained.

References:
1. Zaccaro, A. (2018)  How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Front. Hum. Neurosci.
2. Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-Regulation. Norton & Company.
3. Brown, R. P., & Gerbarg, P. L. (2005). Yoga breathing, meditation, and stress reduction. Journal of Psychosomatic Research.