Body Sense

8 Body Sense 8 Body Sense • Stimulates neurological sensors (called baroreceptors) on the wall of the descending aorta. When pressure is applied during exhalation, baroreceptors are signaled, which prompts the hypothalamus (responsible for heart rate and blood pressure). The tension tells the system less pressure is needed, and blood pressure and heart rate can be lowered. This is one reason conscious exhalation breathing patterns create a calming response. • Conversely, stimulates an increase in heart rate on inhalation, which can be invigorating to someone who is sedentary due to factors such as obesity or depression. This is one reason conscious inhalation breathing patterns create an invigorating response. • Engages muscle actions that create a pull (a stimulus) to the cranial and sacral parasympathetic nerves and induce a calming response. • Employs the respiratory pump to support venous flow back to the heart (which can have a hard time on its own thanks to gravity and insufficient muscle contraction in people who are more sedentary). • Creates a positive external force on lymphatic trunks, deep lymphatic ducts, and the cisterna chyli, which influence movement of lymph through the cleansing process. • Creates more movement in the accessory muscles of breathing (scalenes, sternocleidomastoid, pectoralis minor) that are commonly already locked into a dysfunctional place due to poor posture, therefore supporting the hands-on work of your massage therapist in supporting healthy change and unwinding constriction. These bullet points only scratch the surface of the physiological effects of deep breathing. Additionally, the breath is intimately connected to the mind and emotional state. When the breath is agitated, the mind is agitated, and the body follows. But that is a story of its own for another day.

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