I’ve been practicing what DBT creator Marsha Linehan calls “paced breathing” for over ten years…
This can be seen on the Heartmath software which graphs heart rate in near-real-time and shows respiratory sinus arrhytmia (RSA) as an…
I’ve been practicing what DBT creator Marsha Linehan calls “paced breathing” for over ten years, since I discovered Heartmath’s Emwave products (I have no affiliation other than using their products). I also use it extensively with my clients as the first line of intervention on overarousal, including anger and anxiety. As Sandy Wiggins points out in his comment, slowed breathing is believed to activate the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system (via the vagus nerve), moderating diffuse physiological arousal and the stress responses of the sympathetic system.
This can be seen on the Heartmath software which graphs heart rate in near-real-time and shows respiratory sinus arrhytmia (RSA) as an indication of parasympathetic activation. (RSA is also referred to by Heartmath as an aspect and sign of physiological coherence.) In addition, every in-breath is sympathetic and every out-breath parasympathetic, so lengthening the outbreaths enhances the process. I believe this is why chanti…