Breathe In, Breathe Out- Minds on the Frontline Podcast
In today’s episode, we have the honor of welcoming Crystal Little who is an EMS Captain with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. In addition, Crystal is a certified Health and Wellness Coach, a yoga teacher, a somatic breath work facilitator, and a Morozko cold water guide.
Although Crystal is an effective, motivated, and healthy member of the frontline community, it wasn’t always so easy for her. Like many of us, she has had to learn healthy coping skills that provide her with the necessary resiliency to maintain mental, emotional, and physical strength.
Crystal is here to highlight the power of breathing as a means to foster resilience in the face of life’s stresses. This simple, yet profound act holds the key to balancing the autonomic nervous system by engaging the parasympathetic branch, the calming "rest and digest" system. This branch acts as a counterpoint to the sympathetic system's "fight or flight" mode, restoring equilibrium.
Breathing does this by activating the vagus nerve, the key component of the parasympathetic system, which, when stimulated through slow, deep breaths, signals safety and relaxation to the body. This process not only reduces the heart rate and blood pressure, fostering calm but also enhances vagal tone, which is a measure of the vagus nerve's health and activity. A robust vagal tone is linked to improved emotional control and lower stress levels.
Also, such breathing practices tempers stress responses, allowing the body to move from alertness to a more restful state where healing can happen. They also increase heart rate variability, or HRV, which a sign of a dynamic and robust stress response system, reflecting a well-adjusted autonomic nervous system. A higher HRV means the body can handle stress more adaptively.
Breathwork serves as a link between our intentional actions and the body’s automatic functions, giving us a potent tool to guide our nervous system and tap into our natural ability to relax. In essence, targeted breathing patterns are a gateway to engaging the parasympathetic nervous system. They underscore how breath control can be a transformative practice for our physical and mental well-being, underlining the significant influence that breathing exercises can exert on our holistic health.
During this episode, Crystal is eager to share her enthusiasm for breathwork and the many ways it can improve our lives. She'll break down the basics of somatic release breathwork, showing us how it can help heal our emotions and bodies. Plus, Crystal will introduce us to some great additional practices, such float tanks, cold plunges, and heat bathing. She'll explain in simple terms how these activities, along with breathwork, can help frontline workers and anyone looking to enhance their overall health and happiness.
