Who among us does not get highjacked by stress and anxiety? We have all been there; shallow breathing, sweaty palms, agitated thinking, and a racing heart. These are the uncontrollable physical reactions we have in response to stressful situations. In professional settings, even common situations such as having a difficult conversation or public speaking can this trigger these physical responses.

At the risk of sounding alarmist, regrettably a chronically stressed nervous system is the foundation of 80% of our diseases, including depression, anxiety, and autoimmune disorders. Given that chronic stress is a feature of modern living, we may all be walking towards physical and emotional disease unless we are actively de-stressing our nervous systems, in other words, actively managing our stress.

On a more positive note, when our nervous system is relaxed and balanced we perform our best. When we feel calm, safe and positive, we access more of our innate energy and creativity; we are better able to problem solve, to navigate complexity, and act decisively. This is the difference between surviving and thriving.

Coherent Breathing is an evidence based practice for controlling our breath cadence to de-stress our nervous system. We are born with this ability expressly for the purpose of restoring balance to our bodies and minds.

I trained with integrative psychiatrists Dr. Richard Brown and Dr. Patricia Gerbarg, who are pioneers in the research and training of Coherent Breathing. I also studied with Dr. Stephen Porges who wrote The Polyvagal Theory, documenting the healing effects of the breath.

I often recommend Coherent Breathing to clients. I practice it myself and am continually impressed with how safe and gentle it is, and yet how significantly it calms and energizes me, bringing me back to a center that supports my best thinking and doing.

Below I offer the fundamentals of Coherent Breathing and Polyvagal Theory, and the resources you need to start practicing it yourself.

What is Coherent Breathing ?

Coherent Breathing is a therapeutic breathing practice that involves slowing down the breath to a rate of five to six breaths per minute in order to calm the nervous system and optimize brain functioning.

Coherent Breathing is clinically proven to lower depression and anxiety while increasing energy, focus and positive feelings. It reduces the negative effects of trauma and stress. It alleviates insomnia, autoimmune disorders, post traumatic stress and attention deficit disorder. It increases alertness and concentration.

Coherent breathing is simple, easy, and free. It can be done sitting, or lying down. It can be done privately, at home or the workplace; or publicly like when you are on public transportation or taking a walk.

You’ll notice the calming and energizing effects of coherent breathing after one 20 minute session. These effects accumulate and clinically significant results are obtained after two weeks of daily practice for 10 - 20 minutes.

How does Coherent Breathing Work?

Breathing is one of many components of the autonomic nervous system(ANS), which also controls your heart rate, digestive system, and more. Slow deep breathing stimulates the Vagus Nerve, which activates the relaxation response of the autonomic nervous system.

The Vagus Nerve is the longest nerve in the body and it runs from your brain, through the diaphragm and into the gut. The vagus nerve communicates with every organ in the body and oversees a large range of vital functions.

The Vagus Nerve slows down the heart when it speeds up and it keeps the heart beating at a steady resilient rate of 70 to 100 beats per minute. Because of the direct relationship between your breathing and the Vagus Nerve, the easiest way to slow down a racing heart is to slow down your breath.

It's like a hack for your nervous system—you can do something within your conscious control that has an effect on biological processes that we could not otherwise directly control. In effect, if you can get your breathing to leave a stressed state, the rest of the parts of your autonomic nervous system will follow suit, creating a chain reaction that can help to reduce stress, anxiety, and related problems.

How to do Coherent Breathing

Let’s start with the basics. What is a breath? A total breath includes two phases: 1) the inhale, the time you take to draw air into your lungs, and 2) the exhale, the time you take to expel the air from your body. Coherent breathing involves adjusting the length of time that you spend on each of these two phases of breathing.

Listen to the guided practice provided in the links below. Dr. Richard Brown will give you cues about when to breathe in and out. The idea is to not think about counting or anything else, but just focus on breathing.
Extend the length of both the inhale and exhale to around six seconds (perhaps longer if you have a longer torso).
Follow the cues and breathe softly, preferably through the nose, with your eyes closed so you can focus inward and block out external distractions.
Coherent breathing is not about taking a deep breath; rather it is about taking a slow, gentle breath. Inhale to the count of six, as you follow the chimes, and exhale to the count of six, following the chimes. You’ll notice that your belly will naturally expand.
Work up to doing about 20 minutes of this technique per day. You can also employ it whenever you’re feeling anxious and at night if you’re having trouble falling asleep.
After you become familiar with this type of breathing, you can practice during the day, with your eyes open, so you can do it anywhere without others noticing.

Guided Audio Recordings

Guided Coherent Breathing: Dr. Richard Brown: With Hopi Elder Message : 25 minutes

Guided Coherent Breathing: Dr. Richard Brown: 22 minutes

Guided Coherent Breathing : 8 minutes

More Resources

Dr. Richard Brown and Dr. Patricia Gerbarg at Breath Body Mind

The Vagus Nerve at The Polyvagal Institute and Dr. Stephen Porges

Thank you to the following resources for helping me find the words and context to write this article:

https://www.verywellmind.com/an-overview-of-coherent-breathing-4178943

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/well/mind/breathe-exhale-repeat-the-benefits-of-controlled-breathing.html