SOMA Breath: My #1 Tool for Overcoming Anxiety
Discover how this powerful breathing technique inspired my own healing journey and gave me the strength and tools I so badly needed
It all started with this baffling question — ‘When did I get anxiety?’
I never even knew that I had anxiety before it was a “thing”. I always knew that my heart would pound when it was my turn to speak in public. I always knew that I’d become clammy and sweaty in those moments and that my throat would suddenly squeeze tighter than I ever imagined possible. I knew these parts of myself well but I never knew it was called anxiety. I thought that was something others had to deal with.
That’s when I had to ask myself that baffling question — when did I get anxiety?
However, once I discovered what it was and could name it, I quickly started to seek ways in which I could live with it more healthily.
My journey
I have been lucky, at least by my own reckoning, to have found myself on a spiritual path. This has led me a journey to explore beautiful countries, spaces, and communities that share yoga, breathwork, plant medicines, dance, kirtans, and many other joyful expressions of the soul.
However, it didn’t matter how high I went or how happy and peaceful I found myself to be during these times, anxiety would still rear its persistent head. And when it did, it wasn’t all that pretty.
So, even though I was beginning to feel lighter, freer, and more connected than ever before, I was even more curious to find out how I could live with anxiety healthier as it didn’t seem like it was going anywhere anytime soon.
So, I kept my ear to the ground and my eyes wide open for any new opportunities I could find in hope that I’d one day find “the one”. I’d experienced other breathwork techniques before and I loved them, especially during my Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training. However, none of them stood the test of time. There was always something missing. That was until a man by the name of Hart introduced me to Soma Breath and everything changed.
You can read my full 3 year-long journey with Soma Breath here:
But for the rest of this blog, I will focus solely on how the different parts of SOMA Breath have helped to reduce my anxiety levels and reprogram old patterns that have kept me stuck there. After all, anxiety doesn’t wait for anybody, so there’s no time to waste!
1. The Breath
When we inhale, our heart rate goes up a little. When we exhale, our heart rate goes down a little. This is a very simple explanation of what happens to us physiologically with every breath that we take.
*you can test this out on yourself just for fun. Close your eyes for just a few breaths and start to feel your heart — can you feel a difference?
When we breathe in and our heart rate goes up a little, our diaphragm drops, and our heart contracts. This sends an incredibly speedy message up to the brain that then sends an incredibly speedy message back to the heart that says, ‘you must speed up’ so it does. Then as we breathe out the reverse is true. The diaphragm lifts and the heart opens. This sends an incredibly speedy message up to the brain that then sends an incredibly speedy message back to the heart that says, ‘you must slow down so it does.
This communication is all done at a rapid speed via the pathways of nerves that run from our brain to our heart and then spread throughout our body via our nervous system. Whatever messages are sent thereafter create the thoughts that we think, the emotions that we feel, and the behaviors we act out.
Could every thought, every emotion, and every behavior be directly linked to the breath? If yes, we can change these messages whenever we need to. We can soothe anxiety whenever we need to!
In speeding up or slowing down the rhythm of our breath we can tap into the different parts of our nervous system. This can be done simply by breathing in or out quicker to speed up or slow down the messages.
Anxiety doesn’t need to be sped up, it’s fast enough all by itself. If anxiety needs anything it’s to slow down and soften. Sometimes it can feel like it runs at 1000mph, making me sweat, shut down, and contract. So, what I need is to relax, open, and breathe.
The breath can breathe space into those areas and help me to live with a little more grace. Sometimes that’s enough to know that I can make it through.
Where anxiety lives in the breath
If a full breath could be split into 3 parts, then roughly 30% comes into the belly, 60% comes into the chest/lung region, and 10% comes into the throat.
High levels of anxiety live in the final 10% of the breath, right there in the throat. And because it’s only 10% of the breath, more breaths need to be taken which overexerts the body, floods it with more oxygen, and turns up the nervous system to create more anxiety on top of the anxiety. That’s why it’s so stressful!
A few simple deep breaths through the nose into the belly can help to calm the nervous system down and slow our heart rate down just enough for us to feel like we’re back in control.
Rhythmical breathing & heart coherence
Breathing in a rhythm creates a state called heart coherence. The Heart Math Institute has done extensive research on heart coherence which I’d highly recommend if you haven’t discovered their research yet.
To put it in a nutshell here though, heart coherence allows the heart to open and beat in a smooth, consistent rhythm. Picture it like a huge ocean where wave after wave is of equal size and of equal distance apart so that the whole body of water is swaying and moving as one. Now imagine those waves as heartbeats — that’s heart coherence.
Benefits of heart coherence:
- Decreases stress
- Increases energy & vitality & clarity
- Enhances creativity
- Creates emotional resilience
- Restores balance
- Improves physical health
- Creates better circulation & blood flow
- Soothes anxiety and depression
It really doesn’t take long to get into a state of heart coherence either. Sometimes only a few cyclical breaths are all it takes. But the longer we can stay there, the more coherently our cells, heart, brain, organs, nerves, and bodily functions communicate as one unified organism. Communication then quickens so the ability to heal and feel more relaxed starts to be a way of life as we can begin to feel more connected, open, and loving.
So, if you are facing difficulty, stress, anxiety, fear, judgment, pain, or just want to become more grounded in the present moment, this simple breathing pattern can be a great support.
Rhythmical breathing in action
- Breathe in through your nose (smoothly and without force) for 4 seconds
- Breathe out through your mouth (smoothly and without force) for 4 seconds
- Leave no pause at the top of the inhale or at the bottom of the exhale
- Repeat this breath for a few minutes
- Finish by holding your breath in for as long as comfortable
- Return to normal breathing.
As long as you breathe in a consistent rhythm without force, any rhythm is good. Your heart will know what to do next so it will naturally follow your lead and become coherent. Then, with an open and coherent heart, all of the health benefits associated with heart coherence can open themselves up for you to receive
To be honest
I never thought all of this was true until I did it myself, and believe me, I was as skeptical as anyone. So, don’t take my word for it. If it resonates, give it a go.
After one too many times after anxiety had gripped its relentless grip, I was in a desperate corner so I started to breathe. It took me a few minutes but after breathing in a rhythm of in for 4 seconds, out for 4 seconds I could feel myself calming down and I could feel how the breath was helping. That was the start of my journey and I’ve never really looked back since.
2. Sounding
For some reason, whenever we breathe out, we can last longer if we make a sound. And the longer we breathe out, the more we relax the body, calm the mind, and open up our creativity and intuition.
Combining breath with sound
This is a powerful, grounding, and uplifting exercise to do as it combines rhythmical breathing (heart coherence) and sounding. Together they make quite the combination!
1 breath = 16 seconds
Breathe in for 4 seconds
Breathe out for 12 seconds
- Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds (2 seconds in the belly, 2 seconds in the chest)
- Breathe out with the sound of Aaaah for 4 seconds
- Continue to exhale for another 4 seconds but now with a sound of Ooooh
- Continue to exhale for another 4 seconds with the sound of Ummmm (Total exhalation time = 12 seconds)
- Inhale for 4 seconds
- Rinse & repeat
The Aaaah Ooooh Ummmm sounds combine to make the sacred sound of Aum (or Om) which is known as the sound of the universe.
As you make the sound Aaaah you can imagine the sound coming from your belly region. It’s a very grounding sound so this area is good to focus on. As you make the sound Ooooh you can imagine the sound coming from your chest/heart space. As you make the sound Ummmm you can imagine the sound coming from your third eye (the space behind your eyes). Try to see if you can feel the sound moving up your body with each new sound. This can add a very special element to the exercise.
The most calming results tend to come around the 5-minute mark (roughly 15–20 breaths) but play with what feels good. Some people have even gone all the way up to 30 minutes before so you never know, you might surprise yourself.
I’ve found this combination to be the most effective way of calming anxiety.
3. Brainwave Music
SOMA Breath uses specifically designed brainwave music that works at dropping the mind from our everyday thinking brain down into our subconscious. It’s an amazing tool to ‘hack’ the brain and let it find a slower rhythm that’s more coherent.
Anxious minds are often operating in overdrive/overstimulation. So, I’ve found that whenever I listen to brainwave music, I can feel my mind almost sighing with relief as it relaxes.
I now use brainwave music to breathe, meditate, read, write, and fall asleep. It’s become a part of my daily life. You can check out the thousands and thousands of free content of brainwave music/binaural beats on Youtube.
It’s one of my favorite components of Soma Breath and I’m as amazed at its beauty as I was that first day.
Closing thoughts
By combining all of these elements into one journey, SOMA Breath has been known to transform stress, anxiety, depression, illness, and disease.
This combination of breathing, sounding, and brainwave music makes for an epic journey back into our innermost being. They are incredible tools for everyday life, especially in those moments what it matters the most.
You don’t need a special degree, shit tons of money, or any fancy equipment either. All the tools that you’ll ever need are built inside your magnificent body. All you have to do is know how to do it and it’s yours forever.
If you’ve been inspired by my journey and would like to experience SOMA Breath for yourself, check out their website here
Or try their iconic 21 Day Awakening Journey!
