Take A Breath: The Natural High of Pranayama & Nervous System Regulation

In this episode, Clodagh and Aisling explore the fascinating world of nervous system regulation and why so many of us are living in a low-grade state of stress without even realising it.

The conversation begins with wisdom tooth recovery, holiday reflections, improved phone habits and why alcohol-free holidays can feel surprisingly restorative. 

From there, they move into their Hot Sober Topic of the week: unpacking "the fear" - that familiar mix of anxiety, overthinking and physical unease that often follows a night of drinking.

The hosts then explore how the nervous system works, the difference between sympathetic and parasympathetic states, common stress responses like fight, flight, freeze and fawn, and why modern life can leave us feeling like we're constantly being chased by invisible tigers.

They also dive into the vagus nerve, vagal tone, Paul Ekman's concept of the Emotional Refractory Period and why one of the most powerful regulation tools available to us is something we already do every day: breathe.

This week's Natural High is Pranayama - the yogic practice of conscious breath regulation - with a simple diaphragmatic breathing challenge for listeners to try at home.

Because sometimes the goal isn't to escape your life.

It's to build a nervous system that feels safe enough to live it.

This Week's Invite:

Practice 5–10 minutes of diaphragmatic breathing each day.

Try:

•  Inhale through the nose for 4 counts 
•  Exhale through the nose for 6 counts 

Notice:

•  How you respond to stress 
•  Your energy levels 
•  Sleep quality 
•  Emotional regulation 
•  Your ability to pause before reacting

For this episide, Clodagh has created a free guided diaphragmatic breathing practice to help you slow down, regulate your nervous system, reduce stress and create a greater sense of calm throughout your day. Whether you're new to breathwork or looking to strengthen your practice, this is a great place to start:

Video Link: https://youtu.be/igjR3nnTkDQ

Take 5–10 minutes for yourself, follow along, and notice how you feel afterwards. Small pauses can create powerful shifts. 

Key Takeaway:

A regulated nervous system doesn't mean you're calm all the time.

It means you can return.

And sometimes, one conscious breath is where that return begins.

This is an exclusive discount for our Natural High Lifer Listeners. Doctrine Skincare have offered this across season 1 - 15% discount across all full priced and full sized products. 

Transcript

Ais & Clo 0:04

Hi, I'm Aisling and I'm Clodagh and we are two. Wait, Clo, are we girls or are we women? Uh we're a bit of both. Ah yeah, we are. Okay, look, we're two gibbons. Or worlds. I like that. Who, having both kicked the booze out the back door, are always on the search for our own natural hides. The things that make us feel amazing, not just at the time, but long afterwards too. I, Aisling, am a mom and a movement and a meditation teacher. And I, Clodagh, am the founder of a tech company and well-being solution called CRAOI. I am a health and wellness coach and a yoga teacher too. And together we will trial and test many different natural highs and share with you the good, the bad and the ugly. And we invite you, our natural high lifers, to come along for the ride.

Aisling 0:52

Expect honest, real, raw, rich conversation, many laughs, and many, many tangents. Because progress is never a straight line.

Clodagh 1:01

Woohoo! Aisling.

Weathering The Wisdom Tooth

Clodagh 1:13

I think it's the only thing that kind of gets me into the podcast mode. Yeah, you do love a clap. As audibly aggressive as it is. I have the clap, but I love a clap. That's the people with the claps now. I actually don't really know what the clap means. I know it's an identity. Okay. Cool. Um here we are. We're all healthy and happy.

Aisling 1:36

We are indeed clapless. Um hapless and clapless. No, we're we're not hapless and clapless. We're happy and clappy. Happy, clappy.

Clodagh 1:45

Absolutely.

Aisling 1:46

We are.

Ais & Clo 1:46

The sun is shining. It's a great day, isn't it? It is a great day. It's always a good day when the sun shines in Ireland. Ah, well, they did a kind of a psychological experiment with us nervous. We're like, how much rain does it take to break things?

Speaker 1:57

And you did it. Well done. Well done as far as the being broken.

Aisling 2:01

We were really, really struggling there for a long time because it's James's jobs. How how Irish are we now starting our conversation with the weather? Oh, I know. But and ah, but I mean the last six months were absolutely bananas. My poor children were like, they didn't know life without a wet, not a I don't mean a wetsuit as in a coos. Sure for a wetsuit. No, I meant you know the the water the water onesies, do you know? That was just life. And going around just with the wellies, everything was the wellies and things. Oh, for God's sake. Well, we're out of it now. We're coming into the longest day of the year is coming up in a few weeks. Is that kind of depressing? She's just stunning. Let's just welcome the sunshine in for the summer. I'm gonna put the good vibes out there. Do you know one thing that my dad, God rest his soul, said to me about living in, and I know this sounds like polishing a turd now, but it was actually a good point he made. So I lived right by the sea, uh, lucky me, and I was just giving out about the weather. And he said, you know what, Ash, if this was row, if this country was hot all the time, you where you live would look so different because everyone who lives on a sunny coast in a sunny country, Spain, etc., their coasts have just been absorbed by high-rise apartments and the rain keeps people away. I do no harm, it keeps the place green too. So you know silver linings and polishing turret every cloud.

Ais & Clo 3:16

Anyway, so how are you? I'm good. I am good. I'm not great. Okay, good. I'm just good. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, yeah, I love that. My way of mad feelings. No, that's great. Yeah, it's great that you're it's great that you're only good. I'm only good. I'm good. I'm recovering from a wisdom tooth extraction that was uh, you know, uh upon me without any notice, which is always a good way to get it out. Um, so it just a little bit sore. Feeling way better, but I couldn't say great, that would be a lie. Yeah, I wouldn't like to. No, I know that dental work comes with such a heavy emotional toll. I actually feel like dentistry should come hand in hand with therapy, being like, damn it your venture with the dentistry and therapy. It's heavy breakage, de Oh, it's heavy going, like, and you know when you're lying in the chair, you're like so nervous about so many things. One the potential pain. Yeah, two, the potential rehab, and let's be real. Three, the potential price, because they can tell you, they can be like, that was 60 euros, or else that was 6,000 euros and you're just you just have to the mechanic and a dentist, the same. You just have to remote fingers crossed, you gotta get the work. And they'll they'll speak their gibber chapter, and you'd know what they're they're like, it's the catalytic converter, and the other ones are like you need uh uh, you know, um what name mean dentistry thing there, like uh extraction? Yeah, or not, no, they're the chips, right? Yeah, whatever, but I'm saying you are just so in their hands and they're gonna talk their jargon and you have to pay your price. Oh, Kamara, I'll come back to you on that one because obviously I went in for a clean, I came out with a tooth out, so I have to go back in for my clean in a few weeks, and he was like, and we'll put you down for it. And I don't even know the words and the blah blah blah x-ray and all this in my head. I'm like, oh my god, how much is this gonna cost me? But I have to do it. Or do you? Like, we just have to the the mechanics and the dentists, they just have the monopoly on the lack of our own like or do you? Do you know what I mean? Like, who knows? And we'll never we'll never know. We just want good teeth, man. Yeah, but how are you? I'm smashing. Yay! Yeah, I am very good now, and not to be, I know you did that to me on a brief spot. I was like, wait fall in the wrong kitus, and you were like, I'm great. I was like, I think my left lung has collapsed. I am great. I'm just back from a holiday that actually felt like a holiday. Um, I was chatting to you um about that when I was away, but I yeah, it felt really, really nice for two reasons. One, the kiddos were slightly more civilized, and I definitely did feel my shoulders drop a little bit because previous holidays was just minding babies in the heat, versus minding babies in the cold, just changing nappies in the heat, which is way worse. Literally, I was like, I'm just literally making pure eight vegetables and changing nappies in the heat, which feels just as miserable as the cold. So the kids have kind of like, yeah, they've just grown up that little bit where they can play in a baby pool. Like, you can't take your eyes off them, but they could play in a baby pool, and I could like read three words on my Kindle and look up and then read read another three words, but definitely that felt a bit more relaxing. And for the first time on a holidays ever, I practiced really good phone hygiene, which I've never done before. So I turned my phone off loads, I I went out like with myself and my husband and the kiddos and left my phone at home, and I just took a real break. Brilliant, yeah, and it and I really felt the benefits of it. Yeah, so I'm smashing, yay!

Aisling 6:29

Yeah, all of the long-lasting benefits of a holiday. And I'm not to boast, and I've all my teeth, I'm gonna boast.

Clodagh 6:35

Well, the tooth fairy came to me, so I've got I've got half a pound. Is that half half a shilling? I don't know. Something came under my pillow anyway. Yeah, I know. I'm nearly 40 and I still get the tooth fairy coming. It's magical and whimsical and also grow up. That's absolutely adorable. I don't know, keeping the magical episode. I'm like, I can't help but the tooth fairy loves me. What can I say? Um, so sober hot topic for the week. Okay.

Aisling 6:57

Woo! Got it. Um

Our Sober Hot Topic: The Fear & Understanding Hangxiety

Aisling 7:01

tell me what it is. The fear.

Clodagh 7:04

Yeah.

Aisling 7:05

And you know, I think the thing about the fear is it's actually not talked about enough um alongside booze. It's almost like a separate entity. Like with you don't have one, you don't have the other, and the booze like is 100% to blame, you know. Like sometimes people are like, Oh, I'm so, so and they don't, they're like, Oh, I'm feeling so anxious, and it's almost like the connection isn't made that that booze is is is and should get the blaming for that. So I often say to you, Chloe, like, and I often just say in general, I actually didn't necessarily give up drink. I mean, I did for many reasons, my health, and I don't actually enjoy being drunk or turning off my brain. But I gave what I actually gave up was hangovers, and by extension, I gave up drinking. Yeah, and you know, the fear is a funny thing because obviously when we were kind of thinking about this and saying to each other, like, let's talk about the fear because it's yeah, not talked about enough. I was then thinking, like, I don't know if everyone gets the fear, or is it that everyone gets the fear, but there's different levels of the fear? Because some people I know I'd say about getting the fear, and they're like, Yeah, no, I don't really get that with a hangover. Majority would be like, oh my god, the fear 100%. To know is it more and I'm not trying to like this is completely not based on any meta analysis or research, but like some of my guy friends would seem to be like not affected by the fear, or maybe they just don't know it or admit it. I don't know, then a lot of my girlfriends would totally understand what the fear is. Yeah, I've actually found a similar trend between in general. Now I still know some men that are quaking messes the day after they drink, but I yeah, I think maybe does it have something to do with your kind of resting anxiety state anyway? Do you know what? So if you take if you're if you're incredibly chill, I I don't know what that's like, but I hear they exist. They do. I think chinchellas exist. I I mean I have no idea what that's like. I've got a more I I literally have more in common with a zebra, like I don't know. But I believe there are chill people in the world, so I'm told. And maybe they maybe they're like Jack Johnson people of the world who just bit a bit. Maybe they just don't, or or maybe if their anxiety has risen, their baseline is so low, you know? Yeah. Whereas I'm always teetering on the edge of it, a little bit nervous. So, you know, like as I was saying in previous episodes, because I tend busy and because I'm kind of high energy, if I go off filter, it will beat anxiety, is where I'll go. And so that's kind of my baseline. So then post-booze, it it turned those anxiety cracks to greaters, you know. And and what did the fear feel like for you? I would be extremely worried that I upset or offended people, that it was really um a kind of a hyper-vigilance around, oh, I hope they didn't take this up the wrong way, and a lot of paranoia um um with the people that I care about. And you know, and even though I could kind of even in the moment step back from that and be like, of course they wouldn't interpret that that way. It was almost like there were two narratives running in parallel, and that where my reasonable self would say, Of course they knew you were just joking and just messing. And then my other, my other kind of narrative that was running in tandem would be like, Oh, I could have really hurt them or offended them. So it would have been a bit of paranoia around upsetting people, and then horrific health anxiety. And and and some of that health anxiety, you could try and debate or argue. I could try and debate or argue my way out of it, but for the longest time, I was well aware of what booze was and how horrifically toxic it was to my body. So some of that I could talk or argue myself out of, and a lot of it I couldn't because it's actually factual that you are poisoning yourself. So it stands to reason that I was upset and worried about poisoning myself because I was poisoning myself. Do you know what I mean?

Speaker 4 10:54

I knew too much.

Ais & Clo 10:55

Some of it, some of it I was like, Oh, don't be. It's I'm sure it's fine. And then another part of myself was like, Well, I wish I didn't listen and read so much because now I actually I know my anxiety to be really grounded, and you know what I mean? Based on facts, yeah, exactly, exactly. Which is fair enough. It's funny that you say, Well, yeah, but I guess even what you just said there about the fear in how it shows up of like worrying about how you were received, maybe if you'd offended someone. I have had so many like experiences with friends or people I know where I've had to talk them off the ledge the next day, and I would be like, do not worry, you did not come across like that, you didn't say that, or you were totally fine. Oh my god, no, like everyone was having fun, you were having fun, you came across brilliantly. And no matter how much you would tell the person, they could not escape the fear. And I know that feeling because I've been there too a hundred percent, but it's just a really funny one when you're on the other side of it trying to tell someone, don't worry about it, you were totally fine. They can't believe that. Totally. I I I've been there so many times as both the receiver and the giver of that information, and for some reason it it's it, yeah, it won't land. Yeah. People and it people don't believe it. I think deep down they're so anxious and so worried. And like at the end of the day, we're herd creatures, so there is nothing more worrisome than rejection or being felt as or feeling as though the tribe will reject you. We're we're primordially supposed to be paranoid about that because if you're on your own, you're absolutely screwed. Let's be clear. So we like that though the that that need to be included, that runs deep as it should. It's a primordial need for us. So the feeling that, like, oh, have I kind of have I behaved in such a way that it puts my inclusion in jeopardy? Like, that's a very primal fear. Yeah. You know, so I do think I do think, you know matter how convincing your argument is to anyone or even to yourself about your behavior not being not being too bad. And also like, oh, how many times have we, even if you didn't do anything too absolutely hectic, how many times have you in your quietness and in your own head during hangover, been like, was I that, was I bad? Was I that bad? Such a terrible way to spend after a time with your friends and family that you probably looked forward to all week, then to spend the entire day mulling about your behaviour and oh, I know. And it's funny as well because like I totally agree with you there in the tribal peace, and regardless of like what everyone is telling you, if you were fine, like you still feel off-kilter. But for me, the fear was very much a physical feeling as well. And I would say my theory is that because the drink, by fact and science, dysregulates your system, yeah, you're feeling unsafe, you're feeling like like you're unsure of your footing in your body, which is sending signals to your mind that things are not good. So no matter what someone is saying to you about, don't worry, you were fine. Unfortunately, your body's already signaled to your mind, which is an extremely strong signal we can't, you know, talk ourselves out of things aren't okay. So you're like, I'm hearing the words, but the feeling is not agreeing with that. I totally agree with you. It's like this a physiological thing happening that's just undeniable. And you are depleted in B vitamins and you are depleted in magnesium that helps you relax. And you have not slept properly. Even if you slept, oh, you did not you did not get into a deep sleep. No. So you can kind of talk a big game

Exploring the Physical and Emotional Effects of Drinking

Ais & Clo 14:20

as much as you like, but the signals and the feedback from your body are very real. Yeah, and that's what you kind of can't get out of that thinking, you know. Yeah, heightened my anxiety hugely. And so my feeling physically for me was sometimes I actually felt, and I know this sounds extreme, but this is when the extreme fear hit in, kind of like I wanted to kind of like I just wanted to kind of crawl out of my own skin. I just felt so uncomfortable in my own skin. Yeah. And I would feel like that pit in the tummy of kind of like, and I really vividly remember. Sometimes I would feel my mind again, I would be elated from the crack that was at. Right. But the fear would be within me, and I would be so scared of normal everyday interactions to the point that I have had times many a time where something like my own shadow has scared the absolute shite out of me that I've jumped across the street of the street. So sympathetic. I'm just so flatter fighting. I'm like, oh, it's me or a feather one time. I thought there was a garage or something. I was like, you're freaking out over a feather. Like, this isn't normal. I know. I was I'd be jumpy as all hell when I used to be hungover. Do you used you get the jumps? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Kind of like the rats as well. They're pretty often when you're kind of just about falling asleep and it's like you're like, oh ah, they're awake to the world. Like, and like I haven't had them since I gave a booth. Jesus, yeah. But like on a bad hangover, like, and you'd literally be lepping yourself to sleep. And I was terrible, sweating and lepping yourself to sleep, like just no. And it was really funny because I know obviously the longer you prolong the drinking. So, like, if you'd go on a holiday and you'd have a few drinks for a few nights, whatever, like you were just you knew, all right, I'm gonna have the rats here. Like, I'm gonna be fairly sick for two or three days. And like as a group, you'd be have you'd have a support group with your friends that you were away with. Everyone's like, Did you survive last night? Are you okay? It's like have to change the seat sheets twice. I was sweating so much. Like, what the hell? Like, how like take a breath. Let's all take a step back. What have we done? How have we like I don't care if this, like, I don't care if I have to whip out the tin file hat again. Like, I honest, I don't, and I don't care how unpopular this is. One lovely thing about becoming about turning like 41 and just in general in my 40s, is I'm just a bit of I'm not a Karen, but I don't think I just don't fucking care anymore. If people are like, I don't agree with that, I'm like, perfect, great, don't. And I actually want to live in a time where we all can say what we think and feel and not everyone take it so personally. Like we are all like, I'm glad we all have different opinions. And it is my honest opinion, though I respect everyone's decision to make their own decisions. I believe wholeheartedly that the and the more distance I get from drinking culture, the more I truly believe this is the the belief that we need booze to have a great time, have a great holiday, is genuinely the biggest con that mankind has ever fallen for. I'm just back from holidays and you know how smoke I am on a Sunday morning. It was that every morning. Because obviously on holidays, which is just bizarre when people are like, I'm gonna go now and enjoy my holiday and enjoy my rest. And I will also go on the fucking piss every night for seven nights. I'm like, you will not feel rested, babe. Guaranteed. As the sun rises in the morning, you will not feel rested. And every morning in my holidays waking up feeling brilliant. Oh, it was like seven Sundays in a row. Oh yeah. I mean, I do very vividly remember that because like I would have gone to Dubai a lot on holidays with my friends, my sister, and we used to go for like a week or whatever, and it was non-stop boozy, boozy, boozy, boozy pool days, boozy brunches, like everything was having a few drinks, you kind of have to get up and go attitude the next day, but like, oh god, can I do this again? And then, of course, three hours later, you're dancing on a table with a napkin around your head. Like the thing was the coming home from the holiday always would be like, Oh, I need to clear my calendar for a week, and you'd also be feeling shite. And that was probably the one holiday you'd have in six months or maybe even a year. Nowadays, like I went to Dubai in recent times, obviously I wasn't drinking. I went out and had the crack with the people who were, I knew my time to leave, and we did so many lovely things. And I remember coming home on the plane to your point being like, This is the first time I've come home from Dubai feeling like I actually had a holiday and I feel amazing. And I don't feel like I need another holiday. Oh, like how many times do you hear people say, Oh, you need another holiday after the holiday? And what they're actually referring to is that they were around the piss for the whole week, you know, and feeling like crap every morning and trying to cram it all in too when you're on the piss the whole week. Yeah, and then and then what and then as you to your point a few weeks ago, it's not just the booze, it is of course the booze, but also it's all the choices you make around that. So, like when when I when we went on holidays this week, like of course I wasn't being like, you know, I eat

Holidays, Alcohol & The Biggest Con We've Fallen For

Ais & Clo 18:45

in a protein forward kind of way, and I I I love nutrition, and of course I was still eating like because I really enjoy healthy food, I was still eating like those, they have such great variety there, and I'm still eating loads of fish and loads of salad and stuff like that. But obviously, I was still mainlining ice cream. I was on holidays with my kiddos. Absolutely. And I was going out to lovely restaurants and we were having gorgeous food and stuff like that. But I was kind of like, it was felt really balanced and it felt really indulgent, but in an enjoyable versus a self-sabotage way. So it was like not like I'm getting loads of chips because I'm hungover, and then I'll pile on loads of ice cream and just be like in a hole of horribleness. This was like I'm out for a gorgeous meal, and what I do I think would taste the yummiest for me. And then up in the morning, my husband was so fab, and I went haunted, I have to say. So he was like, I don't know, I don't know what, I don't know what bewitched him, but he was like, You go now, take extra long. He wouldn't have the take out of his mouth. I'd be like, Bye. Uh so like every morning we we stay in a hotel with a gym, which I always would recommend. And like every morning I was out doing my steps. I went for a big long walk through a golf course, much to the upset of the men who work on the golf course. You're not allowed to do that, by the way. Found that out the hard way. You might chasing me down on the bulk and he was like, Madam! I was like, I'm just going for a walk. He was like, You can't walk through a golf course. I was like, I can because I'm just I just did, babe. But anyway, he was most upset. Um, so anyway, uh that was grand, but like I was out still, I I like literally was up to about 20,000 steps every day, walked everywhere, still worked out every day, and like on the flight home, I was like, I feel a million bucks. Yeah, I feel a million bucks. That's what a holiday should be. Yeah. And also, I the bronchitis is gone. We don't even have you're not allowed to mention that word, remember? I'm gonna pinch you. So I will never take my health for granted again. I guess if anyone is listening and has had some experiences of the fear, if you've any kind of like, I don't know, sharing your experiences with the fear with us, we'd love to hear from you because yeah, sometimes people have some very funny stories, sometimes people have some not so funny stories, but just would be great to hear how you handled it. And I guess as well, if you're someone who's kind of removing or has removed drink, how you're finding it different now, like have you acknowledged the fact that the fear hopefully is gone, which is actually a lovely thing to remember of how bad it was versus how good it is now. It's actually incredible. Like every now and then I could be in a scenario, and I did have this a couple of mornings when I woke up and hot on holidays because it was so hot, you know. And I woke up and I was like, you know, a little sweaty because it was roasting, and I was like, for the first nanosecond, because I'm in a Spanish hotel room and it's roasting hot, and I've had so many moments in hot hotel rooms where I've been hung over and dehydrated and dehydrated, yeah, and just when you open your eyes and I'm like, oh my god. And it just felt like I was after being given a Willy Wonka golden ticket that actually I didn't have to go through a hangover in hot country today. You know what I mean? But I do I would love people's feedback because I do actually find it fascinating as well, the fact that we have this kind of um umbrella term for like the fear and anxiety, but it's so different for everyone, you know. Like as you were saying, your mind would almost be okay, but like the the feedback from your body was so undeniable and everyone's experience is so different. Yeah, let us know. So I guess our natural high for last week.

A Look Back On Our Natural High of the Week: Walking

Ais & Clo 22:00

Was you've already mentioned that you did a lot of this on your holidays, walk in. And yeah, how did you get on with the walking for the week? Because I'll tell you now, Ash, we had some great feedback from our listeners joining in and walking with us, and that felt amazing. Lads. I honestly, and I might feel on this pod like I have, and that I will continue to do. I could honestly talk about how much and the benefits of walking. Do you know what I will what it all whittles down to is? I don't think there's a modality of movement. Like obviously, I'm incredibly passionate about yoga plates, but there's a burn and there's a discomfort with that. And that's all has a purpose, but the input is so massive, right? You know those moments where you're just like like on your on your mat or whatever. And I and I enjoy those moments of discomfort too. But walking is so easy, so pleasurable and so beneficial. And I also loved the let the no flap of it. You don't have to change your clothes afterwards, you don't have to have a shower afterwards, there's no gear, whatever. I got on brilliant, and because the weather obviously was great when I was away and now it's gorgeous when I'm home, I've kind of upped my bar a little bit more as well. And I'm going to throughout the summer, I hope. Um, so yeah, a thing I've been doing a little bit is leaving my phone, as I was saying to you. So I left my phone back in the house a few times uh in Spain, and I'm gonna start doing that in the summer if my husband has the kills, and just going for a walk with just the birds tweeting. Yes. Would you normally listen to something? I would. I'd normally listen to this podcast again and again. No, I normally, you know, and um, you know, next week we're gonna do a different theme, which is a close a theme close to my heart on strength. I listen to a lot of movement-y podcasts. I listen to a lot of podcasts on strength. So you would kind of double up your walking time with your learning time as well. Yeah, that is also the nice thing about walking, I would say, is that because it is kind of low impact, and as you mentioned as well, like you you're not really getting a massive burn to it, and obviously you can, you know, up your cardio health by going a bit faster and slowing down, and of course you can make it more challenging, but at the same time, it's such a comfortable thing to do that you can be learning as you're walking. Totally. When I used to listen to a podcast when I was running, I was not taking that. No, it's very hard. I've tried that, like, because I do run and I do like running, but it is very hard. I'll use it more as a distraction technique, but I won't be fully listening. Gotcha. Yeah, same. And I think for running, and I've trialed this in recent times, when the music comes on, my god, do I run better? When I have a good beat. Ah, yeah. Yeah. So music kind of wins out for running unless you're ygging, which I would often yog. Oh, same. Listen, I the back in my running days, I so I was flat out running, thinking I was like Sonia, no more modern day Sonia. And then my husband came running with me one day and he hadn't been for a run in ages. He's one of those annoying people who can naturally run very well as very annoying, though he so seldom goes for one. So anyway, um, I was on the we were on the way down to the beach and I was like, Simon, like, you know, it's very just you know, follow whatever you're about, blah, blah. I was like, you know, don't be you just go at your own pace. Don't feel like you have to run next to me now. You know, just find your breath, find your own pace, blah, blah, blah, blah. We got down there. He was like, sorry, now is this the actual, is this the actual speed that you run at? I was like, what? He was like, going at a walking speed, you just make your running shape. I was like, what? I was like thinking I was gonna be speedy because Alice will leave them for dust. He was like, sorry, I'm actually gonna go for a run there while we're talking to you and enjoy. You can polish your shell when you're back, you schnail. And off he went to run like that too. Oh, I'm just making a running shape, but it is actually a walking speed. I think there's nothing as free though. As sometimes, you know, in Friends when Phoebe goes running with Rachel, and is it Phoebe who runs like an absolute lunatic? Have you seen that episode? It's so funny. Oh, if I did, it was a long time ago. Oh, I'm gonna have to show it to you because we're gonna have to go do it sometime around like the marina. We're just gonna have to go let loose, let our limbs fly everywhere, which whatever direction, and just be like kids again and just you know, when you sometimes run down a little mini hill and like your legs are going fast and then you can keep up with it. Do you know what though? The Pilates featuring me, oh god, when I watch people running, oh god, and their pelvis is tilted the wrong way and they're just dumping weight in their low back. I can't yeah, you would sometimes see. Sorry, this is turning into a podcast where running, but you would sometimes see people running and you're like, oh god, that wouldn't be good for their hips or their knees or landing so they've got a funny kind of gait on them. Yeah, which is the right terminology. It is, it is, absolutely. And they just have that that that pelvic tilt, and they're like, no, there's no core activation at all, and it's it actually kills me. I want to tap them on the shoulder and be like, buddy, you need to talk about your spine. You need to talk about this. So, this is again why, like, I guess with walking, it just is a

Walking Hacks for Busy People

Ais & Clo 26:55

little bit more inclusive and accessible, and it is also something that is less impact on our joints, and something that you can kind of stack in, something else if you want. You could stack on a phone call with someone. You can't do that when you're running. No. So you can stack on a learning, you can stack on, you know, even as you say, a mindful moment where you're just taking in that's the way I like to walk in the mornings, just taking in the sounds, taking in the sights, and even sometimes stopping for a moment, like all of that is so acceptable when walking. Totally. Can I give the moms out there a brilliant hack for walking? No, sorry. This is not a mothering podcast, you're mothering to yourself. Uh a great um that we we myself and Chloe both uh follow and do the workouts of a fantastic woman called Claire Farrell out in the west of Ireland. She's doing smashing work out there, fit positive. She's a dinger, she's doing smashing work. Um and she has a thing that if my kids are moving, I'm moving. Um so for example, my son plays GA on a Sunday morning, and my little girl is too small for that. I walk around the pitch. I don't care how tapped I look. I just do not care. My little girl is mad for a road anyway, and we walk, we know we make up little games. I sent you a little photo of her the last day. Yeah, uh, we make up little games and we walk rather than standing on the sidelines. So, like, I think one way we can get creative about where we can walk more is when you're standing, why aren't you walking? So, as a parent, there's a lot of standing, there's a lot of kind of waiting around. That's just that's just part and Marcel of the gig, right? So, like my son goes to Taekwondo on a Thursday. I go for a walk when he's in Taekwondo. I could wait in the hall, but I just don't. Hail Rain or Snow, I just go for a walk. Hail hail rain or snow. No, that's that's the Irish version. Hail Rain or Shine. Hail Rain or shine. They've got disgusting shine. So um, and if he's moving, I'm like if he's moving, I'm moving at so at G, I walk around the pitch. And if I'm going to a playground, I will choose a bigger playground. No, I admit this, whatever about walking around a pitch. This one makes me look incredibly tapped. That I understand, but I actually don't care because I'm just more interested in my steps than I am about what people think about whether I'm sane or not. So I'll choose a bigger playground and I'll just walk around the perimeter a bit. I would still keep an eye on the lads. Do you know what I mean? And I'm like, everyone, all right, yeah, down the slide, you're doing brilliant. And then I'm just walking around. Now I do look like an animal in captivity completely. But it is a really good hack. Yeah, and also, and that is a great hack for mommies out there and daddies out there and parents out there. Um, I would also say for the non-parents out there, as a little gisme, um, and people who work on the nine to five gig, this can be said the same for when you're at work. Can you take a meeting walking? Can you get a walking pad while you're at your laptop and a stand-up desk? I I always take walking meetings, especially if the weather's good. I'm like, and sometimes you can actually think better when you're walking. So whether it be someone on a phone or if it's an actual person who lives near you and you can meet your colleague and go outside together. Like, you know, in so many scenarios, whether you're at the playground, whether you're at work and you've got a you know a 10-minute break or you've got a call, like there's so many ways that you can factor in walking as you're doing something else. Again, it's that you can kind of do too. Totally. Um, actually, and you know, we were talking about um Shane O'Mara's book uh in last week, and that was kind of his point. Like, like while we're walking, like we're the only species that we can we can walk and eat, we can walk and still feed a child. Yeah, like it is walk and talk. It's you know, walking isn't unlike other modalities of movement, you can't do something else while you're doing weights or while you're doing something else,

Movement, Mindfulness & Measuring Progress

Ais & Clo 30:20

but that's the beauty of it, isn't it?

Speaker 4 30:22

We love walking.

Aisling 30:23

Did you find two more ladies who love walking more than us? No, you just can't, it's just as I was saying as well, like it's just I was felt really frazzled the other day, and I don't know where I just got kind of a flare of anxiety it can happen. And we're only human. I'm only human, and despite all my work and all this, you know. Well, I still haven't elevated up to that to I'm still fucking mortal. So anyway, I um well, I just felt so much better. It was just like a facet walk, just a like country walk or whatever, and I came back and I was like, Wow, truly feel like I could like like cut that anxiety in half, and it didn't cost me a bob. And I love that because I know the last time when we were inviting people in on their walk and we were saying, like, have a look at your step count or try and hit a certain amount of steps or a certain amount of kilometers or mileage or whatever, then we were also saying, Oh, let's just see how you feel. Because yes, there's a fantastic thing about hitting a certain amount of steps or kilometers that you've set for yourself because we do push ourselves when we're kind of in competition with ourselves. But sometimes it's more about using walking as a tool for feeling versus for the physical benefits. Yes, totally. And I actually do think that's a really powerful perspective when it comes to movement at large, is navigating the in-between of these two perspectives. One, you can't, you know, that kind of thinking around like you can't optimize what you don't measure. And I believe in data and I love all that, but sometimes we can get so connected to the data and so connected to what the garment says about your sleep score that you actually forget to feel to check. Did I feel rested? You know, like we don't have to subcontract out all our feelings to data. Do you know what I mean? Like that's great, but that's one tool and shouldn't be the be all and end all. Like, I've kind of upped my range of walking throughout the summer and I hope I'll I'll make it. But on a day I just don't feel it, I just don't feel it. Yeah, do you know what I mean? And it is great to have that like knowledge and awareness as to like, and I I would say as well, with movement, it's playfulness, and can we bring a bit of childlike playfulness back into movement too? Can we move in ways that we find fun? So I do layer a few things into my walk. So mindfulness absolutely comes into every single morning walk that I do. Sometimes it's about the steps, sometimes it's about the feeling. So it's the mindfulness. But the other thing I layer in is social connection, because I know I mentioned this, like me and my mom and the dogs and all of this. We've been walking these roads for years. I like yesterday I walked four times. Like I walk a lot. I'm a bit obsessed with the walks. Do you walk? I'll walk. I'm gonna get a t-shirt saying, Do you walk?

Speaker 4 32:46

Like, I don't think we need to ask that question.

Aisling 32:48

I love the walks, but because I've been outside all the time in my community, I know so many people from walking. So I go out going right. I'm gonna get a bit of like I tell pupil, pupil, like maybe a chit-chat, because I'm working at home on my own all the time. And I go out and I'll I'll meet someone, I'll walk and I'll be like, Oh, how are you? And some new interactions. I love that kind of done in the old style. Yeah. And like, do you know when COVID hit? And the only kind of advantage like that was COVID, like close, oh my god, we're still we're still healing. Like it was so terrible. But at least people had to kind of chat to their, you know, you only got your own little what you could only do your little walk and your tiny little thing. So whether people whether we liked it or whether we didn't, we were walking just close to our houses and maybe having a fast little wave at a neighbor or whatever. So like it was so kind of powerful for like do you know what I mean? Just to just that that we we could only walk around our home. So we could so we did have we did have to meet our neighbours then because it was nowhere else to go. Well, I'm actually getting flashbacks. I used to walk around my garden, which isn't that big. So I remember it was I was like someone in a prison compound. I used to put on a true crime podcast. That wasn't a good mix of it. And walk around the garden in circles for like maybe 40 minutes. Yeah, it wasn't great. So yeah, so I guess for me, the walking for the week was great, but the one thing that I noticed that I just wanted to mention before we move on is I hadn't been using my Apple Watch, and I know you had said you did, so I was like, I'm gonna try using it. And so two things from it. Number one, I actually realized I walk a lot more steps than I thought I did because I used to only ever count my specific dedicated walks to my steps. My god, do I do a lot more steps throughout the day? What's your average? Not to be competitive now, but let's see. Uh so yesterday was 20,000. Oh, yeah, you're really you're a little bit ahead of me, right? So yeah, I had 17,000 was my thing. But that's kind of my that's kind of where I want to be going now. I've talked already about how I think ranges are so important um with everything. Um getting competition now about walking. Let's um so today so far I'm 10,000 and I'm gonna walk into town and walk home from town. So I'll try I'll probably hit the 20,000 today. Yeah, you probably will. I'm 12,950, so just slightly ahead of me. You are slightly ahead of me, girl. I don't want to be competitive now, but uh it's about how you feel, and I feel competitive. But that's what I was finding interesting about the Apple Watch, and the one thing I noticed as well was it was encouraging me out a little bit more when I was seeing the tracking and the rewards. That was kind of my point. I wasn't being like, you can't I I actually hate the thing. You can't optimize when you don't measure. All right, like I'm not a robot, leave me alone. I I uh what I was more saying was like just as a gauge, even if you don't want to wear it, just even if you don't want to wear it long term, I mean, even if you throw on a pedometer for a few weeks, then you can just get a rough idea of where you're at, you know, because like you, you you could be walking way less or way more than than what you think, but just get a kind of a starting position and go from there, you know. I thought I'd hate it. It has made me walk more. Yeah. So it actually does work, and I really liked that because I genuinely thought I'd hate it. And then the other thing was I was very surprised at the fact that I'm actually doing more than I thought I was, and I will guarantee this is for anyone who's listening, you are probably doing more than you think you are.

Speaker 35:51

Yeah.

Aisling 35:52

Because sometimes we only think it's the 5K that I did, you know, we're just going up and down the stairs. And it kind of encourages you as well to be like, actually, I'll just do one more round there, or I might go another climb of the stairs there. So totally. And then it kind of changes your mindset rather than like, oh, I have to go down to the like I don't have I don't I never do a sigh of oh, I have to go down now and collect the post, drive to I'm like smashing. It's kind of things that might seem like a bit of a nuisance are actually I love it because I'm I'm all for the step count. Brilliant. Okay, there we are. I love the walking. Okay,

This Week's Natural High: Breathwork & Pranayama

Aisling 36:27

into our uh uh next natural height. Okay, so our natural height for this week is drum old, please. That was hard again. She got some rhythm. Um regulating through breathing. It's a bounty full, but basically, more specifically, pranayama. And that is the yogic practice of conscious breath regulation. And I know breathing sounds quite simple, but it's one of the few physiological processes that operates both automatically and under conscious control, which I think is kind of fascinating. So it actually offers us a direct pathway into influencing not just our external state or how we're feeling externally, but also our internal state at the same time. So there's a lot of bang for our buck with it. So I guess we're living in a state of overstimulation. It's just the way the world has gone. We're overworked, we're always switched on. And practices like panayama can become really, really powerful tools for regulation recovery. And I would say as well, speaking from personal experience, for resilience, that other or word that we can throw in there. Because I think a lot of people I work with, clients, one-on-one, a lot of friends, and a lot of people I see in in workplaces in particular, the world that I'm in, um, are very overstimulated, right? And they're constantly switched on and feeling very overwhelmed and overworked. If we have powerful tools like Panayama or Breath Work, it can become incredibly powerful to help us recover. And when we become aware of that, I think we start to realise that like we're not broken. It's not us, it's not that we're not wired for this fast-paced environment, we're not doing anything wrong. It's just that we are dysregulated a lot of the time because of the overstimulation that we're experiencing. I beautifully said, and I couldn't agree more. And I feel like in everyone's toolkit, when they open up, there's this glaring, amazing, powerful Swiss army knife, and for some reason we don't reach for it. It's just bizarre that we all have this tool at our disposal. And I cannot, and I do feel like people I do feel like they're getting better at teaching kids about breath work. I know that they they do belly breaks, um, you know, often in like different kinds of shows, like that yoga show that my kids watch and Joe Wicks and things like that. Um so and and definitely I'm seeing it more in cartoons. It certainly was not an uh it certainly was not in cartoons when I was small. Definitely not. But just the awareness that like a diaphragmatic breath changes your mindset in just a couple of moments. Like, you know, Chloe, you've often come to my classes, and I will, if I feel like the room's getting really fizzy and we're under a bit of pressure, and I can feel people getting a little bit, yeah, just it's things are starting to get a little we're all kind of under stress because Yeah, you can feel that tension rise in a room when things are getting quite difficult. I'll I'll get us all to pause and take a grounding breath. And during those grounding breaths, we don't move a muscle and just a single diaphragmatic inhale and then a single exhale. And as you were saying, I think that's also something that maybe hasn't maybe people don't even I'm sure we all know it, but for some reason we kind of it's not in kind of our consciousness, or you know, we don't kind of think about it that much. That that diaphragm, that muscle, that'll work away on its own, or which is unbelievable that it that it is both that it's under both, like we'll say limbs of the nervous system, that you can you can actively control that, or if you don't want, or if you don't, it'll work away on its own. Like that's incredible because obviously most muscle goes into the category of either smooth, cardiac. There's three three types of muscles smooth, cardiac, and skeletal. And like obviously, smooth works away on its own, cardiac works away on its own, and yet this this diaphragm is such a fascinating muscle from that angle that we've such autonomy over our breath, and it's free. Like we're spending so much on apps and flipping oils and things to calm down, and then this profound tool that links your body to your brain is just sitting there, and we so seldom use it. Oh, it's like bringing it back to basics. Totally. The most basic thing that we do is breathe. And I guess

Understanding Your Nervous System

Aisling 40:30

there's so much to breath work, so that's why I really I kind of sat down and really considered what the natural high would be, and that's why it is pranayama in particular, and I'll explain the difference in a minute. But again, it's it's a type of breath work as such. But in order to actually talk more about pranayama, we are gonna have to go on a little bit of a journey because I have to talk a little bit more about our nervous system, and you just mentioned it there as well. It would be doing it a disservice if we didn't understand the nervous system because that's what really allows us to understand why these kind of tools are so good for us. So bear with me, but each of us have a nervous system. No, I love your geeking carpet rights. I am like I'm Aladdin, I'm on the carpet. Like, sweep me up. Okay, so pop your feet up there and get clampy. So it's essentially the body's communication network, and our nervous system carries signals between the brain, the spinal cord, the organs, the muscles, and our senses. And at a very simple level, we can think of it in two parts. So we have our central nervous system, which is the brain and the spinal cord, and we have the peripheral nervous system. So that's the network of nerves that branch out through the rest of the body. And I like to imagine it like a tree, and many, many other people would describe it visually like a tree as well. If you're a visual learner, which I am, the brain and the spinal cord are the trunk, and the nerves are the roots and the branches spreading everywhere, and they're constantly gathering information and communicating with the rest of our body. So your nervous system is continuously asking and checking in am I safe? Am I under threat? Do I need to act? Can I rest? And the really fascinating thing is that a lot of this happens before our conscious mind has even caught up. So it's happening there before we're even starting to think about it. And while the nervous system could sometimes feel frustrating or overwhelming, because again, sometimes we react in different ways that maybe can be frustrating, our nervous system is there to protect us. And I know we've mentioned this before. It's designed to keep us alive and to keep us safe. And so it's so important that we thank it. I am often like, thank you, nervous system. Like you are there to protect us so we can think of it like our best friend. So within our nervous system, and we're going to go a little bit deeper here, there are two states that are particularly important to understand. And you might have heard of them before. And if not, nothing wrong here either. We don't get taught this in school. Well, I didn't, and I we should have. So we have our sympathetic nervous system that helps to mobilize us, and this is our stress response system, so often associated with things like fight or flight or freeze responses. And then we have our parasympathetic nervous system, and that helps us to recover. So this is like our rest and digest and reproduce and restore state. And we need both of them, right? The goal is not to remove stress entirely or become calm all the time. That wouldn't work for us either. We just want to be able to rise to challenges when they're needed and then be able to return back to more of a regulated state once the moment has passed. And that really is that term regulation. So meaning that we should be able to use this in a in an acute way, not a chronic way. So we should it should be appropriate. Like we should rise to the challenge and then come back down. Whereas we're a lot of us are kind of staying at that heightened state when it's just not needed. Yeah. And also I think, you know, we used to look at the nervous system more as a kind of binary. It's actually a continuum or a spectrum. Right. And like it's important that we are aware that we can move throughout it. Yeah. And also, like a lot of us, yes, because of this over stimulation, are sitting in a more of a sympathetic, a response state throughout our days, uh, a lot more time than we're moving into that more parasympathetic state, which means that we're not resting, right digesting, or reproducing as much as we could be. So it's how can we use the tools to help. Us to come into that state a little bit more. So,

Fight, Flight, Freeze & Fawn

Aisling 44:03

like when stress hits, our responses can look very, very different. So for you and me, Ash, we might be very different. So some people move into fight, you know, they become controlling or reactive, or or maybe not even negatively, but they they pull up their sleeves and they push harder. And then you've got some people who move into a fight response. So that's like procrastination, avoiding difficult conversations, maybe distracting yourself or constantly staying busy. That's another response there. And then you also have the freeze. So that's where people might feel stuck or overwhelmed, numb, or unable to move forward. And some move move into fun. I only learned this a year or two ago, and that's the people pleasing phase. And you suppress your own needs here and you focus entirely on keeping other people happy as your response to stress. And I would say anyone listening can probably relate to one or two, or maybe all of the responses. I absolutely can relate to different responses based on different scenarios. Definitely. I very much vividly remember a bull chasing me and my sister on the fire in temporary. I mean, we often got into many, many crazy uh scenarios there. But like it was kind of a three of you or media and the bull. Best friends. It was basically we were moving the bull from one area to the next, and we were out kind of, you know, nosing. How children would be moving bulls. Oh my god, I know. Our cousins were kind of moving them, and like they had, you know, a rope on the bull, and one of the other cousins had a stick, and sure, the sun got in his eyes and sure. He waved the stick all over the gas. The bull had let loose the rope. My other cousin had dropped it by accident. He started charging. My cousin was hitting away flies. He wasn't in any way helping with the bull. And I remember the bull charging at me and Dara, and I froze to the spot. Like I could not move. And she grabbed me and pulled me behind a gate. And I really remember that when she kind of saved me because he charged through the gate, and anyway, off he went. But like he would have come for us. I couldn't move. I was stuck to the floor. She she operated more in that kind of like fight response or flight response, get us out of here. I actually was totally frozen. That's so it was so um, so kind of primal, you didn't even have a choice. Like that's it. The only the thing that kind of strikes me with this is if there's a noise downstairs, that's what my body absolute frozen. Yeah. All I can do is mutter something. Yeah, okay. Um that's all I can do. Yeah, like literally, and I'm frozen solid. Yeah. If I feel there's a noise downstairs, you feel extremely threatened and scared. Yeah. Yeah. And it makes so much sense. And like these are not personality flaws, they're just protective patterns. And when we start to kind of understand our patterns, then we can start to work with them more compassionately. So, like in a workplace setting, it might look like a co-worker who is overworking because they're operating from stress, or someone who's procrastinating, but because they're avoiding feeling overwhelmed. Maybe it's the people pleaser unable to say no to all the work coming to them, or the employee who freezes in meetings and then kind of thinks of the perfect answer hours later in the shower when it's absolutely no help to anybody. Um, it's just the body trying to protect us, but it's important for us to know it. So our nervous system evolved to protect us from danger, from a predator, a physical threat, a survival situation. But today the tiger might be an email, a financial stress, overwhelm, social pressure, notifications, you know, it it's never ending, constantly being available. Like we're all connected all the time. And the body doesn't always distinguish clearly between the physical danger and the perceived emotional threat. So many of us, to your point, a moment ago, are living in a low-grade survival state. We're always rushing, we're always scanning, we're bracing, and we're always on. And these short bursts of stress are normal. And we do need stress responses, right? They get us to get up and go and they help us perform and protect ourselves. But the problem is when we don't actually fully come back down from them. So when we're not coming back down into that regulated state, when the nervous system stays activated for very long periods of time, like the body and the mind will begin to feel exhausted. Now, there's a concept here, not to bore anyone, but I think it's fascinating. There's this concept from emotion researcher Paul Ekman called the emotional refractory period. And this is the period of time where an emotion takes hold and we become less able to think clearly or regulate our reactions or see another perspective. We all know that feeling is activated. Totally. Like, you know, when someone says one small thing and suddenly your entire nervous system is like ready to like argue back or ready to like hand in your motives. It's feeling spicy, feeling activated. And you know what? I really think we're doing such a disservice to mankind by not just acknowledging that that's part of the human experience. It's not the feeling activated or the feeling triggered that that makes that determines you. It's your reponse and your reaction to it. But like, sure, as the sun rises in the morning, we're all going to feel activated again. That's just part of being a human. Yeah, we're all human. And again, a lot of it's going to be in the response based on where we are in terms of like if we're in quite a sympathetic state, we might act, we might react in a very different way. So when we are in that moment, it is not the time to send that email. Regulation helps create that pause between the stimulus and response. And that's, you know, the pause is kind of where the power lies. A little bit to what you said the other day, you were feeling a bit anxious, and you said, I need to go for a walk. And you knew that would have to kind of regulate you and bring you back to a less anxious state. Totally. I love that quote. I don't know who said it now, but this thing of between the stimulus and the response, there's a space, and in that space is all your power. And it's it's so true. And once

The Tiger, The Email & Modern-Day Stress

Aisling 49:30

that, once that penny drops, I've definitely I was a murder when I was younger, particularly with my siblings. You know, now when I was a teenager, and my parents, like when I was a teenager, and I'm, you know, I'm not probably in my twenties if I'm totally honest, just for being like, you know, a bit bit fiery. But I think I think sometimes as well we have kind of fieriness in Irish culture up on a bit of a pedestal, you know, oh, he's raging. That's a person who cannot regulate themselves. So let's not canonize that behavior, you know what I mean? If people are, she's you know, she's gunning, like that kind of thing. No, that's that's a person who's dysregulated who doesn't have the tools to regulate themselves. So let's just be very clear about what's happening there. Did you ever hear this um this thing hauled, Chloe? So don't act if you are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. And I swear to God, I I just because it's such an actionable tool, when I'm feeling activated or triggered, I will do the physiological side, you know. I think that breath's very powerful. And then I will run through the hauled, and I swear to God, I'm all four every time. Hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Okay. And I'm like, am I hungry? Yeah, angry, yeah, lonely, uh-huh, tired. All four. All right. I'm stepping back. Do not send the text when you just if if your fingers are shaking, don't send the text. Yes, a hundred percent. And that's sometimes when we are we'll go in for the response straight away because we're activated. And then it's the oh God, why did I do that? And again, it's to your point, not to, you know, ignore our feelings or emotions, absolutely not. Let them come up to the surface. My God, that's so healthy. But then just bring that little bit of awareness. Am I coming from a reactive state here? Would I feel this strongly if I gave this a half hour, hour break? You know, how can I just try and create a bit of space? And when we do find that air place to regulate ourselves, when we can find ways in regulating our nervous system, like it's not about being calm all the time either. You know, we talked about like some people in life are just very, very calm, which is gorgeous. But really, regulation can really just mean about returning kind of to a balanced state. So you can experience stress without becoming consumed by it, or you can be challenged but still think clearly. And I think you'd appreciate this in your workout classes. You can push yourself but come from a regulated place. That's why you bring in the breath. Yeah, 100%. And you can kind of sit with that uncertainty and not spiral. And this really is the kind of place that you can operate from to get tap into your most potential. And I I've noticed it massively since I gave up the alcohol for sure. And again, that domino effect of all the other good things that I've done for myself. But I do wonder how much alcohol was dysregulating my nervous system without me ever even realizing it or stopping to think about it. And I know we kind of talked about that there when we spoke about the fear. Like, I still experience a lot of stress. I'm a co-founder of my own business. I'm the sole earner, like driver for everything. I don't, I'm single, so I don't have another person. So like all the financial responsibility will land on my shoulders, which is stressful enough on your own in this world. The world was built for two people, for everything, hotels for two. If you want to buy a house, get a mortgage, it's extremely hard to do it as a solo person. If you want to adopt, you can't do it as a solo person. Like the world was built for two people. And when you're on your own, not only is it very hard, even when you go shopping, like it's very hard to fit into it not alone just in the way it's built, but financially as well. It's very hard and you're kind of, you know, you don't have that security net. Yeah. Which is also lovely. Show up for yourself and all of that. But of course, when I'm running a business, it's stressful when it's all on you. And I used to really have a lot of financial pressure on myself when I'd wake up in the middle of the night. Since I gave up the drink and since I I learned a lot more about regulating my nervous system, that does not happen. I do worry about it still, but I worry about it during the day when my brain is functioning fully and I could sit down on my laptop and I could do something about it rather than the tree. The worry that's that that has problem solving at its core. You could we could we all have worries. So being like, don't worry, but that's just ridiculous. Because worry is a part of problems, and problems are the privilege of living. So don't be so silly. Like we just all have worries, right? So just accept that part. But I might like some, yeah, and definitely I feel exactly actually on this one. I feel exactly the same. It was such fruitless worry I used to in the middle of the night if I was a bit hungover or whatever, worrying about things, and and just but it had no, you know, it wasn't, it wasn't worry, I think, is kind of healthy if it's if it's concern that you can tease out and be like, okay, how will I come to the bottom of this? How will I actually problem solve this? You know, that kind of worry where your head is in the game during the day and you have a notepad, that's fine and part of life, but just that worrying in the middle of the night just for worry's sake, and just yeah, like definitely that I'm not it's not that I've stopped worrying since I gave up booze, but I no longer do that ridiculous, fruitless worry of the middle of the night. Yeah, maybe sleep has improved, and there's many factors for it, but I do believe that kind of giving up the drink has helped hugely, and I guess domino effect, I've definitely put my efforts and time into like practices that are very restorative. Obviously, I teach restorative yoga, so I I practice it myself a lot and break breathing, meditation, all of that. But when I did go to the dentist, I'm like, oh, what's your bronchitis now? I'll go on about the dentist for the next four episodes. But when I did go to the dentist, and he was like, Where are you getting it clean? I was like, I'm getting it clean. And he was like, Nope, we're gonna take the wisdom tooth out. And I was like, sorry, what, Brendan? And he was like, Yeah, we take the wisdom tooth out. And I was like, I don't think I can do that. And he was like, Well, I was like, look, I'll go home, like all being transparent. I was like, I'll go home and take a Xonx, they'll come back to you in a week, you know? Like I was like, I've got a few Xonics at home. Let me come back in with some, you know, Xonics in my system. And he was like, No, because you're gonna go home and you're gonna worry, you're gonna be anxious, and you're not gonna be able to sleep. You're gonna build it up in your head. I was like, You are so right, you know me so well. I haven't seen you in six months, but you know me so well. Brendan is a cloud whisperer. He was great. So he was like, Will we do it? And I said, Do you know what we will? And I couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth. I have been putting this off for so long. I was like, we will do it. And I felt so calm. So off he went and took out the wisdom tube. Well, before he did that, I actually did embarrassingly enough let myself down because I started panicking slightly. And I was like, I don't want to be a pussy, I just don't want to be a pussy. And I was like, Why are you saying the word pussy to your dentist? I meant to say the word was, and I guess I said it three times, and he's like, Okay, I am doing it. He also was like, Stop saying the word pussy to your brent to your dentist. This is mad. And then I couldn't stop. And then I was like, I need to man up Brenton, and I hate that saying anyway. And he was like, No, no, you don't need to man up now. Now, rightly so. He's like, we just need to get the two. Yeah, we might need to get you out of the chair. Like, let's just get you out of my office. This is so funny. But I was mortified then anyway. I left skipping down the road. He put it in a little toot ferry bag for me and everything. Like, I left skipping down the road because I said a year ago, I there's no way I would have done that. Yeah. And the difference was I was still a little bit nervous, but I what the difference was in the moment, I was like, right, I'm a bit scared. My heart rate is going up, and I can feel myself breathing faster. But I've got this. I can regulate myself, I can breathe through it, I'm in safe hands. I came from a safe space, not an anxious place. Yeah. And that was so, so different. I love that. And I think with alcohol, a lot of the time I was dysregulated and I was stressed. So my crutch was give me a wine on a Friday night because I'm feeling dysregulated. Totally. And I actually think the goal is not to escape our life every weekend through alcohol, it is the to build a nervous system that actually feels really safe living in it. But why are you building a life you need to escape from? I know, you know? Yeah. And then one day picking up the pieces with your nervous system Tuesday, you're feeling a bit calmer. Like when we have the language around that, it's like, oh, I should one day rope rope be all this. What does that actually mean? It means dysregulated nervous system. Yes. Now, I promise you I'll I'll finish the science very quickly. Up on the carpet.

The Vagus Nerve Explained

Aisling 57:04

I'm good. So we can't talk about regulation without talking about the vagus nerve. And I'm sure you know this term and you know all about the vagus nerve. Many people won't. The vagus nerve is one of the major nerves involved in the parasympathetic nervous system. It travels from the brainstem down through the body, connecting with areas including our heart, lungs, and digestive organs, let's say. So its name actually comes from the Latin word for wandering, which reflects the the really long path it takes throughout the body. And it plays a really important role in helping to regulate stress and recovery and internal balance. And so practices that stimulate vagal activities, like slow breathing, humming, meditation, yoga, singing, all of these things are associated then with helping the body shift towards that calmer physiological state. So this is often referred to as improving vagal tone. I had heard this before, but I didn't know what it meant. And that really is essentially the nervous system's ability to respond to stress and then recover again efficiently. So breathing is fascinating because of what we've mentioned. It's automatic, but we can also consciously influence it, which is so, so cool. And because breathing sits at the intersection between body and mind, changing the rhythm of our breath can really influence how we feel physically and emotionally. And this isn't new. Breath work became extremely popular there in the last few years, and it still is. So research shows that you know, slower breathing patterns, especially diaphragmatic breathing, and breathing with slower exhales, they really help to increase our parasympathetic activity and improve our emotional regulation. So some of the most powerful tools really are often the simplest. Like breath is kind of something that we can use. It doesn't cost, as you said. It's not having to sign up to an app, it's at our disposal anytime, anywhere we can tap into it. And it has just phenomenal effects on us.

What is Pranayama?

Aisling 58:53

So obviously, our natural high this week is pranayama. And pranayama is not simply you know taking deep breaths. So it's a traditional yogic practice and it involves the conscious regulation of the breath. So prana in Sanskrit translates in English roughly to life force energy. And pranayama techniques have been used for thousands of years with yogic traditions to support things like concentration or energy regulation, and then it also prepares us for meditation. But all pranayama, what I would say, is breath work, and not all breath work is pranayama, so there is a difference. And the one thing that when I was thinking about the breath, and I was sitting, you know, with the breath, and I use breath a lot myself, the one thing I think is quite beautiful about it is when we were born, the first thing we do is inhale. So we're as a child, and you know, at the end of our life, the final thing that we do is exhale and we leave out our final breath. Um, so it really is the rhythm of being alive. So before going into any advanced techniques, the foundation, which you already mentioned, Ash, you you set it up, you aligned it up beautifully for me, and you didn't even know I was really going into this detail, but it is the diaphragmatic or abdominal breathing. So this means allowing the breath to move lower into the body, letting the belly gently expand on the inhale and soften on the inhale. Because when we're stressed, a lot of us will breathe up high in our chest, and a lot of us breathe the opposite way. Like as a baby, when we breathe in, our belly will naturally expand and rise. And as we breathe out, it'll it'll fall. And actually, as we lose that technique, a lot of us will breathe in the opposite way, unless you're kind of into yoga aware of that. Or maybe if you're yeah, someone who meditates, or maybe you're a singer, you'd really understand that as well. So, really, when we're able to slow our breath and breathe within abdominal breathing, it helps to send signals to our nervous system that we're um safe.

Guided Diaphragmatic Breathing Practice

Aisling 1:00:43

So, I'm gonna actually do a really, really short practice, and then that'll be us because this will be our invitation to people for the week. So, we're gonna do this together. So, you're just gonna sit legs on cross. I would recommend doing your abdominal breathing from a seated position, but you can do it lying down as well. So, placing your right hand on your belly and your left hand on your chest, maybe at heart center, and then very simply breathing in slowly through the nose and just allowing the belly to expand gently. So feeling that feedback under your hand. And when you get to the top of your breath, exhaling slowly through the nose again, if that's available to you, and then allowing the belly to fall, allowing the air to exhale. So breathing in, belly expands. You can think of it like a balloon filling, breathing out, belly falls, all of the air releases. It's allowing your shoulders to drop as well when you're doing this. So you can inhale for a count of four and maybe exhale for a count of six. A little bit of a longer exhale again is a really strong signal to the body that we're safe. And I recommend repeating that for a few rounds. In fact, I guess my invitation this week for this pranayama abdominal breathing or diaphragmatic breathing would try to build up to five or ten minutes, even if you can, anytime throughout your day, but it's quite nice in the morning. So that kind of lice long inhale, allowing the belly to rise, and again using your hands for feedback. Just imagining a balloon filling, and as you exhale, allowing that balloon to empty. And the more you practice it, the more your natural state of breathing will actually go towards this type of breath. And now I find that that's how I breathe. When I inhale, my belly fills and rises, and when I exhale, my belly empties. So, really, that's kind of the main thing around the pranayama. There's so much more I could talk about there. Obviously, it's very much a yogic practice,

The Two Wolves Story

Aisling 1:02:39

but I'll just leave you with uh a two wolves story as such. There's an old story about two wolves, and it says that inside of each of us there are two wolves, one of fear, panic, anger, and reactivity, and the other of calm, courage, steadiness, and compassion. And a child asks, which wolf wins, and the answer is the one you feed. So, in nervous system terms, the wolf that wins is often the one that we practice. And if we constantly practice rushing and bracing and overworking and never slowing down, the body becomes really, really good at survival. But if we actually practice pausing, breathing, walking, resting, connecting, setting boundaries, the body becomes really good at regulation. It's not overnight, but it's just a practice that we can start to bring, bring into our days. And that would be my invitation. Trying that panayama diaphragmatic breathing and just noticing do you react differently? Do you sleep better? Do you feel more grounded? And can you catch yourself before spiraling? Because when we create or invite that pause into our days, it can have a really lovely beneficial domino effect too. So good, so beautiful. I thank you so much for that info. It was absolutely fascinating. I love that wolf. I have not heard that before. That is so interesting to me. And um, what do you what are you

This Week's Invite

Aisling 1:04:00

going to do breathwise this week, Joe? Well, I actually am going to lean into so a lot of times when I teach in my classes, and you're the same as well, actually love in your classes, you always do the physiological side. So you always bring that in every week, week on week. And so it becomes a really lovely habit. I'll often start with the abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing, and sometimes I'll learn other types of pranayama breath work into my and always have pranayama through the class through the class. The core thing is that this abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing is the foundation to any breath work practice. So let's not try run before we can walk. And even for the likes of me, I do a lot of, let's say, Naddy Shodana or Brahmary breath. I like those breaths. I don't think I spend enough time on a slower conscious diaphragmatic breath in the morning. So I'm going to try to do that five to ten minutes diaphragmatic breathing to get my foundations really, really strong again. Really nice. And I think you know, we're always conscious about not making this podcast or any tips and tricks we have here to overload into people's to-do lists. And sometimes people feel deeply uncomfortable sitting in in stillness for five or ten minutes. And if hopefully that will be available to you, and hopefully you will commit to doing that, even two minutes, three minutes, but you know, as close as five or ten isn't magical. But if that feels totally unavailable to you, you know, your breath comes with you throughout every single moment of your day. Absolutely. And I would say as well, like definitely with try it with you know shorter. But if you could even choose one day of the week to say, right, you know, I'm gonna get in my car and before I drive home, it if it has to be at that time, I'm gonna do five-minute timer of diaphragmatic breathing, or it's in the morning, I'm gonna give five minutes or ten minutes and just notice do you feel actually that little bit better when you do give it a little bit more time? And if so, that might actually tap a little bit more into your intrinsic motivation to say that you will craft out that little bit of extra few minutes in the morning or afterwards. You can feel those benefits, yeah. Yeah, but but you might get the benefits, as you say, like from a much shorter, and sometimes that's all that's available to us. So anything that's available really is to welcome it. In those spaces. Absolutely. And yeah, I guess what I was, yeah, what I'm trying to say, which I bought, which I which I didn't didn't say, but what I was trying to say was the practice is the dream scenario. But if a practice for whatever reason doesn't feel available to you while you're cooking the dinner, while you're stuck in traffic, you're breathing all the time. So weave it in everywhere you can, anytime that you think of it. Do you know what I mean? It doesn't have to be a standalone practice. In fact, it shouldn't just be a standalone practice because you're breathing for 24 hours at a time. Oh my God, completely. And this is a lovely one. You don't have to have the eyes closed, you know, it's not the meditation. Yeah. You can absolutely do it while you're doing other things. And you know, um, so a thing that I started to do is um having different cues for because I'm I have terrible patterns with my breath actually, um, even though I've really got breath awareness and I and I every time I remember, but it's a constant act of forgetting and remembering throughout my whole days. And my pattern will be to breathe shallow into my clavicle. Unfortunately, it's a pattern I must have adopted somewhere around the way. And when I feel a little bit busy, and motherhood's so so busy, and you're tending to kind of things outside of yourself all the time, and I want this, and you can kind of really lose body awareness because you're so focused on things and things, the children outside of yourself, and so on things. Um, so sometimes I can just catch myself, you know, I'm just I'm I'm mid-buttering sandwiches, and then I'm like, and I'm like, why am I breathing like a little scared ferret? And so I I have all these cues throughout my life and in my house to remind me to breathe. And for example, when I'm called mom, and now I'm really good at doing this now because I've practiced it so so much. So when I'm called mom, and I'm called all of the time, I take a deep breath. And that's so habitual for me now. I started doing it a while back, and so every time they go mom, I go and I take a massive breath into my belly. And because I know I'll be called mom a million times in any one day, it really works. So, like if you know, if you have a cue or maybe a dog bark or something, just if you can if you can get a cue going for a deep breath, it's so powerful. That's brilliant. I'm gonna totally rob that for the dog bark. I love it. Yeah, it's a good one. Um, all right, so let's let's breathe on.

Breathe On, Keep Calm And Thanks For Tuning In

Aisling 1:08:16

Breathe on and keep calm and let us know how you get on. And if you do have any questions more around Panayama in particular, or you need any support, I'm so happy to create like an abdominal diaphratic breathing video or share some of the resources I have already created. That would be actually amazing if you could do that next week. Because I I you as someone who really uh believes in it, I'm stunned at how little breath work I do. I meditate and I breathe very calmly and deeply with that. And as I say, I I try to take deep breath throughout my day. But a dedicated breath work, I do I'm I'm not sure. I couldn't say I'm nailing it. And actually, sometimes having a bit of a guided video is a gorgeous thing to follow along with because sometimes you need someone to do it with you. We all need a helping hand, I need it too. So, yes, absolutely, we shall do that. Okay, woo, have a great week.