Women over 60: Take a Breath!

Or mabye three..........

The Three Breaths That Brought Me Back

What if everything you needed to start again was already in your lungs?

I didn’t know I was doing it “wrong.”
Not wrong-wrong. Just rigid. Mechanical.
I was doing the breathing, but not letting the breathing do me.

It turns out there are different kinds of breathwork for different moments, and each one speaks to the nervous system in a different dialect of safety.

So I did what I always do when I hit a wall—I came to my command center- did some research and now I am sharing what I learned.

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🌬 Why Breath Is the First Reset Button

Your breath is your nervous system's remote control.
It’s the only automatic function you can also consciously direct.

When your system is stuck in:

• panic

• fog

• freeze

• obsessive thinking

• or deep emotional fatigue...
  ...breath is the first signal that says:
  You are safe. You are here. You are allowed to soften.

Research shows that intentional breath patterns can:

• Lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels

• Activate the vagus nerve (your body’s brake pedal)

• Regulate heart rate variability (HRV), a key marker of emotional resilience

• Reduce anxiety, depression, and insomnia

• Shift your brain from fight/flight to rest/digest
  
  

And yes, this is all scientifically supported. (Sources cited at the end.)

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🫁 Three Breathing Techniques That Changed My Week

1. The Basic Reset: 4-4-6 Breath

Inhale 4 – Hold 4 – Exhale 6

This is the one I’d been doing—without knowing why it worked.
The longer exhale is the magic. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system (your rest-and-restore state) and signals to the brain that the emergency has passed.

💡 Use when:

• You’re overwhelmed but don’t want to lose momentum

• You need to ground yourself quickly

• You’re prepping for a calm conversation, creative work, or sleep
  
  

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2. The Deep Reset: 4-7-8 Breath

(from Dr. Andrew Weil)

Inhale 4 – Hold 7 – Exhale 8

This is a more intense form of nervous system down-regulation. The extended hold builds CO2 tolerance (improving oxygen efficiency), while the long exhale deeply engages the vagus nerve.

💡 Use when:

• You’re spiraling mentally or emotionally

• You can’t fall asleep

• You need to shut down anxiety and return to calm
  
  

⚠️ Note: This can make you feel lightheaded at first. Do just a few rounds at a time until your body adjusts.

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3. The Intuitive Release: Straw Breath

Inhale naturally – Exhale slowly as if through a straw

No counting. No performance.
Just the slowest, softest, most complete exhale you can give yourself.

💡 Use when:

• You’re overwhelmed and can’t count

• You feel like you’re “failing at breathing” (yes, I’ve been there)

• You want to cry but don’t know how

• You’re doing bodywork, stretching, or walking
  
  

This one brings you back into gentle rhythm, not control.

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✨ A Final Note on Breath and Trust

Today I realized:
I was trying to wrestle life into cooperating with me.
Trying to force clarity.
Trying to perform healing.
Trying to earn worthiness.

But your breath won’t let you fake it.
You can’t hustle your way into peace.

You can only return.
Exhale by exhale.
Trust by trust.
Note by note.

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🧠 Scientific Sources

• National Library of Medicine: “Breathing Techniques in Anxiety and Stress Reduction”
  
  

• Harvard Health: “Relaxation Techniques: Breath Control Helps Quell Errant Stress Response”
  
  

• Frontiers in Psychology: “The Role of Breathing in Stress and Emotion Regulation”
  
  

• Journal of Clinical Psychology: “Effectiveness of 4-7-8 Breathing in Sleep Improvement”
  
  

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🔄 Want to keep this?

I’m turning this into a free printable PDF with space for notes and daily breath check-ins. That way, you can tuck it in your journal, keep it by your bed, or screenshot it for later.

I will tucked it into the 7 for 70 bundle that will be released on my birthday. 7 guides, each representing 7 decades of life lived by yours truly. The bonus is the ‘BREATH LIKE THIS pdf.

Let this be the week you remember:
You don’t need to figure it out.
You just need to trust you will.

And your breath will walk you there.

—Monica
MoniRose Soul ✨🫁