Soft Belly Breathing With Dr James Gordon

In his book, The Transformation, Dr. James Gordon walks readers through a wide variety of activities to help them take small steps towards independent healing. It’s no surprise that his meditation, Soft Belly, is not only the first method he teaches in his book, but it is also referenced time and time again as a starting point for many other interventions he introduces, such as art therapy, visualizations, and more.

Meditation is being scientifically proven to reverse the impact of trauma on our nervous system. When we enter our fight or flight response, our nervous system becomes activated. A myriad of hormones and neurotransmitters are released into our bloodstream. What once served as a quick jolt of energy while facing a sabre tooth tiger, has now become a toxic cocktail of activation in our bodies that, overtime, leads to a wide variety of chronic health conditions. Excessive cortisol, for example, causes us to store energy as fat and gain weight.

PROVEN BENEFITS OF MEDITATION

• Increases tone of the vagus nerve, which improves self regulation, memory, and speeds up recovery from anger or stress.

• Enhances functioning in the hippocampus, which quiets agitation and consolidates memory

• Reduces blood pressure

• Promotes growth of new brain tissues in the frontal cortex, leading to improved mental clarity. The frontal cortex is brain area responsible for problem solving and many other executive functions.

• Meditation calms the amygdala’s frenzy, balancing the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems

Be clear, meditation is miraculous. Meditation is the antidote to trauma and stress.

Try Dr. Gordon’s 5 minute mediation, soft belly, by clicking here. Consider rating both your mood and the tension in your body before and after the meditation, to truly understand the potential benefit that a regular meditation practice could provide.

-Rachel