Research continues to show that what the body does “makes” us feel something. Our bodies play a major role in producing emotion but sometimes our bodies are playing the part of a different story then we are in at the moment. Studies show that if we change what our body is doing our feelings change with it.

Studies on unknowing participants demonstrate that when our body is doing something angry, sad, confident, etc we are likely to feel “that” way. This is often true even if what is happening doesn’t support the same feeling which is why all of a sudden we can be sad at a party, laugh inappropriately, become angray at something insignificant, etc. Our bodies help us experience something fullly through our “feelings,” which is powerful and potentially misleading. Interestingly we can “mislead” ourselves in positive ways as well, breathing to become more centered, confident, supportive; its a matter of voluntary actions to change what our body is doing. Aikido is a way of practicing different body movements, postures, breathing styles, etc.

Breathing fast, slow, deep, shallow, through the nose, through the mouth combine differently to produce different emotions. Slow, deep, abdominal, nasal breathing (see post) produces a centered state.

The linked study demonstrated that different breathing patterns produced emotions “clearly differentiated among joy, anger, fear, and sadness.” (Philippot,Chapelle , & Blairy 2002)

There are ample studies demonstrating that controlled or deep breathing reduces stress and anxiety but this study may show us why. Watch how you are breathing, it is trying to tell you something.