Most of us don’t understand how to breathe properly or why learning to breath correctly is so important.

The majority of adults do not breathe as effectively as they should.

  • Do you know that most people use only 1/3rd of their diaphragm?
  • Do you know that all babies know how to breathe properly and that as we grow we just forget.
  • Do you know that inadequate breathing causes or worsens chronic maladies such as asthma, allergies, anxiety, fatigue, depression, headaches, heart conditions, high blood pressure, insomnia, obesity, harmful stress, poor mental clarity plus hundreds of other lesser known but equally harmful conditions.

Breathing is life

Breathing supplies over 99% of our entire oxygen and energy supply. Breathing fully is to live fully. Optimal breathing will make us live longer and make us healthier.

Click on the video below and follow my lead and then notice how good you feel after a few days of practice.

http://youtu.be/W4nUx6kMjoQ

Breathing is, however, something that we can control. We can regulate our breathing into something more beneficial than just exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide. Different healing systems, from different cultures, have long realized the healing benefits of the breathe, including hypnosis, yoga, Tai Chi and some forms of meditation.

Do you know that deep breathing can have a powerful influence on your health and will do wonders for the way you feel. There advantages and benefits of learning to breath properly are many:

  • It increases physical energy.
  • It helps with focus and concentration
  • It lowers blood pressure and heart rate.
  • It reduces lactic acid and build-up in muscle tissues.
  • It balances levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.
  • It improves immune system functioning.
  • It puts you in a relaxed state of mind and encourages access to creative imagination and learning ability.
  • It leads to physical relaxation.
  • It releases anxiety and influences better health.
  • It provides a healthy bloodstream that transports oxygen and nutrients to your cells

So with all those benefits you got to wonder why we don’t get our act together and learn some of this stuff. I can honestly say that it was only when I took up yoga last year that I really started to practice proper breathing. Because focused breathe work brings about relaxation and calmness, I found that I was able to reduce the fast and shallow breathing that I sometimes experienced when I was worried or feeling stressed.

How do I breathe correctly?

The first rule is breathe through your nose, not your mouth. Although it seems obvious, you would be surprised to know how many people make this one mistake. Most of the time, although we are unaware of it, we are either breathing too quickly or too slowly. We do not take in sufficient oxygen or expel sufficient carbon oxide. As a result toxins build up in our bodies and we begin to get deprived of the rightful quantity of oxygen.

Sit comfortably and raise your ribcage to expand your chest. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Take notice of how your upper chest and abdomen are moving while you breathe. Concentrate on your breath and try to breathe in and out gently through the nose. Your upper chest and stomach should be still, allowing the diaphragm to work more efficiently with your abdomen and less with your chest.

So to start take a breath in for 4, hold for 7 and then exhale for 7. With each breath, allow any tension in your body to slip away. Now think of a safe, calm and relaxing place in your mind, real or imagined and allow yourself to go there. Now start breathing slowly 4,7,7 and at the same time be in that special place. Once you are breathing slowly, rhythmically and naturally, sit quietly and enjoy the sensation of physical relaxation in your calm and relaxed place. Practice this 3 to 4 times a day and notice the shift in the way you feel.

When you know what to do it becomes “a breeze to breathe”

For more information or help on learning to breathe properly or any emotional problem contact Elaine.