Do you ever stop to breathe? If so, then you are one of the very few who realizes the importance of conscious breathing. Breathing, like many other bodily functions, is taken for granted by the mass majority. We don’t even consider breathing until we are unable to do so. Imagine this, we were merely a shell of a being until receiving the ‘breath of life’. One of the first things a doctor or midwife wants a child to be able to do is BREATHE. Yet, we go along in our lives from day to day without taking a single moment to….inhale, exhale, and breathe.
Breathing affects virtually every part of the body. It oxygenates the body, revitalizing organs, cells and tissues. Conscious breathing:
- Fuels energy production
- Improves focus and concentration
- Eliminates toxins
- Strengthens the immune system
- Improves bowel function
- Reduces stress, tension and anxiety
- Increases feelings of calmness and relaxation
- Can lower blood pressure
- Increases metabolism, aiding in digestion and weight loss.
On the other hand, unconscious breathing can cause problems for a number of systems in the body, including the immune, circulatory, endocrine and nervous systems. Improper breathing can produce a variety of symptoms including:
- Mental fog
- Dizziness
- Numbness
- Anxiety
- Chest pain
- Digestive problems
- Irritable bowel
- Neck and shoulder pain
So, now can you see how important conscious breathing is to our livelihood? If unconscious breathing contributes to pain, then conscious breathing has the adverse effect. Conscious breathing eases and often times eliminates pain. Try this exercise to find out if you are breathing properly:
- Lie flat on your back, stand up straight, or sit up straight in a chair.
- Place your hand just below your ribs, on your abdomen.
- Breathe as you normally do.
- Notice: Does your hand on your abdominal area rise? Or does your upper chest rise? (You may even feel your shoulders rise slightly.)
- If your abdomen rises and your chest stays relatively flat, you are breathing properly.
- If your abdomen barely moves and your chest rises, you are not breathing properly and need to practice the breathing exercise described below.
So how did you do? Are you breathing properly? If not, try this exercise.
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. (Although you can do this exercise while sitting or standing, it’s easiest to practice by lying down at first.)
- Place your hands on your abdomen.
- Breathe in through your nose, counting to four. Picture a balloon in your belly that you’re inflating with the air you are inhaling. Your hands should rise as your abdomen fills with air.
- Hold the breath for a few seconds.
- Exhale slowly through your mouth, counting to four. Picture letting the air out of your belly balloon. Your hands should go down as your abdomen deflates.
Practice this exercise for about 5 minutes 2-3 times a day. If you are like most people, you’ve been breathing unconsciously for a long time. Therefore, it may take a while for you to get the hang of proper breathing. But trust, it’s so worth your time. Cause remember, life begins when we inhale our first breath and ends when we exhale our last breath.
Inhale, Exhale, now Breathe,
J-licious
© Copyright 2009/10/23 Jacque Keil All Rights Reserved
