Breathe

The simple act of breathing

One of the things all of us take for granted in life is the simple act of breathing. Sure, we know that without it we would not live but it is one of those things that happen unconsciously, automatically as we go about our lives. However, just by concentrating on our breathing technique, you can reap exceptional benefits. Here are 17 things I bet you never knew about breathing..

Conscious Breathing

We are continually instructed to “breathe consciously” when we are in yoga class. Breathing consciously is the essence of yoga as it assists us in connecting with the subtle energy within. It is through the breath that we are able to navigate different levels of consciousness. Moreover, breathing consciously has a biological effect on our mental, emotional, and physical state.

It makes you comfortable with your past

Connecting with your breath is a method for being present. When you concentrate on each aspect of the breathing process, you are present; you let go of the past and future and are focused on the moment inside the breath. This is why breathing consciously is its own meditation.

Breath = Life

If I come up to you and close your nose, you will fight for breath. Our energy level depends in a big part on our breath. The better (fuller) you breathe, the more energy you will have. Taking deeper breaths will bring in more oxygen in to the body and improve your energy levels. Think oxygen cafe!

Slower Breaths mean Better Relationships

Most relationships would be better if people were less reactive. The state of your mind affects the breath the reverse is true as well. When you are angry are breath is fast and shortened. When you are relaxed, your breath is slow and complete. The next time you are arguing with someone try taking longer deeper breaths. Notice how that can quickly reduces anger and allows you to look at the situation from a new perspective!

Deep Breathing helps to improve your posture

Bad posture is often directly linked with incorrect breathing. Try it yourself and as you practise breathing deeply watch how you naturally straighten up. Filling your lungs encourages you to straighten your spine and stand or sit taller.

Deep Breathing helps to regulate weight

If you are underweight, the extra oxygen will help to feed the cells and tissues. If you are overweight it will assist with weight loss. The extra oxygen in the body will help to burn up excess fat more efficiently. When we are stressed, and most of us live day to day in a fairly stressed state, your body tends to burn glycogen instead of fat. Deep breathing triggers the relaxation response which encourages the body to burn fat instead

It helps you move

Focus on breath while making movements also helps in controlling the movements, which reduce the chances of injury. The muscles work in a systematic way with greater coordination with nervous system. Neuro - muscular coordination is better. Yoga recommends smooth, relaxed awareness of inhalation and exhalation during the practice. The mind is focused and the awareness can be concentrated on the positive thoughts.

For a healthy heart

Coherent breathing is basically breathing at a rate of five breaths per minute, which is the middle of the resonant breathing rate range. I achieve this if I count to five inhaling and count to five exhaling. The five-minute rate maximizes the heart rate variability (HRV), a measurement of how well the parasympathetic nervous system is working. The higher the HRV the better, because a higher HRV is associated with a healthier cardiovascular system and a stronger stress-response system. 

In case you are nervous

I used to get pretty nervous before many meetings in the past. One the things that really helped me to turn that around and to have more fun and success in social situations was to use conscious breathing. By doing so I was able to calm down both my body and mind and return to the healthier present moment, instead of being lost in destructive thoughts.

Your breath responds to you

Your breath is the first thing to respond in your body. Your breath will respond and adjust according to what you are thinking, feeling, observing, hearing, tasting, touching, sensing or experiencing at the time. It is intimately connected to your physical, emotional and spiritual state.

What is the depth of your inhale?

Does your normal inhale only reach the middle or upper area of your chest? Or is your normal inhale even shorter stopping around your shoulder, neck and throat area? This is a great place to start developing a greater understanding of your breath by focusing on the depth of your inhale. A full inhale should fill your lungs and expand your abdomen.

70% of waste is eliminated through your breath

70% of our body’s waste products are eliminated via our lungs and the rest through the urine, skin and feces. When the efficiency of our lungs is reduced due to poor breathing less oxygen is available to our cells, it slows down the flow of blood which carries wastes from the kidneys and lungs. Our lymphatic system which fights off viral and bacterial invaders is weakened along with a slower digestive process.

Quality breathing can release fear, anger and sadness

Your breath will become disturbed when experiencing stressful emotions. To prevent these unwanted emotions from being pushed down and trapped in your body, simply breathe into your organs. Breathe into your lungs to remove sadness and grief. Breathe into your kidneys to dissolve fear. Breathe into your liver to dissolve anger. Breathe into your heart to open yourself up to more loving experiences.

Your breath activates your nervous system

When the sympathetic nervous system is activated you are living life with the “accelerator” on full throttle all the time. You are in “fight or flight” mode and constantly releasing stress into your body. On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system is like putting the “brake on” to life. It helps slow your body down which in turn allows restoration and rejuvenation. The key to activating your parasympathetic nervous system is to place your full attention onto your breath. 

Your body can’t relax if your mind and breath are racing

Your thoughts are directly linked to the quality of your breathing. Busy, overactive thinking often means short, shallow and quick breathes. By focusing on calming your mind you will automatically be calming your breath and in turn relaxing your body.

Shallow breathing causes memory loss

The Taoists believe that loss of oxygen though shallow breathing ie. your inhale only goes as deep as your throat or top of your lungs, is the primary cause of memory loss in the elderly. Not sure how true this is, and I can’t even remember where I read it but, nevertheless I included it anyway as it certainly got me thinking. Worth exploring.