Here’s the next blog on on the 7 daily modifiable factors that we can control to bring about health and wellbeing.
This one is about Breathing. This is a huge area of health, and as such features as the anchor for many disciplines such as Yoga, Chi Gung and meditation.
We can breathe up to 20,000 times in a day or more and for most of us this is done unconsciously. However, the way in which we breathe can influence our body and mind immensely.
Expending energy to inhale brings air into your body. Your lungs take oxygen from the air you breathe and attach it to iron particles in your red blood cells to be delivered to all parts of your body by the heart via arteries.
The oxygen in the air you breathe carries a very strong positive charge, acting like the positive pole of a magnet, while your body tissues and the water it contains (about 75% of your body is water) act like the negative pole. This difference in charge creates Energy or Work Potential.
Therefore breathing oxygen into the body creates energy. This energy is called Prana by Yoga practitioners and Chi (Qi) by masters of Tai Chi, Chi Gung and martial artists.
This helps explain why exercise actually gives you more energy. What’s highly significant is that breathing is one physiological function over which we can also have conscious control.
Take a moment to ….
Notice your breathing now. Can you describe the way you breathe? Are your breaths long or short? Are your in-breath and out-breath balanced, or is one longer than the other?
Do you feel you are not getting enough air? What parts of your chest and stomach are moving as you breathe?
There are two basic ways of breathing: diaphragmatic (abdominal) breathing and thoracic (chest) breathing.
Chest breathing is relatively shallow. The chest expands and the shoulders rise as the lungs take in air. Under stress we all have a tendency to breathe shallowly and culture has taught us to keep our stomachs in and push our chest out.
Over time this can become habitual, restricting oxygen supply to the body and hence affecting energy levels. The body can also respond with symptoms of anxiety in response to this shortfall, bringing about further constricted breathing.
Abdominal breathing involves the diaphragm at the base of the lungs, which pulls more air into your lungs.
Try experimenting with this:
Lie on your back in a comfortable position to become aware of your breathing. Close your eyes and place one hand on your belly just below the navel (belly button). Because of the movement of the diaphragm with each breath, as you inhale your hand will rise slightly. As you exhale, your hand will fall.
Focus your attention on the rising and falling of your hand. This is diaphragmatic breathing. An ideal time to practice this is just before going to sleep. As you become aware of how it feels you can also practice during the day while standing or sitting.
Over time you will be able to incorporate this new awareness of your breath into everyday activities. Every time you start feeling stressed or uptight, bring your attention to your breathing and gently move to diaphragmatic breathing.
You should notice a sense of calm returning. You should also start noticing increased vitality and health brought about by deeper, more natural breathing.
For more information and techniques, take a look at Herbert Benson’s “The Relaxation Response”.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
