Breathing can save your life. But for many, deep breathing is a forgotten skill. Can every breath you take really make a difference in your health and wellbeing? The answer is a resounding Yes!
How many times have you said to yourself, “I go faithfully to the health club, why don’t I feel better?” And for millions of Americans, fitness is a way of life, yet they are not getting the most out of their fitness programs.
Take a moment to notice how a baby or a child breathes, their breathing is automatic and full, with the breath starting in the lower lungs and moving upward, the abdomen rising and falling gently on each inhalation and exhalation. But as we grow older, and the stresses of life press on us, school, peers, jobs, co-workers, demanding bosses, our breathing settles into an automatic superficial respiration without our even noticing. The buildup of carbon dioxide is slow but steady, and creates fatigue, mental fog and decreased tissue function. We just don’t understand why we don’t have more energy.
Shallow breathing into the upper lungs is the body’s response to perceived danger, which was meant to be a temporary state. For many Americans, however, this condition is permanent as we are living in a state of high stress, and bombarded with so much stimulation, so much information that our bodies stay in a constant “fight or flight” response.
With everything that is happening in our world around us, it’s no wonder that we exist in a state of anxiety and uncertainty!
Long term shallow breathing will actually shut down the internal systems of the body, the flow of adrenalin remains constant, the heart rate and blood pressure higher, the organs starved of oxygen, the circulation to the extremities reduced and the conditions for illness and disease to take root are created.
Although our system of health care is deteriorating and millions of Americans are without health insurance, the good news is that people are realizing that they can be proactive in maintaining their health and avoiding costly medical treatment for illnesses and diseases.
There is hope for us all. We can step back and take a deep breath. The art of deep breathing can be relearned, and it will bring you unimaginable freedom. Think of how you will feel once you are free from the debilitating effects of stress, free from paralyzing fear, free to make decisions calmly and rationally, and free from being in a constantly reactive state of being.
Exciting new scientific research, as reported by The Mind and Life Institute, shows that deep, relaxed breathing can help to reduce the effects of stress, and bring calmness and clarity of thought. Recent research shows that practicing deep breathing exercises daily will improve health, reduce the symptoms of asthma, respiratory disease, heart disease, anxiety, panic attacks and depression; breath work can help people to stop smoking, accelerate recovery from surgery and control pain (including childbirth.) Increased oxygen intake also brings healing for cancer, stroke and hypertension patients, and increases the metabolic rate which helps in weight loss. Mental health experts Richard Brown, MD and Patricia Gerbarg, MD report in Current Psychiatry that deep breathing techniques can relieve trauma symptoms. Additionally, breathing deep into the lungs pumps the lymphatic system, removes carbon dioxide buildup and increases life-sustaining oxygen in the blood.
Just the simple act of allowing yourself to breathe deeply, and letting go of all your stress, will bring profound changes to your body, your mind and your spirit. For many, attending workshops and retreats on breathing exercises and lifestyle modifications will give them the support and training they need to shift into healthier breathing patterns.
The benefits of deep breathing, calmness, strength and joy, are just a breath away.
Cheryl Lynne and her husband, Donald, are building a synergistic community of practitioners working, with every breath, to effect global change. www.BreatheStrong.org