Do You Breathe Correctly ?

We all do it ! Everyday , all day but it is often something we take for granted.  Years ago a health advisor told me I was breathing incorrectly and had only used the top 1/3rd of my lung capacity.  I was very bad at the time with Asthma and my anxiety and subsequent panic attacks. He advised me to breathe making sure my stomach would rise and fall each time , this took a while to literally retrain myself to breathe using all of my lungs , I have improved my asthma and especially during mediation have really been able to tame those annoying anxiety and panic attacks to nip them in the bud.
There is so much more to this breathing lark then first meets the eye though…and on further investigation it has limitless capabilities and some rather fancy names for different kinds of breathing …..I wanted to give you a rundown on how it may help you to simply do what we take for granted in a different way !
Why do you Breathe?
Breathing is the way we pull in oxygen and circulate it around the body to simply feed our cells. Each and every one of them . It is also the way we push out carbon dioxide and waste products , clearing out each and every cell. You cannot overdose on deep breathing – the more oxygen you push around your body the better. The more effectively you can clear you body of waste the better.  In eastern practices breathing correctly is the core of many a yoga or tai chi and they say that correct breathing can

• Improve your mood
• Increase your resistance to illness , colds etc
• Aids better sleep
• Feeds the brain
• Calms the nerves
• Lowers heart rate
• Normalises blood pressure
• And helps the effects of aging

Most of us however breathe too shallowly, using only a fraction of the lung.  If you have ever seen a lung you will know what I mean . A lung is enormous !

The Scientific Bit
It’s estimated that when we breath , most of us only take in a glass full of air !  The lung is capable of taking in 3 times this ! The lung is made up of 700 million air sacs – yes 700 million !   Most of them though lay in the lower part of the lung. If we breathe shallowly we never expel the waste and gases in the lower part of the lungs.   I love Chinese beliefs and practice a lot of the flowing of energy around my body ( more on this in later articles ). The qi, chi or prank that runs the energy around your body is done only through deep breathing.  So you are missing out on so much !
Tell us More
So enough on what it can do , how about doing it ?   Fortunately there are many simple techniques to show you how and deeply improve your flow of air . The average person breathes 16 times a minute , I breathe 8 per minute. With asthma !!
Chi Kung – The Abdominal Breath

• Stand with your feet apart , knees slightly bent
• Relax your shoulders
• Imagine a string holding your head up .
• Place your hands gently on your stomach
• Take in a slow steady breath through your nose
• Allow your stomach to rise like a balloon
• Hold the breath gently
• Exhale, very slowly through your mouth until the stomach goes down.

This allows the vital energy to run around your body, getting rid of stale energy and filling your cells with new renewed life.
Do this for a short time several times a day.  You could also imagine as you breathe in a white cleansing light and as you exhale a black smoke that is dispelling all the negative.
 
PRANAYAMA – THE BREATH OF LIFE

• Lie on the floor or the bed and make yourself comfortable
• Bring the soles of your feet together and let your legs spread apart
• Rest your hand along side of you .
• If it feels uncomfortable to suit like this try placing a pillow or cushion under your back or under your knees
• Breathe down into the diaphragm until it rises.
• Breath at your own pace but allow a second or two in between breaths
• Now extend the breath so you can feel it go from your tummy to the top of your chest
• I do this for 10 breathes, count in the in and out
• Repeat the cycle for around 10 times
• Finally bring up your knees and stretch out the legs
• Allow yourself to rest for 5 minutes , if you wish to fall asleep then do so !  

Whenever you can remember to breathe into your tummy. There will be plenty of times a day to try this new breathing technique , eventually it will become the norm.

CAUTION : Anyone with chest issues should not hold their breath without doctors advice.
I wish you well on your new breathing !
Let me know how it goes
Love as always Paula xx