Faith Hill had it right when she said, “just breathe” in her popular song. Breathing is the third article in our Lent series. Think about practicing your breathing this week.
Breathing is truly the elixir of life. How many of us breathe correctly? Taber’s Medical Dictionary lists 15 types of breathing! Does this make you catch your breath?
We take breathing for granted – indeed, our bodies are wired that way – we breathe automatically. Think about breathing. When we inhale, we take life-giving, nourishing, cleansing oxygen to all of our cells so they can do their jobs – keeping us moving and living. When we exhale, we release toxins and the by-products not needed by our cells. It’s good to breathe slowly and fully.
However, when we are stressed, or our day is hectic, we begin to breathe shallowly. This is our body’s way of conserving energy it needs to combat the stress and deal with it. However, if our days are all filled with stress, shallow breathing can become the norm. And this doesn’t allow for deep, nourishing, cleansing breathing that helps us function our best!
Two of my favorite ways to practice breathing are described below. I say practice because it does take practice. Start today!
- Yoga breathing.
This technique was taught to me by my favorite yoga instructor, Kellie Munns. It feels so good and takes very little time to learn. I like to do it first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
- Sit or lay quietly, and breathe, filling your lungs.
- Feel them e-x-p-a-n-d. Even visualize them filling with air.
- Next, breathe into your belly, making it expand as full as possible, and then exhale. Visualize this again if that helps.
- Lastly, take a deep breath filling your lungs and your belly, and then fully, fully, fully exhale.
- Repeat a second or even a third time, and you’re done! You’ll feel full of it ?.
- Five-Five-Five breath.
This is the technique I use with my clients as an easy and effective way to breathe any time of day.
- You simply inhale deeply for a count of 5.
- Hold this breath for a count of 5.
- Exhale – fully – for a count of 5.
- Repeat three times.
This breathing exercise should and can be done three times a day. I like to do it when I’m driving in traffic, or running late, or in a stressful meeting. It helps calm me down.
Breathing properly will help you feel energized – better than a cup of coffee in the afternoon. It will help you to reduce your stressed state, will keep your blood pressure even, help keep your blood vessels clear, and will absolutely increase your vitality! Give it a try today! If you need assistance, take a deep breath and give us a call.
To Your Vitality