Breath is one of the most important things in life and yet we often take it for granted. I am sure everyone is aware that oxygen is brought into our lungs and then distributed to the rest of our body by breathing. But we never realize the power in breath.
Breath is connected to our emotions and state of mind. When we are stressed or upset our breath become fast and short. When we are calm its slow, long and steady. This is not a coincidence. There is a direct link between our emotional state and breathing patterns. And although breathing in itself is something that is automatic, we can control it. The advice we have all gotten to take a deep breath or count to ten was actually good, sound advice! The counting makes us slow down and as we continue to count we slow our breath. We can try to elongate our breath in times of stress. We can also have our exhalations double the length of our inhalations to slow down our breath and bring calm faster.
As a woman living in a borough of NYC I understand the emphasis we put on looks over breathing. Let's be honest, most women and some men do not breath fully and limit their breath to prevent their stomachs from not looking thin or sleek like those we see or admire in magazines. So instead of breathing fully like our bodies were created to do, we only breathe into our chests. This is called thoracic breathing. It leads to serious problems in old age because we have trained our bodies to restrict our breath and eventually will not be able to talk full breaths even if we wanted. Breath is something we should never constrict or resist. We should at the very least breathe from our bellies like babies do. A practice that can help is taking "full yogic breaths" where the air starts filling the belly then the chest and some of the shoulder area. It helps us to keep that space open and get used to really using all the space given to breathe. Its very good for the body.
In yoga we breathe through the nose.Breathing through the mouth encourages sickness. Our bodies have protection built in but sometimes we forget that. The lovely hairs in our noses are there to act as filters along with the mucous preventing intruding germs from making your body their temporary home. The air is also moistened and warmed the air so it is not as dry going into the lungs. Breathing through our mouths leaves us vulnerable to whatever germs may be flying around looking for a home to infest and start to grow.
These are just a few things to think about when you go about your daily business. Appreciate the greatness of our breath, consider all it does for us, and all the ways we can harness its strength to bring calm and strength to our lives.
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2 comments:
great post Ce. I have real problems with breathing, and catch myself actually holding my breath a lot. What are some strategies or techniques for the common dude to help correct these bad habits?
I actually used to do that a lot. I have been told that in yoga when we hold our breath and close our eyes, it’s to experience the peace of our "true nature". So I would say you need calming things in your life and that is probably why you find yourself doing that unintentionally.
A good strategy is doing breathing exercises. Swami Sivananda said, “You sow an action reap a tendency, sow a tendency reap a habit, sow a habit reap a character” and so on. If you do them fairly regularly they will easily become the way you breathe. If you slip up just try to get back into the groove of your exercises.
I would suggest two types. I would do a basic yogic breath where the breath starts from your abdomen or belly then continues to fill the chest and shoulders. Your abdomen is supposed to fill like a balloon and not be restricted. The other breath I would suggestion is an elongated exhalation. Your exhalation should be twice as long as your inhalation. You are exhaling all the carbon dioxide out and allowing fresh oxygen to fill your lungs. This breath is also very calming and will help you to fulfill the calm you are seeking by holding your breath.
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