Just Breathe
Oxygen is one of the most important nutrients in the human body. It is possible for the body to go months without food and days without water, but only a few precious minutes without oxygen before the body suffocates. Breath really is the source of life, even though we do it naturally and therefore do not give it much thought.
Take a moment and focus on your breathing – you may be surprised at the shallowness of your breath. Learning to breathe deeper and take in more oxygen can have wonderful health benefits. By bringing more oxygen into the body, deep breathing is one of the best ways to get more of the blood’s waste, or carbon dioxide, out of the body.
Deep-breathing techniques are extremely effective in handling depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders. Just take a second and allow yourself to breathe deeply for a few moments. You will immediately notice your heartbeat slows and you will feel significantly more relaxed. When people do not take in enough oxygen and exhale enough carbon dioxide, it can have consequences such as fatigue, mental fog and decreased tissue function. These problems are often thought to be problems with diet, but the brain cannot function properly if it is not receiving an adequate supply of oxygen. Shallow breathing (or chest breathing) causes a constriction of the chest and lung tissue over time, decreasing oxygen flow and delivery to your tissues.
Deep, rhythmic breathing expands the diaphragm muscle, which expands the lung’s air pockets, invoking a relaxation response within the body, and massaging the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system acts sort of like the body’s sewer system. Blood flow carries nutrients and ample amounts of oxygen to the body, while the lymphatic system carries away destructive toxins. The consequence of a sluggish lymphatic system is that you cannot detoxify properly. Deep breathing serves as a kind of pump for the lymphatic system.
If you aren’t breathing deeply or moving regularly, chances are your lymph fluid is not flowing as well as it could. This can lead to health problems, including weight gain, muscle loss, high blood pressure, fatigue, and inflammation. Learning how to breath more deeply and fully is a vital way to keep the body’s cleansing and detoxifying systems working at full capacity. Proper breathing is especially important when working out, because your body uses the oxygen as a source of energy. Shallow breathing when working out can cause a significant reduction in the amount of intensity and time your body can exercise. By taking a few moments in your day to really pay attention to the inhalation and exhalation that supports your life, you will balance and clean the body. Remember, small changes add up to big improvements.
Dr. Andrew Weil suggests this breathing technique for calming, which is detoxifying and alkalizing too.
The 4-7-8 (or Relaxing Breath) Exercise This exercise is utterly simple, takes almost no time, requires no equipment and can be done anywhere. Although you can do the exercise in any position, sit with your back straight while learning the exercise. Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth, and keep it there through the entire exercise. You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue; try pursing your lips slightly if this seems awkward.
- Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
- Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
- Hold your breath for a count of seven.
- Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
- This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.