"Breathe through It"...The Power Of Your Breath"
“Breath Through It…The Power Of Your Breathe”…
Take a deep breathe…
Hold it…
Now breathe out….
Now that we have established we are all alive and breathing, let's discuss the importance and magic, the gift of what we just did.
From yoga, to sports, to child birth, to an anxiety attack, your breath can control your reaction to anything life throws at you. I have said many times and I will many more. “Your body only knows what your breath is telling it.”
Lets dig into that…
Think about it, let's use speaking in front of a public group for an example.
It's three minutes until you're on. You have rehearsed 100 times, but your mind is going blank! Where are your note cards? Are your pants fastened? Is your shirt tucked in? What was the topic anyway?!?!?!
As you get more nervous, and begin to doubt yourself and your abilities, your breathing automatically speeds up because you are feeling “threatened” by forgetting all of the above.
Your heart rate increases bracing for the “lion or bear” you are getting ready to fight. Your breathing gets shallow and faster in anticipation to the oncoming “threat”…your palms get sweaty…your body is bracing for war.
I’ll say it again, “Your body only knows what your breath is telling it”…
Is it starting to make sense now. Your mind starts overthinking a situation and creates a “threat”.
You start breathing faster, you keep thinking negatively, and breath faster…and so on. Your body reacts accordingly. Your body can’t see that you are only speaking in public and not fighting wild bears.
It only nows that your breath sped up, and sped up again. And became fast and shallow after that. Time for war!
The Navy Seals
The Navy Seals use breathing exercises to control their focus and their bodies through most everything they do.
The one that comes to mind first that they use is box breathing. Inhale through your nose for four seconds, hold for a four count (don't be over dramatic, or create pressure, just hold) exhale for a four count. Do this for 10-20 minutes.
This box breathing is amazing! You can use it to calm down from a tough situation at work, or while training for an endurance obstacle course race.
Remember, your body can’t tell which is which, box breathing is simply calm and steady breathing to your body.
Here is a link to help you start your box breathing practice:
Breath of fire breathing
The breathe of fire exercise is one of the fundamental breathing techniques used in the practice of Kundalini Yoga as well as many other styles of Yoga.
I first learned of this breathing after taking a hot yoga class. I learned it was to help strengthen the lungs, and quickly increase heat in the body.
As if I wasn’t hot enough! (This breathing is done at the end of class).
I have also been to vinyasa classes where we have performed the breath of fire exercise at the end of the class. It fit in both situations.
The breath of fire breathing exercise benefits include purification of the lungs, air passageways, and subtle nerve currents, or nadis.
Here is link for The Breath Of Fire Exercise:
Nasal breathing:
What is nasal breathing you ask?
Let’s find out…
Because the nostrils are smaller than the mouth , air exhaled through the nose creates a back flow of air (and oxygen) into the lungs…Air that we inhale through the nose passes through the nasal mucosa, which stimulates the reflex nerves that control breathing.
Nasal breathing has advantages to mouth breathing.
They include effective and efficient exercise, it allows more oxygen to get to active tissues, the nose adds warmth and moisture to inhaled air for smoother entry to the lungs, and more release of nitric oxide than mouth breathing, which will reduce fatigue and stress.
Here is a link to demonstrate nasal breathing exercises:
Nasal Breathing Exercises Link:
One statement that put breathing in perspective for me. Your body can go three weeks without food, three days without water, but only three minutes without breathing….
Three minutes…
I use the above listed breathing exercises weekly to ensure my lungs are as strong as the rest of my body. I hope you will add them to your exercise routine as well.
Remember…”Your Body Only Knows What Your Breath Is Telling It”…
Heres to your health…
Cheers!
