Breath your way to better health
Why is deep breathing so effective?
Oxygen is the single most important element that moves through our bodies; we simply can’t live without it. And breathing is the means in which we can carry oxygen through our bodies.
Breathing not only supplies our organs with oxygen, it is also an important means of removing waste and toxins from our bodies. Yet, the average person takes an average of 12-20 breaths each minute—which is faster than what’s recommended for optimal health.
There are many different breathing techniques that can increase your health and well-being. If you want to energise your mind and body quickly, there are a few breathing techniques you can learn. If you want to improve your digestion, lower your blood pressure, or settle your anxiety, there are breathing exercises that can help.
With awareness—by practicing conscious breathing, yoga, and meditation—the pace slows down to between four and seven breaths each minute. This means that when we practice being conscious of our breath and when we’re in a relaxed state of mind, our breath will naturally slow down. And when our breath slows, it becomes more nourishing.
I’ve studied a number of different breathwork techniques and I found so many of them helpful for my health and to support relaxation, including Soma and Wim Hof.
Stress management is an important key for improving your health and quality of living, and I believe deep breathing exercises are a foundational principle of managing life’s stresses. Whether you experience negative emotions or physical pain, the body responds in a similar way every time. You may experience a rapid heartbeat, tightening muscles, dilated pupils and perspiration in addition to short, quick breaths.
This is not only an instinctual reaction, but a habit the body has developed over time in response to stressful situations. And any time you feel a twinge of anger or anxiety coming on, the body starts pumping out the juices (namely adrenaline and cortisol) that fuel this response once again.
So, what exactly do deep breathing exercises do for you?
There are many different breathing techniques that can increase your health and well-being. If you want to energise your mind and body quickly, there are a few breathing techniques you can learn. If you want to improve your digestion, lower your blood pressure, or settle your anxiety, there are breathing exercises that can help.
The art of deep breathing is one of the most useful and effective relaxation and stress-control tools that I’ve discovered. When properly done, this simple act of bringing oxygen deep into my lungs, provides an immediate feeling of relaxation similar to what I’ve experienced at the end of a meditation session.
Practice this deep breathing technique whenever you feel yourself getting stressed:
Purse your lips by creating as small a hole as possible in your mouth to breathe through. As you do pursed-lipped breathing, this helps to keep you from breathing too fast.
Take 4 seconds to breathe in through your nose, then take 4-8 seconds to breathe out slowly through pursed lips. Practice this 2 times per day for about 5 minutes.
Imagine you’re blowing through a straw, or trying to blow at a candle just hard enough for the candle to flicker, but not to get extinguished.