The Importance of Breathing Exercises

“To control the breathing is to control the mind. With different patterns of breathing,
you can fall in love, you can hate someone, you can feel the whole spectrum of feelings
just by changing your breathing”. – Marina Abramovic

Breathing is something that we often take for granted even though oxygen is the
most vital component to keeping your body alive.

There are many benefits to breathing properly such as increased energy, as well
as mental focus and clarity, which is really important in our fast-paced world.

Remember this important fact because it is vital to your health and well-being.

You can go weeks without food. Days without water, but only a few minutes or less
without oxygen.

Breathing exercises are a way to train you mind and lungs to absorb oxygen into the
body.

Relaxation breathing is a simple way to focus your mind while at the same time
achieving a calming feeling within your body. As well as helping to focus your mind,
breathing consciously can also help to reduce anxiety.

It really is a great exercise for anxiety and may even help to get your asthma under
control too.

Proper breathing is a form of relaxation meditation and will not only make you feel
better, but will give you a feeling of self-empowerment.

Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise

My favorite diaphragmatic breathing exercise goes like this:

Breathe in for 4 seconds.

Hold it for 7 seconds

Exhale for 8 seconds.

Do this at least 3 times in a row taking a break in between sets in the beginning, 3
times a day.

You won’t believe how much better that you feel. Also, play around with the number
sequences until you find what is comfortable for you.

I find that sometimes my exhale is a lot longer than my inhale so make sure that you
get out all the bad air.
Another trick is not to force out the exhale but rather gently control it on the way
out.

I prefer to think of it as a way of bringing in good energy by breathing in.

Holding it so that I can absorb all the good energy and then exhaling is my way of
removing accumulated bad energy.

The reason that we need to do breathing exercises is because we live in a fast paced
world that we almost always have to be ready.

When we get stressed or overwhelmed we tend to hold our breath or breath very
shallow.

This causes a lack of oxygen to the body and ultimately to the brain. The results of
shallow breathing is increased stress and fatigue and sometimes panic.

Some benefits of deep breathing exercises would be lowering blood pressure,

soothing heart conditions, and helps with insomnia, depression, anxiety and
abnormally high heart rate.

The best way to learn how to do deep breathing exercises would be to lay down on
the floor on your back.

Place a book on your stomach and as you breath in and out the book should go up
and down. This is known as diaphragmatic breathing.

People who are prone to panic attacks and hyper-ventilation are most likely
breathing in a shallow way.

I recommend in the beginning that you do the breathing exercises first thing in the
morning. Who needs coffee when you have oxygen.

Also breathing exercises causes your metabolism to go up which can help with
keeping those unwanted pounds off of our body.

This is why cardio-exercises are so beneficial for helping us lose weight.

Meditation and yoga are other great ways that allow us to control our breathing so
you may also want to check into these options as well.

The key here is focused and concentrated breathing. Whatever form you choose to
do it in is up to you.

“Practicing regular, mindful breathing can be calming and energizing and can even help
with stress-related health problems ranging from panic attacks to digestive disorders.”
Andrew Weil, M.D