don't forget to breathe properly

Don’t Forget to Breathe Properly

Breathing is the most important action that sustains life, right? Then how come 40% of us (if not way more) breathe totally unconsciously? Learning how to breathe properly and consciously has the potential to affect many areas of your life. So please, do this exercise and don’t forget how to breathe properly!

don't forget to breathe properly

A Quick Science Lesson:

Breathing not only fills our lungs with much-needed oxygen but it also cleanses out toxins from our bodies. Moreover, it has a biological effect on our mood (emotional and mental state) and physical being. Conscious breathing effects more evolved areas of our brain, (aka, the cerebral cortex.) From here it sends signals to areas of the brain that affect our emotions, (aka, the hypothalamus.)

Noticing the Effects of Breath

Listen, I’ve learned and gathered a plentiful amount of information about breath and breathing through the practice of yoga but it wasn’t until I started practicing Kundalini yoga that I REALLY felt and deeply grasped the effects it had on my body and brain.  Typically after a yoga class, I leave wanting to change the world! I feel open, strong, and focused. The thing is that in yoga you don’t always focus ONLY on the breath. There are many poses that engage different muscle groups and body parts that must be aligned properly so you spend much time perfecting the pose then you move to your breath. It’s a little bit difficult to balance, especially for beginners. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but you know what I mean.

In Kundalini, the pace is much different. The poses aren’t as involved, therefore leaving much more time for specific breath work. After breathing for 3 minutes, in some poses, I actually feel my lips vibrating from the energy I created within myself. It’s incredible! I leave class feeling not only open, strong, and ready to save the world, but clear, focused, and with a new need to study quantum physics! What?? Yes.

We Don’t Pay Attention to Breathing

Kundalini breathing has really made me realize that we just don’t pay attention to breathing as much as we should. Do you know that they say if you breathe 15 breaths in a minute you can live to be between 75-85?  And if you breathe 10 breaths per minute you can live to be 100? The quicker the breath, the shorter your lifespan will be. The slower the breath, the longer your lifespan will be. That is why dogs live short lives, all they do is pant!

Controlling your breath is very simple. Being conscious of your breath is where it takes a bit more work to create the habit. When you breathe consciously, you are in the PRESENT, which is what we all strive for right? You aren’t living in the past and you aren’t anxious about the future. You are in the RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW part of life. The only part of life!

Breathing Techniques

Here are some breathing techniques to help you start walking up that path to 100!

  1. Sit in a comfortable position with your spine nice and long and your chin slightly tucked back so your ears are over your shoulders. (You can sit in Easy Pose)
  2. Exhale every last drop of breath out of your lungs.
  3. Inhale slowly into your LOWER ABDOMEN, then your UPPER ABDOMEN, and then your CHEST.
  4. Hold it at the top for a few seconds
  5. Exhale from your CHEST, then your UPPER ABDOMEN, and then your LOWER ABDOMEN.
  6. Hold it at the bottom for a few seconds.

YOU DID IT! See? Was that so hard? Now, repeat this as many times as you can.

Train Yourself to Breathe

You must train yourself to breathe like this as frequently as possible. Here are some moments of the day where breath can have a major impact:

  • in the morning when you wake up
  • riding the train to work
  • driving anywhere
  • at work, before you begin your day
  • during work when you need to re-focus
  • when you are feeling a bit tired or sleepy
  • while anxiety is creeping up on you
  • if you become angry
  • when you are over excited

Car Analogy

A great analogy to keep in mind is that our BREATH is the oil that a car needs, the gasoline is the ENERGY created by our breath that flows into and is used by the engine, aka, the MIND. So pay attention to the oil light and change it frequently so you can create the purest gasoline, and your engine will run smooooothly.

Now take a deep breath and get started.

 

Don’t Forget To Breathe Properly