The Power of Your Breath

Stop what you are doing right now and try this…

Take a long and deep inhale breath through your nose

Hold your breath for 2 counts

Now exhale out your mouth to the full completion of that breath (for about 6 counts)

Pause slightly at the end of your exhale and then slowly inhale again. Repeat three times….

How do you feel?

We have been given the gift of our breath as the most powerful and effective self regulation tool, yet the irony is that we often forget to use our breath and connect with our breath when we need. The mind tends to over analysis and complicates a situation by over thinking, and we forget that a simple tool such as stopping to take a deep breath is the exact thing we need to relax, recharge, reprogram and re-energize  the body and mind.

Breathing is an automatic function of the body- we cannot stop ourselves from breathing, but we can re-program ourselves to breath correctly and more effectively. At birth we breathe naturally and correctly, however over time and as we experience “stress” around us, our breathing pattern changes. Have you noticed that the first thing you do when you get stressed is hold your breath or shallow breath?

Therefore we must re-train ourselves and ensure that each organ and function of the body works at its best. Body awareness or physical intelligence (PQ) is a key factor on our journey towards empowerment and ensuring we are developing our full potential. This includes helping our body function at its optimum potential so that our “great vehicle” delivers us optimum performance.

The lungs have the great job of eliminating the body of Carbon Dioxide and exchanging it for a gas the body needs…oxygen! If we are not breathing correctly- deeply and slowly, this exchange does not follow through effectively and we get a stagnation of blood at the lower part of the lungs which in turn does not help eliminate the toxins the body no longer wants or needs.  Stagnation in the lungs can cause a lack of energy, lack of focus and cloudy thought, depression, and can even create anxiety and irritability. As we inhale and exhale slowly, as well as using our diaphragm and full lungs we cleanse and purify the body with every breath we take.

Although breathing is happening automatically in the body, as we get busy during the day we lose our connection or awareness to our breath. In fact majority of people would not have any conscious awareness of their breathing cycle ever. Without awareness our emotions, thoughts and external surroundings control us. However, when we connect with our breathing and intentionally slow it down we take our control back and regulate our emotions, our reactions, our mood, attitude, energy, will power and so much more.

In fact some key benefits of deep, connected breathing include:

·         Unites the mind and body

·         Distracts the monkey mind and those irritating excessive thoughts. Focusing on your  breath to the mind is like giving a banana to a naughty monkey

·         Helps us connect with the inner self

·         Gives us awareness of lung capacity

·         Allows more oxygen to circulate around the body and brain

·         Slows done brain waves from an active beta brain wave to an alpha wave pattern and even theta and delta states the longer we breath and meditate

·         Calms nervous system

·         Slows down our respiratory rate, helping with heart health

·         Relaxes the body by softening the muscular skeletal system and allowing oxygen to flow evenly through the body

·         Release toxins

·         Alleviate Pain

·         Enhances Immune System

·         Connection to our CHI FLOW (our internal life force)

·         Triggers  the parasympathetic mode in Nervous System which is our rest and digest mode

·         Activates the attention centres in the brain which in turn give us more clarity, more focus, greater communication and self control

·         Teaches mind to focus and be still

·         Allows time for body to heal and rejuvenate

·         Clears negative emotion by altering biochemistry in the body by releasing positive hormones such as endorphins, Oxytocin, melatonin etc.

·         Helps us sleep better which is essential to health and wellbeing

Here are my two favourite simple breathing techniques you can do anywhere and anytime to gain instant calm and by the way (in case you say you don’t have the time) they only take 2 minutes.

Counting your breaths:

This helps the mind focus on the breath and keeps the mind from wandering. This also helps us to consciously slow down our breath and direct the breath to a pace we want it to be. Simply stop and begin to focus on the following breath pattern:

Ø  Inhale for 4 counts, and feel your breath rising up the body

Ø  Hold the breath at the top for 3 counts

Ø  Exhale, slowly & completely for 6 counts

Ø  Hold the breath at the bottom for 2 breaths before you start your next inhale.

Repeat 8 times which will give you a great 2 minute breathing workout or should I say workdown.

Imagine your breath as a bubble:

Bring your awareness to your belly and imagine a small bubble in our belly.  Now imagine a line connecting the belly, the chest, the throat and the nasal passage. As you inhale through your nose pull the bubble up that imaginary line (it looks like a bubble passing through a straw), see and feel the breath moving. As you exhale slowly imagine the bubble slowly moving down the line from the throat to the chest to the belly. Release the belly with each breath and soften the body with each exhale breath.

Before you jump out of bed in the morning stop and do two minutes of deep breathing, do it on your way to work, stop and do some breathing throughout your day, do two minutes in the bath or shower and do before you go to sleep at night. Not only will your deep breathing instantly bring you calm, clarity, and focus…it will also slow down your aging process, a giant turtle takes 3 breaths a minute and they have been known to live to about 250 years. J

 “The most basic, yet possibly the most profound, mindfulness technique for meditation is paying attention to the experience of breathing” Ian Gawler

Check out Peak Performers Do it in the Morning for further ideas on how to start your day energized, focused and connected…

Enjoy!

To your truth and freedom,

Cheryne

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