You might think that breathing is one of those automated tasks that we’re blessed to have without giving it much thought. You’re wrong!
Breathing is crucial for life – as simple as that, but proper breathing ensures a healthy life.
Breathing deeply will slowly relax your mind while fueling your brain and every single cell in the body with the needed oxygen for energy production. Elevated oxygen levels in the blood stimulates the digestive system and improves mental and physical health.
Ancient Indians figured this out a long time ago. One of the main five pillars of yoga is Parayanama, the breathing exercise to control the “prana”, or the vital life energy, by sending enough oxygen to the brain via deep breaths.
With the paths we’re leading in our busy daily life, we tend to refrain from proper forms and environments that help us breath properly. We usually take shallow, fast, stressed out breaths, which lead to more stress that can even cause us to hyperventilate, leading to more stress and panic.
We always hear the word “Breathe!” So why wait till you hear the word? Prepare in advance and practice proper breathing daily. Here’s how.
Relax your shoulders, close your eyes and dissociate your senses from the outer world. Listen to your breaths go in and out.
The first step to proper breathing is breathing through the nose. The nose has built in defense mechanisms to protect your lungs from dust and microbes and has enough blood vessels to warm the air entering your lungs, allowing more oxygen exchange. These things you lose when breathing through the mouth.
Take a deep breath, slowly filling the bottom of your stomach, and feel your diaphragm and lungs widening and filling with air.
Exhale slowly but forcibly through the mouth, getting rid of all the toxins, and visualize your abdomen getting stuck to the back of your spine.
Repeat this deep breathing exercise for ten cycles of inhaling and exhaling daily, or whenever you feel stressed or fatigued. Fuel your body with the vital oxygen it needs and let go of all the toxins and the bad energy through your exhales.
And remember, part of a healthy body is a healthy mind.
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