Are You Breathing Correctly?
Breathing is a gift that is given to all of us when we are birthed and when we are born. These days breathing is taken for granted. Many people lead busy lives and although they take breaths they are not breathing. They do not take a moment to relax and breathe. It is funny how the mind can work when busyness takes precedence over self-care. The very thing that keeps us alive takes a backseat because the task at hand becomes more important. I remember sitting in a holistic health and wellness class and the person teaching was talking about breathing. That was the first time in all my 25 years at the time that I took that deep of a breath.
Discovering this breath was similar to when I discovered that there was more than one type of water haha. Sometimes we have a tendency to think that everything is the same and what difference does is make? It makes a huge difference in the quality of life. It makes a huge difference in our mind, body, soul, and spirit connection. Spirit actually comes from the Latin Spiritus, which means breath. Breath means free movement of air. When the breath has freedom to move spirit can flow. When we as people take deep breaths we can be in alignment with our bodies. This induces relaxation.
Restoring and enhancing one’s health through the process of slow breathing was around since the beginning of time. Breathing has been said to help with ailments. Yogic breathing, such as pranayama is an ancient practice of controlled breathing during meditation that helps with spirituality and overall health. Studies have shown that diaphragmatic breathing creates a relaxation response within the body. It promotes mental and physical health. The diaphragm is a large dome-shaped muscle located at the base of the lungs. The abdominal muscles help move the diaphragm and give you more power to empty your lungs. Diaphragmatic breathing has the ability to bring down cortisol levels. When cortisol levels are high, usually due to a stressor, it increases risk for inflammation. When breathing from the diaphragm, the gastrointestinal tract is able to relax, therefore releasing any toxic energy.
This type of breathing is also considered mind-body training because it allows one to deal with stress and psychosomatic conditions. Psychosomatic has to do with the mind and how it processes stress. People who have psychosomatic conditions are dealing with some sort of mental illness, mental stressor, or something that is causing their mind unease or disease. Check out “5 Essential Oils for Anxiety” blog post for ways to relax your mind. Psychological studies show that diaphragmatic breathing to be an effective non-pharmalogical practice that promotes emotional health. You can reduce and relieve emotional exhaustion with this type of breathing. Optimal respiration requires slow movement of the diaphragm. This is an extremely useful technique for people who have asthma.
This brings me to how the physical, emotional, mental, and physical aspects are all tied together. I can recall going to see a nurse at a Naturopath office. I had this cough that would not go away for years. I was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 7 and put on Prednisone and Albuterol. When I went to see the nurse she noticed that I was coughing and she immediately said that it was attached to trauma. This was the first time I had heard how sickness was attached to the emotional state of a person. It was very intriguing. I was also amazed at how accurate she was. I had to look back and see when it started. I started coughing at a young age and had experienced some things at a young age, which I discussed in Episode 105 of the Avi Unfiltered Podcast. Once I discovered where that came from and why it was happening, the cough went away. I was completely amazed. Through observation and in my 4 years of holistic health coaching I have seen that most sickness starts on an emotional level.
Many times when people have asthma, anxiety, anger, etc. the breathing is shortened. The breathing is not the issue. It is the outside stressor that is the issue. Once you deal with the outside stressor, then focus in on your breath, which is spirit the body can relax and go back to its original homeostasis state. The body is designed to relax. Whatever is causing unrest I encourage you to eliminate. The choice is yours, but your overall, holistic health is most important.
Are you breathing correctly? Do you deal with stress? Let me know in the comments!
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