BREATHE!
‘I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart: I am, I am, I am.’
~Sylvia Plath
The next simple thing to feel good is to breathe. Along with chronic dehydration so many people don’t really breathe. Be conscious of your breathing. Take deep cleansing breaths as often as possible. Think about what breathing is on a biological level. Moving air in and out of the lungs in order to bring oxygen to all the cells, organs, and blood and to remove carbon dioxide. This is pretty important, right? Being mind-full of your breathing can help with stress reduction. It can bring calmness and energy. A fully oxygenated body will feel healthier and happier than one that is deprived of this essential element. There are many breathing exercises that one can experiment with. Here are three of my favorites!
1. Meditative Counting This practice is often used in Zen Meditation. It is a centering and calming breathing practice. Sit comfortably with your spine straight and your head very slightly bowed. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths, in and out your nose. Allow your breath to flow in and out in a natural way, slow and quiet. On your inhale, count ‘one’ in your mind. Exhale. On you next inhale, count ‘two’ in your mind. Exhale. Continue this pattern up to ‘ten’. If your thoughts wander or if you find yourself counting past ten, just start again at ‘one’. If thoughts come, and they will because the mind is relentless, just notice them and let them go. Start with 5 minutes and work up.
2. Dr. Andrew Weil has a breathing technique that is called 4-7-8 or Relaxing Breathing. It is an easy practice and gives wonderful results! Sit with your spine straight. Place the tip of your tongue against the back of your front teeth, and keep it there for the exercise. Exhale completely through your mouth. You should be making a whooshing sound. Close your mouth and inhale gently through your nose, to a count of four (in your mind or tap your fingers). Hold your breath for a count of seven. Exhale through your mouth, making the whooshing sound for a count of eight. This is one breath. Start again. Do this practice starting with four cycles and slowly work your way up to eight. Remember, the inhales through the nose are quiet and the exhales through your mouth are audible. Keep the tip of your tongue on the back of your front teeth. This breathing technique is very relaxing and can calm a busy mind and nervous system. Try this exercise before you fall asleep and first thing in the morning. If you are feeling stressed during the day, try this breathing exercise instead of reaching for some “thing” to make yourself feel better, like chocolate, coffee, soda, chips, candy, cigarettes, alcohol…Just Breathe! 3. Breath of Fire! This yoga breathing is great for waking up the system and moving toxins out of the lungs. Sit with your spine straight and your hands on your knees. Take a deep inhale through your nose then exhale completely through your mouth. Take another deep inhale and begin your breath of fire by snapping your diaphragm in quickly as you breath out making a loud CH sound. The inhale will come naturally. The breath should be quite quick, about two breaths per second. Your body should be perfectly still, except for your diaphragm. This motion pushes toxins out as you breathe.
Do this for 30 seconds and slowly work your way up to one minute.
Open your windows and doors on a regular basis to move fresh oxygen into the house and let out the stale stagnant air. I open the back door at least a few minutes every morning, depending on how cold it is outside. It makes a difference! Tip: Put up little post-it as a reminder to breath and drink water. Put an alarm or two on your phone to remind you to breathe and drink water. When you have a minute or two, just close your eyes and breathe deeply.
Drink water and breathe deeply. You will feel happier!