How to Breathe for Relaxation and Better Health
by Keith C. Heidorn, PhD
Before doing a simple breathing exercise, spend a few
minutes observing how you breathe.
First, stop reading and just breathe normally and observe what is
happening. Is your belly rising and falling or is the rise and fall
in your upper chest only? Do you feel anything restricting your breathing
-- clothing, posture, emotions? Is your breathing regular and steady
at a rate of 10 to 16 times per minute?
Now get in a comfortable position, either lying down or standing
or sitting in a chair with back straight but relaxed. Watch your breathing
for a few moments. Has it changed?
Next let's take our breathing off auto-pilot and consciously control
it. Take a slow deep breath expanding your lungs fully. You should
be watching your navel area rise upward (or outward if you are sitting
or standing) as far as it can possibly go. Now exhale slowly and imagine
your navel area sinking toward your backbone. Empty out your lungs
completely. Now relax and begin to draw in the next breath. Do this
slowly several times. (Not too fast or you will hyperventilate.)
How does this feel compared to your previous observations? Very
different?
Finally, here is an exercise that you will want to do at least twice
daily. This is a good relaxation initiator, so if you are under stress
during the day, you may want to do it as a relaxation technique. If
you can do it outdoors in the fresh air (not the dirty air around
roads or industry), even better.
First, get comfortable. Now, inhale through your nose to fill your
lungs completely while you count to four. Watch that belly move out
and the lungs expand from the bottom up. Now hold that breath for
a count of seven. When you inhale and are holding your breath, place
the tip of your tongue on the front of the roof of your mouth, just
above your teeth. Now, exhale the air through your mouth to the count
of eight, making a sound as you exhale.
Repeat this four times. If you are not used to taking in a large
volume of air, you may feel a little light-headed. This will pass
with continued performance of the exercise. Increase the number of
repetitions to eight when you feel comfortable with four repetitions.
Good times to do this exercise is in the morning upon rising and
at night before going to bed. In the morning, it is a good energizer
to start the day. Before bed, it helps you relax.
© Keith C. Heidorn, PhD. Reprinted with permission
About the author: Keith C. Heidorn, PhD has
over thirty years of experience in meteorology, climatology, air quality
assessment and education. He is a contributing writer for The Weather
Notebook radio show and the publisher and editor of Living Gently
Quarterly, an electronic magazine promoting a voluntarily simple and
frugal lifestyle.
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