Breathing. If you’re alive, you do it multiple times every minute of every day, but are you doing it well? Breathing is one of the best free wellness techniques there is. It calms us, it helps our digestion, our circulation, and puts us back into rhythm, which serves us in day-to-day life in many ways.
When we are babies, we breathed well naturally. Over time, most of us have developed habits that don’t work as well.
Check out your own breathing. Put one hand on your chest and one on your belly. When you breathe in, which moves? Likely it’s your chest, but it should be your belly.
When we belly breathe, we get all the benefits mentioned above. Retraining ourselves is a process but it can be done.
By nature or habit, I am a shallow breather. I think it my OCD/Type A/ “get it done” mentality (a constant mental battle that is reforming), I short cut the system by not engaging my entire lung capacity. Since becoming aware of this, I have consciously been mindful of my breathing. When I am aware and take belly breaths, I notice a sense a calm and capability that I don’t otherwise naturally have.
So, what do we do if we have bad breathing habits? Gently change them.
When you are aware, work to take a breath that fills your belly and pushes it out. Exhale fully and draw your navel in.
Many rhythms are possible for this, so find one that’s comfortable for you. Some ideas are:
--Breathe in with a count of 5 and exhale for a count of 5.
--Breathe in with a count of 4 and exhale for a count of 6. (Exhalation should be longer than inhalation.)
--Expand that to inhaling with a count of 4 and exhaling with a count of 7 or 8.
Practice this and see what you notice over time. Do you feel calmer? Do you feel more rested? Capable? Not as hurried? You can try this as you’re falling asleep and may discover that it is a perfect sleep aid.
I’d be curious to hear what you notice so please comment or reach out. And, if breathing is a practice you’d like to work on with other wellness practices, I’d be happy to help coach you through more and different techniques. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation where we can talk about how we can work together to help you meet your goals!