Breathing Exercise

Breathing correctly is not only important for living longer but also to have a good mood and keep performing at your best.

The benefits of deep breathing and why you should make it part of your everyday living.

1. Breathing Detoxifies and Releases Toxins

Your body is designed to release 70% of its toxins through breathing. If you are not breathing effectively, you are not properly ridding your body of its toxins i.e. other systems in your body must work overtime which could eventually lead to illness. When you exhale air from your body you release carbon dioxide that has been passed through from your bloodstream into your lungs. Carbon dioxide is a natural waste of your body's metabolism.

2. Breathing Releases Tension

Think how your body feels when you are tense, angry, scared or stressed. It constricts. Your muscles get tight and your breathing becomes shallow. When your breathing is shallow you are not getting the amount of oxygen that your body needs.

3. Breathing Relaxes the Mind/Body and Brings Clarity

Oxygenation of the brain reducing excessive anxiety levels. Paying attention to your breathing. Breathe slowly, deeply and purposefully into your body. Notice any places that are tight and breathe into them. As you relax your body, you may find that the breathing brings clarity and insights to you as well.

4. Breathing Relieves Emotional Problems

Breathing will help clear uneasy feelings out of your body.

5. Breathing Relieves Pain.

You may not realize its connection to how you think, feel and experience life. For example, what happens to your breathing when you anticipate pain? You probably hold your breath. Yet studies show that breathing into your pain helps to ease it.

6. Breathing Massages Your Organs

The movements of the diaphragm during the deep breathing exercise massages the stomach, small intestine, liver and pancreas. The upper movement of the diaphragm also massages the heart. When you inhale air your diaphragm descends and your abdomen will expand. By this action you massage vital organs and improves circulation in them. Controlled breathing also strengthens and tones your abdominal muscles.

7. Breathing Increases Muscle

Breathing is the oxygenation process to all of the cells in your body. With the supply of oxygen to the brain this increases the muscles in your body.

8. Breathing Strengthens the Immune System

Oxygen travels through your bloodstream by attaching to haemoglobin in your red blood cells. This in turn then enriches your body to metabolise nutrients and vitamins.

9. Breathing Improves Posture

Good breathing techniques over a sustained period of time will encourage good posture. Bad body posture will result of incorrect breathing so this is such an important process by getting your posture right from early on you will see great benefits.

10. Breathing Improves Quality of the Blood

Deep breathing removes all the carbon-dioxide and increases oxygen in the blood and thus increases blood quality.

11. Breathing Increases Digestion and

Assimilation of food

The digestive organs such as the stomach receive more oxygen, and hence operates more efficiently. The digestion is further enhanced by the fact that the food is oxygenated more.

12. Breathing Improves the Nervous System

The brain, spinal cord and nerves receive increased oxygenation and are more nourished. This improves the health of the whole body, since the nervous system communicates to all parts of the body.

13. Breathing Strengthen the Lungs

As you breathe deeply the lung become healthy and powerful, a good insurance against respiratory problems.

14. Proper Breathing makes the Heart Stronger.

Breathing exercises reduce the workload on the heart in two ways. Firstly, deep breathing leads to more efficient lungs, which means more oxygen, is brought into contact with blood sent to the lungs by the heart. So, the heart doesn't have to work as hard to deliver oxygen to the tissues. Secondly, deep breathing leads to a greater pressure differential in the lungs, which leads to an increase in the circulation, thus resting the heart a little.

15. Proper Breathing assists in Weight Control.

If you are overweight, the extra oxygen burns up the excess fat more efficiently. If you are underweight, the extra oxygen feeds the starving tissues and glands.

16. Breathing Boosts Energy levels and Improves Stamina

17. Breathing Improves Cellular Regeneration

18. Breathing Elevates Moods

Breathing increase pleasure-inducing neurochemicals in the brain to elevate moods and combat physical pain

 

Breathing Exercise

Check your stance.

If sitting, push your chair away from the desk or table.

Sit upright with your butt at the back of the chair.

Lean against the back rest of the chair, so that your back is fully supported and your abdomen is open (not scrunched forward).

If standing, lift your ribs so that your shoulders come back in align over your hips with your chin tucked in slightly, and your abdomen open.

Place your hand on your abdomen, so that you can both feel and see your abdomen expand and contract with each inward and outward breath. 

Begin with an outward breath, pulling your abdomen in, and breathe out your mouth, a long breath

Close your mouth, and slowly breathe in through your nose as your abdomen expands to accommodate a full breath in.

There should be no upward or downward movement of your shoulders, which signifies shallow breathing into the top of your lungs.

Repeat the outward breath, pushing your abdomen in and breathing a long slow breath out your mouth.

Close your mouth, and slowly breathe in through your nose as your abdomen expands to accommodate a full breath in.

Repeat 7 – 10 times, at least 3 times daily, preferably in clean, fresh air outside.

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