We tend to take breathing for granted; we do it unconsciously without thought. However, revisiting breathing and thinking about it puts you in touch with your core self, who you are and what you feel on the deepest level.
Unfortunately, most of us take shallow breaths from our upper chests. When we are stressed, our breath becomes even shallower, limiting the amount of oxygen we take in, making us feel even more tense, short of breath, and anxious. When you focus on breathing deeply, and accessing your diaphragm or abdomen along with your lungs, you are reminded of what it is to be alive, allowing you to get in better touch with other aspects of life.
Benefits of Breathwork
Practicing controlled breathwork has many benefits.
- Helps us restore natural breathing patterns obscured by time and stress
- Encourages deep breathing through the diaphragm and belly rather than from the upper chest
- Reduces tension and relieves stress while it fully oxygenates our bodies
- Aids in digestion by gently massaging the abdominal organs
The chart below provides the difference between shallow and deep breathing.
| Level of Breath | Amount of Air Breathed | Impact on Body |
|---|---|---|
| Chest | About 1 teacup of oxygen | Chest breathing makes your brain create shorter, more restless brain waves. |
| Abdomen / Diaphragm | About 1 quart of oxygen | Abdominal breathing makes your brain create longer, slower brain waves, similar to the ones your brain makes when you are relaxed and calm. |
Basic Deep Breathing
With its focus on full, cleansing breaths powered by the diaphragm, deep breathing can help you get your stress levels in check. The next time you feel uptight, try taking a minute to slow down and breathe deeply. Here is a step by step guide to basic deep breathing:
- Sit comfortably with your back straight. Indian-style is often a position used.
- Put one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
- Breathe in through your nose. The hand on your stomach should rise. The hand on your chest should move very little.
- Exhale through your mouth, pushing out as much air as you can while contracting (bringing into your spine) your abdominal muscles. The hand on your stomach should move in as you exhale, but your other hand should move very little.
- Continue to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to inhale enough so that your lower abdomen rises and falls.
- Count slowly as you exhale.
- To ensure you are controlling your breath and maximizing your lung capacity, start by counting to one on your first inhalation and then count for 1 second on the exhale. Next cycle of breaths count for two seconds for the enhale and then two seconds on the exhale. Work your way up to a 10 second inhale and 10 second exhale.
If you have a hard time breathing from your abdomen sitting up, lie on the floor, put a small book on your stomach, and try to breathe so that the book rises as you inhale and falls as you exhale. Breathing techniques can be practiced almost anywhere and can be combined with other relaxation exercises.
