6 Secrets to How a Deep Breath can Save Your Life and Other Good Stuff
I feel it’s fairly safe to say that many people today have at some point heard that deep breathing is good for you.
And…. as with many things that are “good for us”, for many people, it takes a better understanding of WHY or HOW is it “good for us”, before we will give it a try.
The really good news is that it is SO beneficial to you, you will begin to see so many incredible changes in your life, the day you begin to deep breathe, all for the mere time it takes to remember to do it. Otherwise it costs you nothing!
Here are important points to remember when deep breathing:
1) Sit with your back as upright as it can be, so that your lungs can be filled to capacity. Many times you will deep breathe in your “quiet spot”, many times you will deep breathe within your day to day activities. You will get so good at it!
2) Breathe in thru your nose and out thru your mouth.
3) The exhalation is slower than the inhalation.
4) Hold a full inhalation for several seconds before blowing out. You will feel a good stretch in the bottom of your lungs.
5) Purse your lips & blow out as if you are blowing out candles on a birthday cake, steady, forceful exhale.
6) Begin slowly with 2-3 repetitions, 2-3 times a day. For health enhancement and disease intervention purposes…you can work up to 10-15 repetitions, 10-15 times a day!
7) Initially you will focus on the instructions for the breath, soon you will use your imagination when doing this exercise: Imagine breathing in love, sunshine, warmth, strength, peace, (yes imagine what those feel like), and then exhale every ounce of stress you experience day to day, yelling or fighting with family/kids/spouse, stress of day to day work, housework, the old nasty self talk … release it to somewhere far far away, and no, it never need return again.
So what’s so great about deep breathing? Doesn’t everyone get enough air by regular breathing? Wouldn’t we feel like we’re suffocating, if we weren’t?*
Precisely! When we do not deep breathe daily, there are parts of our bodies, systems and chemical reactions that actually do just that…..suffocate! It doesn’t feel like suffocating, in the sense we know it…..like gasping for air. No. It feels more like…..headache, joint pain, insomnia, muscle spasm, numbness and tingling in our hands or feet, heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome, blurred vision, worsening vision, anxiety, mild depression, mood swings, decreased memory.
*(this is a subject that is debatable in our individual realities, ie. Some of us ARE , in fact, suffocating by stress!)
Secret #1
First, let’s think about the mind body connection, when we deep breathe. Some have called it the link between psychology and physiology. Stress can be released when we practice deep breathing, because it takes our conscious effort, and we can engage the RIGHT nervous system. When we open the back of our throats to bring in a larger volume of air, we stretch the top of our trachea and esophagus. This stimulates that portion of our Vagus nerve that runs along side our throat, down our esophagus and out the hiatus of our diaphragm. Our Vagus Nerve is a direct link to our Parasympathetic Nervous system, the system that calms and relaxes us; It being opposite to the stress nervous system, the Sympathetic nervous System.
The practice of deep breathing takes our minds to a calmer quieter place in our day. You can breathe right through any stressful situation, by CHOICE! Thus a very large portion of feeling joy, inner peace and strength, comes from the management of our breathing.
Who wouldn’t want this benefit?
When you inhale thru your nose…..
Secret #2
You warm the air and activate a chemical known as Nitric Oxide(NO). The added breath hold the end of your inhalation, and subsequent stretch of your alveoli, activates more Nitric Oxide.
Nitric Oxide is an incredibly essential free radical, that serves to dilate your blood vessels, which, in the lungs, enhances the uptake of Oxygen (more oxygen gets through to a more wide open vessel). We’re not getting “more” or “extra” oxygen; we’re just getting the amount of oxygen that our body “expects.”
Secret #3
Vasodilation alone serves us in SO many ways, effecting our cardiovascular, immunologic, and muscular(motor) systems. We need proper vasodilation to get nutrition to our brain, and our muscles & organs, for them to do what they need to do best. Viruses and bacteria have no where to go when our immune system is running on all cylinders, through oxygenation and vasodilation, which enhances immunoglobulin activity.
Blood pressure is kept in balance when there is appropriate vasodilation. NO (nitric oxide) also helps to prevent atherosclerosis, plaque development on our arteries, because it keeps inflammatory processes in check. It prevents excessive platelet stickiness, which is the root cause of fat and cholesterol getting stuck to the inside walls of our arteries.
Our muscles thrive and maintain optimal health as we age with the appropriate blood & oxygen levels, through deep breathing. Shallow breathing leads to early chronic muscle fatigue, contracture, and decreased mobility.
Secret #4
Proper oxygenation has been shown to help burn fat tissue, hence why aerobic exercise is promoted when we want to lose pounds around the midline. Aerobic means using oxygen: The heighten circulating oxygen levels through a daily practice of deep breathing leads to fat burning even at REST!!!
Secret #5
Might I mention that the better the vasodilation, the better our sex lives will be!
Orgasm is directly tied to blood flow, and enhanced oxygenation and vasodilation,
increases pleasure in the bedroom! Um…..thinking that we could eliminate all the other benefits on the merit of that alone….no?
Secret #6
Within our Neurologic system, nitric oxide aids in neurotransmission of hormones like dopamine and serotonin, by helping to increase uptake into the brain. Because it serves the brain cell membranes, it is also been interpreted to be a valuable support for learning, memory, better sleep, and decreased pain reception, as well as anxiety. In addition, deep breathing through the nose, gives our amygdala a shot of NO. The amygdala, our brain’s feeling and emotional response center, is connected to our sinuses. If we practice deep breathing regularly, our brain’s frontal lobe response to bliss and joy will be heightened each and every day. We will be looking for and finding joy and bliss more and more! It would seem obvious to us now, that when we shallow breathe…..as we tend to do every day all day long, we don’t experience the healing power of our breath. Sadly , this is one major reason why we ultimately develop chronic illnesses, and the aforementioned symptoms, as well as a continued loss of joy.
I think this is simply the tip of the iceberg of experience, and, coupled with scientific research, supports the benefits of deep breathing. After reading, it is my hope that you see how deep breathing is “good for you.” Now, the question is, how bad do you want GOOD?!
Let the Six Secrets of the Deep Breath help you regain hold of your health and wellbeing, TODAY!
I encourage you to share with our readers on social media your experience with your new habit of DEEP BREATHING. How is it changing your life?
