Breathing Exercises
Learn breathing exercises for better health.
Breathing may seem so natural, yet breathing right can transform your life!
Everyone knows that taking a deep breath is a great way to calm down and cool off when you're feeling angry.
Any woman who has used Lamaze breathing during childbirth is aware that focusing on one's breath provides a favorable distraction from pain. Yet, very few people realize that how you breathe day in and day out plays a key role in triggering or preventing chronic conditions. To name a few:
(a chronic circulatory disorder marked by uncomfortably cold hands and feet).
Breathing Exercises Below.
There are Two Types of Breathers:
There is the Belly Breathers. The abdominal belly breathing is one who takes slow, deep breaths, letting his/her abdomen rise with each inhalation and fall with each exhalation. This is the ideal form of breathing but relatively few adults breathe this way. It is a stress relief breathing.
There is the Chest Breathers. The diaphragmatic chest breathing is one who takes rapid, shallow breaths. This form of breathing causes the body to expel too much carbon dioxide, adversely affecting how the blood carries oxygen to the organs and tissues.
Audio Breathing exercises - Breathing Books and CDs.
Nutrition and Information - Follow this link:
What Kind of Breather are You?
To find out: sit back comfortably and place your left hand on your chest, your right hand over your navel. Breathe normally for one minute. Note the movement of each hand as you inhale and as you exhale.
- If your left hand rises noticeably, of if both hands move more or less simultaneously in a shallow motion: YOU ARE A CHEST BREATHER.
- Being a chest breather does not mean you're going to keel over anytime soon, but eventually, your health will suffer.
Breathing exercises below.
Chest breathing is less effective than belly breathing. Less air reaching the alveoli means that less oxygen gets into the bloodstream with each breath. To get enough oxygen to meet the body's needs, chest breathers must breather more rapidly.
Results may be: Increased high blood pressure, insomnia, anxiety, phobias, Raynaud's syndrome, migraines and for heart patients, angina.
Breathing Exercises
No matter how poor your actual breathing habits may be, it's reassuring to know that each of us was born knowing how to breathe properly. Also, it's quite easy to re-learn correct breathing habits.
Practice Belly Breathing:
AT LEAST TWICE A DAY, for about 4 minutes each time:
Sit
in a comfortable chair with your left hand on your chest, your right
hand on your abdomen.As you inhale, use your lest hand to press lightly
against your chest to help keep it from rising. Allow your right hand to
move outward as air fills your belly.
With each exhalation, slowly
pull your abdomen back in as far as it will go without raising your
chest. With practice, your body will find its won natural rhythm.
Once
you've mastered belly breathing, you're ready to start using breathing
as an instant tool to feel better in all circumstances: A few deep belly
breaths can dissipate anxiety, ward off an impending panic attack or
migraine, restore circulation to cold numb fingers and toes, and help
ease you to sleep if you're experiencing insomnia. Belly breathing
should become second nature.
Bottom line: For those who practice the breathing exercises, results generally take place in about six weeks.
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