Breathe More-Stress less!
Stop.
Have you taken a minute to really breathe today? Probably not because most of us don’t actually deep breathe at all, but we should!
Thank goodness our bodies do this breathing “thing” for us naturally or many of us would literally keel over!
But we need to “deep” breathe more. We need to take the time to really breathe. You might be wondering: “Seriously? Is she suggesting that I might need to work on my breathing now too?” Like most things: there are always room for improvement!
Whenever I talk to people about deep breathing or meditating, I’m often met with:
-“Seems like a waste of time.”
-“I don’t like doing that. Not that I have ever really tried, but I don’t think that’s for me.”
-“I am not that kind of a person who does all that kind of stuff.”
Seriously? Truly amazing when you actually think about it. People just don’t like to sit and breathe because they feel like it’s a waste of time. It’s not…it’s really not.
Deep breathing is different than chest breathing. Think about a baby. When you watch a baby sleep you can observe the rise and fall of the abdomen. That’s deep breathing. For most of us, when we’re engaged in our everyday breathing, we’re just breathing using the upper half or top third of our lungs. Chest breathing. And even when you take a deep breath in, your chest is rising, but your abdomen is not moving at all.
So why is deep breathing so important? Deep breathing helps to lower blood pressure and stress in a big way. Here are some other things it can help with:
-Gastrointestinal (GI) conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) by lowering levels of stress
-Mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as sleep disorders like insomnia, by lowering stress and promoting relaxation
-Pelvic floor problems such as overactive bladder, by lowering perceived stress.
-Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) Improves air circulation and quality of life with COPD and helps with hyperventilation, lung function, and quality of life in mild to moderate asthma.
-Skin conditions including eczema (atopic dermatitis), possibly by reducing inflammation and psoriasis flares.
-Autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus by promoting heart rate variability.
Neurological conditions like Parkinson’s disease, which can cause dysphagia and breathing issues at advanced stages.
Hot flashes, which are associated with rapid heart rate, and other potentially stressful symptoms of perimenopause.
-High blood sugar levels and oxidative stress, which can contribute to disease progression in type 2 diabetes.
-Recovery from COVID-19 because it can help boost lung capacity, improve diaphragm function, and lessen stress levels associated with the novel coronavirus.
If you have read this article to this point, then why not give deep breathing a try???
Here’s how to do it:
Sit or lie down-just be comfortable. Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Take a big breath in through your nose and hold it for three seconds at the top of the breath. Now exhale through your mouth, breathing out for a long exhale of 6 seconds, feeling your belly expand against your hand-don’t worry (no one is watching!) Repeat this three times.
I often suggest deep breathing to people right before they sit down to eat. Obviously this isn’t always something we can comfortably do if we are out in public. But even taking a few breaths prior to a meal has an incredible impact to calm, center, and soothe so that we can really enjoy our food; to eat more slowly and mindfully too.
Give it a try!