This simple exercise could add years to your life!
When was the last time you relaxed? No TV, no other noise, just you relaxing and feeling your breath? The way you breathe affects every cell in your body, not only from a physiological point of view because there isn’t enough oxygen getting to your cells but also because of an energetic point of view. You see when you breath in you’re your increasing positive energy into your body and when you breathe out you release negative energy. Emotions can become a physiology in your body and breathing properly can be a way of releasing those emotions.
From a physical point of view when your breath is shallow, short and sharp your diaphragm (muscle under your rib cage) becomes tight, the muscles around your rib cage become tight, these can cause misalignments in the spine and a tight diaphragm can lead to hiatus hernia (when the stomach and oesophagus push into the chest cavity and leads to reflux of food when eating). So much change can occur to the body when you don’t breath properly.
So what to do? Is there such an exercise to learn to breath properly? Yes there is! The lungs, rib cage and diaphragm need to be trained to be able to breath properly, you may not be able to do this at first, and you need to practice! Best of all it only takes 10 minutes a day. As they say practice makes perfect and it’s the same for your breath too. The benefits you get from practicing breathing probably wouldn’t fit on this page but here are a few:
• Relaxes you • Releases tension in the body • Releases pent up emotions in the body • Releases negativity • Energises your body • Oxygenates your body • Stimulates your cells • Stops the aging process • Gets rid of the frustration and worry wrinkles
Practice this breathing technique and notice the changes in your life, become aware of how you breath when you are on the bus, in the car, sitting waiting for an interview, about to do an exam, then remember this breathing technique and implement it there. Your breath is the life force to your body so why would you cheat it!
Exercise
1. Find a relaxing place, a place in the house or outside that is sacred and peaceful to you, lie down and get comfortable, allow your body to relax.
2. First I would like you just notice how you are breathing, is it short and sharp? Is the breath in longer than the breath out? Is your chest expanding or your belly rising?
3. Now I want you to count your breath. As you get use to this you won’t have to count. With your hand on your stomach take a long inhalation. You should feel your stomach expand, if it didn’t then you are breathing into your chest instead of expanding your diaphragm and allowing the air to enter. Keep trying until you can breath into your belly.
4. Now get the flow of breath moving properly. Breath in, stomach out and breath out, stomach in. Once the rhythm has been established then with a slow count to six, breathe in, and likewise with a slow count out breathe out to six. You may find that one is more difficult than the other but eventually as you keep practising both will become easy.
5. Do this every day for 10 minutes. As you breathe out, picture in your minds eye releasing the past emotions and past limiting beliefs about yourself. As you breathe in, breathe in the love and happiness that you now feel about yourself.
