Just Breathe

Breathing should be a natural thing we do the moment we are free of the birth cannel. There is a right and a wrong way to breathe. Somewhere along my path I began taking shallow breaths and at times even holding my breath. I know I am not the only one who has this problem, but now that I am conscious of it I need to take steps to end the habit.

I did a little research on the subject and would like to share what I found. First from the website of Dr. Weil I found a couple of simple techniques that I liked. They can be done anywhere and nobody needs to know you are doing them. Practice makes perfect!

Exercise #1 (4-7-8)
Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper teeth and keep it there through the entire exercise. You will be exhaling through your mouth and around your tongue.
Exhale completely through your mouth.
Close your mouth and inhale through your nose to a mental count of 4.
Hold your breath for a count of 7.
Exhale through your mouth for a count of 8.
Now repeat the sequence three more times.

Exercise #2 (breath counting)
Gently close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
Breathe naturally, quiet and slow, count one to yourself as you exhale,
The next time you exhale count two and so on to five.
Then begin a new cycle.
Try to do this exercise for 10 minutes.

A fun exercise from a friend was “take three breaths, say something nice about yourself, smile, take another breath”. You can just keep going until you run out of nice things to say about yourself.

Of course, one of the most suggested is deep breathing for several minutes, focusing on your breath and letting other thoughts simply drop away. A little harder to do for those who have difficulty relaxing. Again practice makes perfect.

Another friend shared this wonderful quote from yoga master, Krishnamacharya:
“Inhale and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation and God remains with you. Exhale and you approach God. Hold the exhalation and surrender to God.”

I also found this appropriate piece written by Leo Babauta:
Breathe.

Breathing can transform your life.

If you feel stressed out and overwhelmed, breathe. It will calm you and release the tensions.

If you are worried about something coming up, or caught up in something that already happened, breathe. It will bring you back to the present.

If you are discouraged and have forgotten your purpose in life, breathe. It will remind you about how precious life is, and that each breath in this life is a gift you need to appreciate. Make the most of this gift.

If you have too many tasks to do, or are scattered during your workday, breathe. It will bring you into focus, to concentrate on the most important task you need to be focusing on right now.

If you are spending time with someone you love, breathe. It will allow you to be present with that person, rather than thinking about work or other things you need to do.

If you are exercising, breathe. It will help you enjoy the exercise, and therefore stick with it longer.

If you are moving too fast, breathe. It will remind you to slow down and enjoy life more.

So breathe. And enjoy each moment of this life. They’re too fleeting and few to waste.


Ending this post is a quote from the book The Road, by Cormac Mc Carthy
“The breath of God was his breath, yet though it pass from man to man through all time.”