Breathe In, Breathe Out

Categories: Uncategorized Apr 16, 2014

We live hectic lives. We rush. We target appointments. We race to meet deadlines. We point and click. We zap our food. We are the "Now" society. We want everything done yesterday, and we stress ourselves out if we can't have things done "now."

We live in stressful times, times we ourselves have created. As a result, many of us, most of us, have forgotten how to breathe. We are accessory breathers, or emergency breathers. We don't breathe using our diaphragms. Instead, we use our smaller, less efficient, emergency breathing muscles; the ones in our neck and chest. Breathing with our emergency breathing muscles puts us in "emergency" mode, or fight and flight. In other words, not only do we live in hectic times with all the hectic fires that come with it, we throw gas on those stress induced fires by adding more stress to the situation because we choose to breathe with our emergency breathing muscles.

That may sound confusing. The point is, we potentially add mounds of stress to our lives because we are perpetually living in "fight or flight" mode because we have forgotten how to use our diaphragms. Instead, we breathe up high in our chest. Some people even walk around holding their breath, until they have to breathe...

This extra self-induced stress caused by breathing the wrong way does more than just "stress us out. " It produces physical manifestations as well: forward head carriage, slumped and forward shoulders, poor posture, pot belly, extra weight, high blood pressure, shortness of breath, and other non-desirable things like these. Oh, and anxiety. Many people walk around feeling like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs; always nervous, always agitated.

The whole world could do itself a favor if it would just stop and breathe, with the diaphragm. Not only would people restore their bodies, but they could calm their emotions, slow their world, and take some of the rush out of life.

Breathing is life. It is the first thing you do when you first see the light of the world, and It is the last thing you do before the light fades away. All that happens in between the first breath and the last breath is life. How that life is lived is determined greatly by the way in which you breathe.

For example:
Do you hold your breath a lot at work? Nervousness, anxiety, fear.
Do you breathe up in your neck while working at your computer? Stress, tension, fatigue
Do you breathe with your emergency muscles while you "exercise"? Shortness of breathe, frustration, weakness, depression
Do you breathe in your chest to hide your belly, or appear slim? Fear and deception
OR, do you breathe using your diaphragm? Relaxation, joy, peace, strength, freedom

Perhaps the most important thing you can do for yourself, your health, and your life is to remember how to breathe with your diaphragm. We were all made to live in "rest and digest" mode, to live in the "don't worry, be happy" mode. Really, we were. Returning to our designed way of breathing can restore our bodies: our health, our minds, and our emotions. It can slow the world around us. It can help free us from the stresses that surround us.

Do This:
Lie on the floor, on your back. Bend your knees, place your feet flat on the floor and rest your arms by your side. Now, place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, close your mouth, and breathe in and out. Try to use your diaphragm - try to pull air deep into your belly. Your belly should rise and fall. It should rise before your chest does. Pull air all the way down into your feet, if you can. Do this for 20 breaths, three times a day, every day for one month. This will change you.

Ultimately, you can remember how to use your diaphragm all the time, anytime, and in any situation, without thought. You can restore your natural breathing reflex.

You can remember how to breathe. Then, you will remember how to be.

The above exercise is super simple. So simple you will dismiss it, rush through it, or assume you don't have time for it. There are some things that we cannot point and click our way through. Look at it this way: A steak is best served off the grill, not the microwave. Don't lie to yourself and assume you don't have time to learn how to breathe again. Don't give up after three days because you feel silly, or because you haven't lost ten pounds yet. Discipline yourself and remember how to breathe. It will change your life for the better.

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