THE POWER OF BREATH

JUST BREATHE! IT CAN DO WONDERS!

Our ability to breathe is one of the most amazing powers we have. Breathing is controlled voluntarily and involuntarily. A breath gives us life and without it, the human body cannot survive. But do you ever think, you must be paying attention to how you breathe?

Breathing properly and our awareness of breathing can have some implications on our health.  Knowing a few particular breathing techniques can help us control our sleep, may also help us in controlling anger, can lower stress, and even control food cravings.

ANTI-ANXIETY:

Your breath is a physical reflection of your mental and emotional state. This slow and rhythmic breath stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which can reduce the heart rate and can relax your mind and your muscles as well. Hence, it can work as an anti-anxiety treatment.

STRESS-RELIEVE:

In stressful situations, we tend to take shallow breaths that limit the diaphragm’s full range of motion. Next time you are feeling stressed, take a deep breath for at least five seconds and repeat it three to four times. You will notice that you are no longer in-flight mode.

IMMUNITY-BOOSTER:

Proper deep breathing expands the lungs, which increases the efficiency in oxygen absorption, lowers cortisol levels, lowers blood pressure, improving the autonomic nervous system, thereby enhancing immune response.

SLEEP AID:

Breathing exercise helps us in sending signals directly to the parasympathetic nervous system that calms down our body. This enables deep and restorative sleep.

SUPPORT TO ALL THE SYSTEMS:

In a person with good lung health, the amount of oxygen in the blood, or the arterial blood gas (ABG) oxygen level, must be somewhere between 95-100 percent oxygen. Breathing properly increases the flow of blood which helps the organs work more efficiently, speeds up your metabolism, and also helps in stabilizing blood sugar levels. It improves oxygen levels in the blood. This improves energy levels and stamina.

MINDFULNESS:

Deep breathing exercises while meditating can help in slowing down and being mindful. This allows you to reconnect with the present and be mindful. It helps us in getting rid of distractions and overthinking.

CONTROL FOOD CRAVINGS:

Mindfulness techniques like visualization and guided imagery have shown to be highly effective for people struggling with food cravings and addiction, slow breathing exercises are also proved to be effective.

IMPROVING MOOD:

Our breath is also an indicator of our mood and our mood is an indicator of our breath. This means that if we change the way we breathe we can change our mood. It also means that our mood changes as our breath changes. Changing the way, we breathe can change our mood.

DO YOU KNOW?

There are some breathing habits that we have, that we may not even know. They are:

• Only breathing into the chest
• Stronger Inhalations than exhalations
• Holding the breath
• Breathing through mouth
• Reverse breathing
• Over-breathing

Breathwork allows you to shift out of your mind and into your body. When you are able to connect to your breath, you will begin to feel a deeper connection to yourself, which initiates the process of self-love.

LOVE YOURSELF AND FIND PEACE WITHIN YOURSELF!