Our breathe drives our body and mind and at the greatest frequency.
How often are we really breathing? And I’m not referring to the 23,000 breaths, on average, we take in a day, but a smooth and conscious inhale and exhale our body needs to allow oxygen to filter through our system. Did you just take a deep breathe? I know you did. That is an astonishing number of breathes each day which gives you many opportunities to feed the body and mind and become healthier. We must realize that our breath goes further than mouth to lungs. If we are only filling the lungs with small, choppy breathes, it will not have enough reserves to filter through the system. So there is a chance you are starving the system of the appropriate amount of oxygen. As a society, we take advantage of our body’s ability to subconsciously breath, which as you know, is a physiological element of sustaining life.
My own experience
I’ve only been more conscious about my breath for about a year now. And I don’t mean that I’ve recognized myself taking a “deep” breath when I’m exhausted, frustrated, in a stressful situation, or even in a peaceful place. I’m referring to taking those relaxed, long breaths on multiple occasions throughout the day. The deep breath that my body subconsciously gave me during that stressful time was feedback that I needed it more. I realized my deep breath should be my normal breath, as often as I can make that happen. As I practiced over the past year, there have been numerous times when I would go for a deep, conscious breath and had an interesting recognition that I was actually “holding” my breath which was obviously a negative sign. Why was I holding my breath? I could have been worried, nervous, angry, stressed, etc. All negative thoughts that are difficult to pinpoint, but the breath released them.
I’ve started my practice in the car to and from training appointments, at the bank, walks to and from the gym(office) or house, etc. As I began incorporating it more, the body naturally began to breath fully at any opportunity it would get. It is now occurring during non stressful times. I’ve also incorporated meditation once a week as an opportunity to conditioning the body on proper breathing.
Does it really matter?
If you’re wondering if it is even worth it to begin this practice, your answer is a strong yes. For me, it’s been the easiest part of my journey to better health and it will be for you. You can do it at any time, anywhere. Working out, food shopping, cooking your meals, etc, etc. takes much energy and time, whereas working on breathing can be done anywhere with little effort. And exceeds great results. All processes of life in nature and in your body need oxygen, we know that, but do we realize to what extent. Are you interested in better skin? More muscle? Less body fat? Quality joints? You name it. Those elements needs enough available oxygen to perform their duties to make those specifications happen. If the airs not there, you could be missing a simple opportunity for better health.