Do you know how to breathe?
Our breathing technique is extremely important to oxygenate our body and brain in an optimal way. In general we breath about 1000 times an hour, without even thinking about it. Luckily, otherwise we would not be alive or read this on Steemit either ;)
Many of us have a breathing with great potential for improvement. By sometimes focusing on how we breathe, we can have major positive effects on our health.
Some benefits of improving your breathing
- Better sleep
- Less stress and anxiety
- Better concentration and focus
- More energy
Me breathing in central Stockholm, Sweden.
Ways to improve your breathing
Why not try one of these right now? :)
1. Breathe in your nose
It's common to breathe through the mouth. Try to breathe in and out through your nose instead. The nose warms and moisturizes the air, it also filters a lot of bacteria and particles in the air. It's more gentle for the lungs and less risk of getting sick. The hardcore ones may even put a little tape on their mouth before sleep to breathe with the nose, it can be a bit unpleasant but effective ;)
2. Expand your belly and chest
Another common mistake is to suck the stomach in when breathing in or try to hold it in to look thinner. Often unconsciously, which leads to a more shallow breath. Let your breath be deep so that the stomach and chest expands - on the inhale. The deep breath can gives us about ten times more oxygen. Bye bye to the tight jeans and bra!
3. Take it slowly
Slow down your breathing, especially the exhalation. This activates our parasympatic nervous systems which makes us calmer. Breathe rhythmically and calmly.
Two examples
Since I started my education to Stress and Relaxation coach I've become aware of the big potential in our breathing. At Christmas I held a breathing exercise with my family, and my 85 year old grandpa realized that he not even once had reflected over his breathing tecnique. For the first time he could fill his entire lungs with air and let the chest and stomach expand fully.
A 45 year old woman I met realized that she had breathing in an exhausting way her whole life without even knowing that it could feel in other ways. That was why she had such a hard time doing any type of cardio until now.
And this is SO common.
Imagine if we could learn breathing tecnique in school? That's something I want to work for.
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<3 Moa