Lets breathe....

I have been practising yoga for over an year now, and its only recently that I have become conscious of my natural breathing and how flawed it is! It has been an absolute revelation! I never realised before, that I held my breath so often and for so many reasons, it seems to be an instinctive reaction, to stress, to pain, to fear, to anxiety, to everything.
When I am holding a yoga pose and it hurts, I tend to hold my breath, till the teacher reminds me to breathe. If my daughter has fever and I am taking her temperature, I cannot breathe till the thermometer beeps. If we are driving and there is a lot of traffic (which is all the time), I tend to hold my breath. Even if I am focussing on something, reading or writing, I hold my breath.
To add to all this breath holding, even the quality of my breathing is not so great. Apart from the times that I have consciously taken deep breaths (when I have been asked to by the doctor during an examination or before writing an exam), I tend to not use my diaphragm while breathing at all. This kind of shallow chest breathing is necessary only in extreme emotional arousal or physical challenge not for everyday stress and anxiety.

It is surprising that we are born with this innate wisdom, to eat only when hungry, to breathe deeply and as we learn the ways of the world, we unlearn all the knowledge that mother nature sent us with. Have you seen babies breathe, full breaths with their bellies expanding and contracting? Thats what I am talking about! I have not seen very many adults breathing like that, but the ones that I have, look calm, peaceful and radiate a distinct aura.

Breathing deeply has many benefits, it allows the body to create more energy by oxygenating our blood, cells and organs. The waste and toxins are eliminated more efficiently, helping the body detoxify. It improves your metabolism, also leading to weight loss. Promotes better and more restful sleep. Also, the more obvious and instant benefits are that it helps us reduce and manage stress and anxiety.
Breathing also has an effect on our digestion, yes everything we do impacts our food! When we breathe deeply, using our diaphragm, the contracting and relaxing of the abdominal muscles provide a massage to our small and large intestines, helping the intestinal muscles do their job efficiently! Additionally, since deep breathing relaxes us, the blood flows to the digestive organs, where its needed, helping digestion (when we are stressed, the blood rushes to the brain and muscles, digestion stops and body is in fight/flight mode).

So lets Breathe...