BREATHE: Your way into better health!

Breathing is so natural, we hardly ever think about it. But have you ever wondered why your doctor ask you to take breathe in deep breathe and exhale slowly?...What are they looking for, and why does it feel like this is the first time you really BREATHE?  Well, every part of the body is affected by breathing properly.  And there's a way to do it right and incorrectly

The Importance of Breathing Properly

Dr. Adrew Weil said: "Improper breathing is a common cause of ill health. If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly. There's no single more powerful--or more simple--daily practice to further your health and well-being than breath-work." Dr. Weil, author of "Breathing: The Master Key to Self-Healing," claims that because breathing is a controllable event that can be regulated, it's useful for attaining a relaxed and centered state of mind.

How Breathing Works

Fresh oxygen is exchanged in the lungs for poisonous carbon dioxide. This function is vital to sustain life. Breathing oxygenates every cell in the body, from the vital organs to the brain. Sometimes during pain, anxiety, or during deep thought, people can begin to breathe in a more shallow manner. This allows less oxygen to be exchanged for carbon dioxide, making less oxygen available to vital tissues and organs of the body. According to healthdiscovery.com, without enough oxygen, the body becomes susceptible to health problems.

How Breathing Affects our Bodies

Dr. Edward Steiner of Disabled World says that "our breath is quite literally our life force. Oxygen feeds every part of the body. Breathing deeply and slowly will relax you, while instantly sending powerful doses of oxygen to the brain and every single cell of the body." Disabledworld.com explains how deep breathing raises blood oxygen levels stimulating the digestive system, improving fitness and mental performance. According to healthdiscovery.com, without enough oxygen, the body becomes susceptible to health problems.

How to Deep Breathe

Dr. Steiner suggests that anytime you're tired or fatigued, stop. Take 10 slow, deep breaths, breaths that go the pit or bottom of your stomach. This extends the lungs beyond the rib cage, filling the larger portions of the lungs. When the lungs are filled fully, more oxygen is available to the body.

Three Breathing Exercises

Dr. Weil suggests three breathing exercises. The stimulating breath is taking several quick breaths in a row through your nose. Don't do this for more than 15 seconds. For the relaxing breath (4-7-8) exercise, exhale through your mouth, close the mouth, inhale through the nose to a count of 4, hold the breath for a count of 7, and exhale through the mouth for a count of 8. This is one breath cycle. His final exercise is breath counting. Count "one" to yourself as you exhale, "two" on the following exhale, "three" on the next exhale, and so on up to five. Never count past five. To begin a new cycle, start at one again.

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