Breathing for health

Breathing. There's nothing to it, right? You inhale and exhale thousands of times a day without even thinking about it. As it turns out, the way you breath can have a huge impact on your health. If you don't breath correctly, you could be depriving your system of oxygen. The side effects of poor breathing techniques have been linked to cancer, heart disease, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and weight gain. ¹

Breath the Right Way

There are a lot of breathing experts, from athletes to yogis, who claim to have developed the healthiest breathing techniques. However, you don't need a coach. Changing your pattern is a simple as, well, breathing. Once you slow down and become aware of how you breath, it is easy to make changes to make you breath easier and healthier. Try the following techniques.

• Inhale slowly through your nose. Think of breathing from your neck to your navel. A healthy inhale takes about five seconds.
• Exhalation is important. Exhale slowly, through your mouth, emptying your lungs.
• When breathing properly, both chest and stomach will rise and fall simultaneously.
• Use your diaphragm, the sheet of muscle at the top of your abdomen. It draws air into your lungs when you inhale and pushes carbon dioxide out when you exhale.
• Try to breathe slower. While most people have 20 breaths per minute, it is more healthy to have six to eight deep breaths per minute.

Practice these techniques. Soon healthy breathing will be your natural pattern.

References

• 1. Optimal Breathing for Living Life and Loving It, Mike White,

photo by Lo Leia