Introduction:
When we think of optimal health we most of the time think about how we can move our bodies more, and how healthy we can eat. While both of those are huge for optimizing our health, but we forget about the most important nutrient of them all, oxygen. You are probably asking yourself how is oxygen the most important nutrient? Think about it like this, you can go up to 2 weeks without food, and 3-4 days without water, but you can only go a few minutes without air. Oxygen is what helps with blood circulation, stress regulation, concentration, and even digestion. In today’s article I will be teaching you all things oxygen and how you can breathe better and apply some amazing breath work techniques to your daily routines.
Shallow breathing
In the corporate world we are faced with tons of unpredictable situations that will keep us in a high stress or in an adrenaline driven state of mind. When we are in a stressed state we begin to shallow breath. What is shallow breathing? It is when you either take in less oxygen over the course of a minute. Why is this bad? Well it causes your body to stay in fight or flight mode, our bodies survival response, to give you context it’s what our ancestors would use to run from a lion or when in danger. 85% of American today will shallow breathe every day. Shallow breathing has also been shown to be linked to sleep apnea. When we don’t breathe properly each day it effects every aspect of our health. Over time it can create immune system issues, chronic illness, and auto-immune disorders.
What does oxygen do for us?
The way we breathe determines our every decision from the beginning of the day. How? When we don’t breathe properly we withhold ourselves from being able to stay relaxed. Within the last ten years we have seen a huge increase in anxiety, depression, & over loads of caffeine consumption. All of these symptoms can be linked back to oxygen deprivation. Just ask yourself this question: Am I breathing when I am sitting at my desk hyper focused on a task, watching a movie on tv that’s intense, or even just standing in line at a grocery store? These are all situations we are faced with daily that we don’t really think about. Understanding what oxygen does for us is step one; once you’ve answered this questions for yourself, then we can begin to learn how to breathe better.
How can we breathe better?
We as humans are designed to breathe entirely through our nose, because it is what helps to filter out the harmful chemicals, regulates our nervous system, controls our senses, and so many other very important functions. Improving the way, we breathe starts with focusing on how we breathe through breathing exercises and meditation. Having a daily practice of these two methods will help you to re-train your body to breathe the proper way.
Meditation has been around for centuries, used as a method to relieve stress. Meditation is not where you just sit there and focus on nothing; its actually one of the best ways to practice nasal breathing. Meditating 2-3 minutes a day has shown to decrease stress, cause you to become more present, improve digestion, & improve sleep quality.
Breathing exercises have come to the surface in recent years. These breathing practices have been used for hundreds of years in different cultures. Breathing can effect so many different functions of the body. A quick example is alternate nasal breathing where you hold one nostril closed and strictly breathe through one side of your nose, depending on the side can determine the outcome. Like the right side will help with creativity, and the left will induce digestion.
Some Breathing exercises you can use today;
Alternate nasal breathing, a technique that improves lung function, lowers heart rate, blood pressure and regulates stress. You start by placing your thumb of your right hand on your nostril and the index finger on the left nostril, now close the left nostril with your index finger and breathe in through the right nostril. At the top of the breath hold both nostrils closed for a moment, then release the right nostril and breathe out slowly. Repeat this for both sides for 1-2 minutes.
Box breathing, is a method that the Navy SEALS use when they are in the midst of battle to stay calm. The way it works is an exercise called the 4 count breathing practice. Where you inhale through your nose for the count of 4, hold that inhale for a count of 4, then exhale through your nose for a count of 4, and hold that exhale for a count of 4 and then repeat for 5 minutes. Doing this has shown to improve stress management, blood circulation, and cognitive function.
4-7-8 breathing, made famous by Dr. Andrew Weil, has shown to help people struggling with anxiety, a racing heart rate, and helps you regulate your breathing. The way this works is you breathe in through your nose for a count of 4, hold the inhale for a count of 7, then release through your mouth for a count of 8.
Book reference: A great book to read that helped me with understanding this concept, and has so many different breathing techniques is, “Breath” By James Nestor.
Link for book: Breath by James Nestor
Summary
As you can see the way we breathe effects so much more than we can even begin to understand. By applying some of these different breathing techniques, practicing meditation, and really beginning to pay attention to the way we breath you can better regulate stress. So begin today by taking a few minutes to practice just one of the methods listed above.
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