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Fitness..
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| CORRECT BREATHING FOR A HEALTHIER LIFE |
In today’s world people are becoming more conscious about what they eat drink. Yet very few think about how
they breathe! If you consider that life starts and ends by and taking a breath, it is obvious that we should fill our
lives with good breathing habits. We need oxygen to function properly and to help discard waste products like
carbon monoxide. In our bodies, every cell uses oxygen for the life processes that take place.
they breathe! If you consider that life starts and ends by and taking a breath, it is obvious that we should fill our
lives with good breathing habits. We need oxygen to function properly and to help discard waste products like
carbon monoxide. In our bodies, every cell uses oxygen for the life processes that take place.
BREATHING AFFECTS THE WHOLE BODY
It affects the nervous system, the heart, the digestive system, muscles, sleep, energy levels, concentration and memory, and
much more. Breathing is also our largest system for waste removal. 70% of the waste products produced in our body are
removed via breathing. 30% are removed via the skin and only 10% via the kidneys and the digestive system. According to
Oriental philosophy, we not only breathe in oxygen but also life energy (Qi or Chi in China, Ki in Japan, Mana in India).
It affects the nervous system, the heart, the digestive system, muscles, sleep, energy levels, concentration and memory, and
much more. Breathing is also our largest system for waste removal. 70% of the waste products produced in our body are
removed via breathing. 30% are removed via the skin and only 10% via the kidneys and the digestive system. According to
Oriental philosophy, we not only breathe in oxygen but also life energy (Qi or Chi in China, Ki in Japan, Mana in India).
MOST PEOPLE USE CHEST-BREATHING
Breathing is easily affected, become restrained or blocked. Our way of breathing is actually one of the first affected by stress and
emotions. According to a resent study in Sweden, 83% of the adult population uses chest breathing i.e. they only use the top
part of the chest. This is a very uneconomical way of breathing as it uses more muscle power than the deeper and more relaxed
abdominal breathing. People that use chest breathing take more breaths per minute and as a consequence receive less oxygen
and get rid of fewer waste products.
Breathing is easily affected, become restrained or blocked. Our way of breathing is actually one of the first affected by stress and
emotions. According to a resent study in Sweden, 83% of the adult population uses chest breathing i.e. they only use the top
part of the chest. This is a very uneconomical way of breathing as it uses more muscle power than the deeper and more relaxed
abdominal breathing. People that use chest breathing take more breaths per minute and as a consequence receive less oxygen
and get rid of fewer waste products.
ABDOMINAL BREATHING - EFFECTIVE BREATHING
Deep and effective breathing reaches all the way down to the abdomen. The abdomen expands forward, to the sides, and also
towards the spine. The breathing movement can be felt all the way down towards the pelvic area and up towards the top of the
lungs. Abdominal breathing has a calming and relaxing effect as we take fewer and more effective breaths. We absorb more
oxygen and release more waste products with each breath. As an added bonus we also aid the digestive system by alternately
squeezing and relaxing the stomach and intestines. By using abdominal breathing we add more life energy to our system.
Deep and effective breathing reaches all the way down to the abdomen. The abdomen expands forward, to the sides, and also
towards the spine. The breathing movement can be felt all the way down towards the pelvic area and up towards the top of the
lungs. Abdominal breathing has a calming and relaxing effect as we take fewer and more effective breaths. We absorb more
oxygen and release more waste products with each breath. As an added bonus we also aid the digestive system by alternately
squeezing and relaxing the stomach and intestines. By using abdominal breathing we add more life energy to our system.
BREATHE STRESS AND DISEASE OUT OF YOUR BODY
Ancient Oriental breathing techniques are given marvellous names like 'Falun Gong' and 'Ki Gong'. But the basic principle is the
same. They all involve 'chi' - your body's energy. A healthy body has a strong flow of chi, but if this energy flow is blocked, that
part of your body loses balance and becomes ill. Through the practise of abdominal breathing, you use simple exercises to guide
this chi to the right places, helping your body heal itself.
Whether or not you go for this idea, Western medical and scientific opinion also recognise the importance of proper breathing.
Shallow breathing is often brought on by stress. In fact, it can make stress even worse, and cause panic attacks. And, it can
make you ill.
Top sports performers are aware of the need to breath out as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as possible, when exercising. Too little
CO2 exhalation is likely to disturb the balance of acidity and alkalinity - known as pH - in their blood. When their lactic acid levels
rise, a complicated reaction takes place that actually keeps their blood cells from delivering oxygen to their muscles, organs, and
brain. This adversely affects muscle action and decision-making, thus reducing performance. Shallow (chest) breathing reduces
the amount of carbon dioxide breathed out per breath (in comparison to abdominal breathing), thus raising blood acidity. In the
longer term this can lead to a variety of health problems.
If you think about it, the air we breathe is a kind of food for our physical and mental well being.
Ancient Oriental breathing techniques are given marvellous names like 'Falun Gong' and 'Ki Gong'. But the basic principle is the
same. They all involve 'chi' - your body's energy. A healthy body has a strong flow of chi, but if this energy flow is blocked, that
part of your body loses balance and becomes ill. Through the practise of abdominal breathing, you use simple exercises to guide
this chi to the right places, helping your body heal itself.
Whether or not you go for this idea, Western medical and scientific opinion also recognise the importance of proper breathing.
Shallow breathing is often brought on by stress. In fact, it can make stress even worse, and cause panic attacks. And, it can
make you ill.
Top sports performers are aware of the need to breath out as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as possible, when exercising. Too little
CO2 exhalation is likely to disturb the balance of acidity and alkalinity - known as pH - in their blood. When their lactic acid levels
rise, a complicated reaction takes place that actually keeps their blood cells from delivering oxygen to their muscles, organs, and
brain. This adversely affects muscle action and decision-making, thus reducing performance. Shallow (chest) breathing reduces
the amount of carbon dioxide breathed out per breath (in comparison to abdominal breathing), thus raising blood acidity. In the
longer term this can lead to a variety of health problems.
If you think about it, the air we breathe is a kind of food for our physical and mental well being.
DON'T USE YOUR CHEST - USE YOUR ABDOMEN
Here’s something you might not have known - your breathing is probably all wrong! When you were young, you may have been
told that ‘stomach in, chest out’, was the best posture for your body. But, as it turns out this may cause you to breathe
incorrectly, which can lead to tiredness, stress, chest pains, and sexual problems.
Oriental practitioners consider that abdominal breathing is like a return to childhood. Abdominal breathing not only makes you
breath as you did when you were a child, it can rejuvenate bodily functions and organs.
A child, unaffected by the habits and defence mechanisms you learn as an adult, breathes naturally. If you ask a young child to lay
down flat you can easily observe how he/she breathes in the rhythmic rise and fall of the abdomen as life energy is absorbed.
Many refer to abdominal breathing as natural breathing and chest breathing as reversed breathing. Abdominal breathing can be
considered as taught by nature; the self learns chest breathing.
Here’s something you might not have known - your breathing is probably all wrong! When you were young, you may have been
told that ‘stomach in, chest out’, was the best posture for your body. But, as it turns out this may cause you to breathe
incorrectly, which can lead to tiredness, stress, chest pains, and sexual problems.
Oriental practitioners consider that abdominal breathing is like a return to childhood. Abdominal breathing not only makes you
breath as you did when you were a child, it can rejuvenate bodily functions and organs.
A child, unaffected by the habits and defence mechanisms you learn as an adult, breathes naturally. If you ask a young child to lay
down flat you can easily observe how he/she breathes in the rhythmic rise and fall of the abdomen as life energy is absorbed.
Many refer to abdominal breathing as natural breathing and chest breathing as reversed breathing. Abdominal breathing can be
considered as taught by nature; the self learns chest breathing.
For some sample breathing exercises
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