How Are You Breathing?
By: Anna Coy Dalton
Breathing Test. Take a moment, close your
eyes and breathe. How Are You Breathing? Ask
yourself, How Do I Breathe?
Is your breath shallow, quick or short and
do you get enough air? Are you using your
lips and blowing out as you exhale? Is there
tension being created in your face, neck or
shoulders? Where does it go in your body?
Where does it not go? What does it feel like
when you breathe? Does it stop between your
inhale and exhale? Is it strong, bold,
taking as much in as you deserve, it
effortless and easy? Is your body expanding
from your tailbone up to your sinus
cavities?
Acute observation is how you determine your
breathing patterns. You know how your body
feels when you breathe and you can make
simple corrections to create healthier
patterns.
Your breathing affects every function in the
body. How we breathe is how we live. Your
breathing pattern is an exact map of how you
are living your life.
Breathe Correctly
When we are babies born healthfully, we
breathe correctly. Our bodies have innate
knowledge of how to breathe but over a
lifetime of being told “no,” getting scared,
gasping, holding our breath, sighing,
shallow breathing, pausing between breaths,
having the wind knocked out of us, and so on
we form bad habits that constrict our
breathing ability. We do all this as a
response to cope with our thoughts, fears
and beliefs.
Unfortunately we end up with myriad health
problems, emotional instability, anxiety and
excess stress. Then we wonder how it
happened and can’t find the real answers and
we will see every doctor and therapist we
can to help ourselves get back on track.
Shallow Breathing, Oxygen Deprivation
When a person experiences shallow quick
breaths, the body cannot receive the
necessary oxygen to perform even simple
tasks. It cannot bring enough oxygen to the
brain and cells for proper functioning.
There are four sections of your respiratory
system and if your breathing is compromised
in any one of these areas, you will
experience illness of one kind or another.
If a car thrives on gasoline and runs on
minimal fumes it breaks down quickly as does
our body.
You can easily change an old pattern by
giving the body a new one. It will take a
little time and patience as your muscles get
used to the new way of breathing. The first
time you practice Whole-Body Breathing™ you
will have an immediate response. Your body
will feel it and make the connection that
deep breathing helps you feel relaxed. Then
your body will naturally want to do it again
and again.
What if breathing easier really can make a
difference in how you are living your life?
Take a breath, how inflated can your lower
abdomen get? Are you gently widening all the
muscles so the diaphragm and lower lobes of
the lungs can fully expand downward? This is
where your health comes into play, as you
breathe toward this area, the body is
receiving oxygen, cleansing the blood,
bringing vitality, aiding digestion,
metabolism, and the endocrine system. The
cells in your body requires oxygen to
function and when the cell does not get
oxygen it is operational but may be
re-circulating toxins. How long do you think
a car can operate on toxic fumes? Same with
the human body it will break down
system-by-system if it does not have its
most important fuel.
Symptoms of shallow breathing and
Breathing problems
Symptoms to look for are:
Fatigue, headaches, shortness of breath,
taking catch up breaths, lack of
concentration, poor digestion, cold hands
and feet, depression, sore neck and
shoulders, high blood pressure, lack of
enthusiasm about life and in extreme cases,
asthma and emphysema, attention deficit
disorder (ADD). The list is long and all of
this might be occurring due to poor
breathing habits.
Oxygen deprivation makes the body switch
over to anaerobic metabolism, producing
tissue acidosis, which can be painful and
perhaps more effective breathing is a key to
finding help for muscle tension, arthritis
and Fibromyalgia.
"The practice of Whole Body Breathing
catapulted me from healing to curing
Fibromyalgia...and I experienced the most
profound state of bliss in the process." M.G.
When you begin to breathe properly your
health improves, your attitude toward living
improves and you have more energy to do the
things you enjoy.
Try this simple exercise. Deep
diaphragmatic Breathing:
Lay down flat on your back or with your
knees supported by a pillow and put one hand
on your lower abdomen, the area between your
pubic bone and your navel. This is the first
section of your torso that should expand and
deflate during a correct deep breath.
Imagine there is a balloon expanding inside
you in that lower abdominal area as you
inhale it inflates effortlessly. As you
begin to let go of the breath (without
pursing your lips) the lower abdomen
deflates and the oxygen to blood gas
exchange occuring in the lower lobes of the
lungs just brought fresh clean oxygen into
your bloodstream. It is that easy. Practice
that for a few days in a row and see if your
energy increases.
Watch for the next article coming soon to
Inside Costa Rica!
Anna Coy is an internationally renowned
author, motivational speaker, intuitive
counselor and teacher of alignment using
breath as the tool. More info on Anna's
methods can be found at:
www.inspiringyourlife.com or you
can call Anna directly in Costa Rica
at 506 8337 8256 or 303-719-8164 (US).
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