Deep Breathing: An Easy Way To Improve Your Life

Deep breathing helps us reduce restlessness, stress, and anxiety. Breathing properly to improve the quality of life is the foundation of physical and mental wellbeing that demands our attention between the hustle and bustle and the constant pressure we are under. At the same time, and this is just as interesting, we can use this type of breathing to create a much more intensive connection to ourselves and our basic needs.

In many cultures breathing is much more than this – at least it seems – involuntary act that guarantees our survival and to which we hardly pay any attention. Many of us are part of this hyperventilating world that only becomes aware of the importance of breathing when there is no air or when one becomes curious to practice yoga, mindfulness or tai-chi.

“In every moment I have to remind myself that I have to breathe, that my heart has to keep beating …”

Emily Brontë

This rhythmic process of inhaling and exhaling is one of innumerable cycles in nature, including day and night, activity and rest, sun and rain and the seasons. It’s a cycle that we can control up to a point, which has incredible benefits when we know how to use it to listen to our inner music.

Most of us breathe quickly and shallowly, hardly making use of our lung volume. Physiologically, we breathe about 18 times a minute. But when we are scared or stressed, the breathing rate increases and quickly reaches 30 per minute. This is dangerous. This hyperventilation is like living under the sword of Damocles, while blood pressure, the immune system and even our minds gnaw at the horse’s hair.

That is why something as simple as “taking a deep breath” has many advantages for us, brings a multitude of processes back into balance and represents an outlet for our negative emotions, which make our everyday lives difficult. But how can we learn to breathe properly in order to live better?

A deep but slow breathing

Breathing is one of the few body functions that we can both unconsciously perform and control. This is a great way to take control of our bodies and improve our quality of life.

We must not forget that regular conscious control of breathing can also influence the unconscious process. With the help of daily exercises, you can have a lasting influence on our body, including the cardiovascular system and the digestive tract.

You may well be wondering if there is any scientific evidence that deep breathing is actually as positive and beneficial as we are told. And the answer is yes, there are studies to support it, such as the one recently published in Harvard Health   . In addition, it has also been found that the most appropriate type of breathing is diaphragmatic breathing. During this we breathe in very deeply and inflate our lungs fully, which is reflected in the lifting of the abdomen.

The benefits of deep breathing

Everyone of us has already been told: “Everything will be fine, take a   deep breath .” Deep breathing works like a magic that immediately creates a feeling of well-being within us and leads to relief, whereby the body calms down and the mind organizes. This strategy would have many other advantages if we used it on a daily basis so that it became a habit.

We could then notice the following changes:

• We could deal better with stress and anxiety.
• We’d sleep better.
• We would experience less muscle and back pain, less headaches and migraines.
• Our digestive tract would work better.
• We could concentrate better on our tasks.
• We would learn to live in the here and now.

Learn to take a deep breath

As already mentioned at the beginning, we humans breathe about 18 times per minute. Our goal with deep breathing is to only breathe 10 times per minute. Of course, we won’t achieve this on the first try, but little by little and with each passing day we come a little closer to our goal, which will undoubtedly have a positive effect on our well-being.

And this is how you manage to inhale and exhale deeply in a controlled manner.

First, find a comfortable place to sit upright. You should wear comfortable clothing that does not constrict your abdomen and pelvis, or exert the usual pressure from jeans or belts.

• Raise your chest, relax your shoulders and your gaze.
• Place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
• Inhale slowly and deeply for several seconds.
• When you do this, you should feel the hand on your stomach rise more than the hand on your chest.
• Hold the inhaled air in your lungs for a few seconds and then slowly exhale it.

Start with this rhythm and the more you control it, the better you can adjust the time to only breathe ten times a minute. Little by little you will notice how positive this will affect your physical health and your mental calm, with which you can approach your everyday life better.

Learn to take deep breaths when your emotions overwhelm you

Our feelings are like a compass that guides
us and in most cases moves us to action … >>> More