Healthy for us

How to Improve Breathing Habits

Regulating the breath:

A significant source of the benefit one receives from practicing the internal arts is from the breath work. The quality of our breath can be directly correlated to our quality of life. Smooth, deep breaths clear the mind and energize the body. As infants we have a natural habit of these deep abdominal breaths. For the vast majority of us this natural way of breathing has been lost be the time we are adults. (Usually well before adulthood) Our air has been relegated to the upper portion of our chest and is bound by the residue of many habitual daily tensions. Oxygen is our fuel, what drives our bodies and minds. When we allow our source of energy to be throttled and compromised we are setting ourselves on a path toward illness and stagnation. While there are many advanced breathing techniques and patterns to be worked, the first and primary goal should be to return to that natural, deep, abdominal breath.


Steps

1. While sitting or standing with the spine straight take a few breaths to relax and settle into your position.
2. Now, place the palm of one hand on your lower abdomen and the other on the small of your back. As you inhale, feel your core pressing out on each palm and relax the perineum (the pelvic floor). Don’t tense any muscles to do so, just let the air push the diaphragm down and expand the lower torso. As you exhale, don’t push the air out. Gradually relax and let the air flow out, drawing the walls of the lower torso in with it. Once this begins to feel natural you can relax the arms and breathe with the use of the palms.
3. Now, begin to stretch the breath and release all of those habits of tension. Inhale for a slow count of four, exhale for a slow count of four.
4. As this becomes comfortable lengthen the count to six, then eight, twelve, etc. There is no limit to how far you can work the breath as long as you are inhaling and exhaling smoothly without pause. Play this breathing pattern for anywhere from five to thirty minutes.


Tips

* At any time that your breathing becomes tense or you want to gasp, relax and breathe however feels comfortable. Once your body is calmed you can come back to the breath work.
* From here one progresses into maintaining this quality of breath while stretching or moving and then throughout the activities of the day. Successfully reintegrating abdominal breathing is the first step. The list of benefits from this practice is lengthy: from reduced stress, enhanced immunity, to less susceptibility to emotional upheaval and several others. There are many different levels one can reach with the breath work. For now though this will suffice. This can be a rewarding and beneficial practice in and of itself.
* It is vital to cultivate a daily practice. Our bodies are in constant use. If we do not take the time to care for them, then we can only expect that they will gradually become worn and run down. Fortunately, we are really quite resilient. Even a small time commitment of half an hour a day will go a long way toward preserving and enhancing our health. A small piece of time solely devoted to doing right by ourselves and our bodies. No excuses. No rationalization about being busy. For the vast majority of us there is no reason not to take this basic self care time. If you are reading this, you are in that majority. We all have our individual priorities. If you want to live your life with vitality and health then a daily practice must become one of them.


Warnings

* If you find yourself becoming persistently light-headed stop your practice session and breath casually for a while before continuing.
* Don't force longer breaths. It is good to play the edge of your comfort zone but forcing the breath causes tension which is counter-productive.





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How to Improve Your Breathing


There are lots of ways that people can improve the way they breathe; this article will go over a few of them.

Steps

1. Install a Carbon Monoxide Detector in your home, if you have any type of natural gas heating or appliances.
2. Use a humidifier in your bedroom, or place a pan of water by your bed.
3. Purchase ( zip-up) pillow cases that are designed to keep tiny dust mites and bed bugs from causing you problems.
4. Keep lots of clean-air plants in your home, such as the Philodendron that are recommended by NASA.
5. Breathe through your nose to assure you that you are getting enough oxygen.
6. Vacuum daily: Using your vacuum cleaner daily will help rid your home of dust mites,and will help clean up pet dandruff and fur, if you have pets. Try using a dust mask to keep your alligeries from acting up and causing poor breathing.
7. Wear a facial mask while using strong household cleaning products. These may cause breathing problems.
8. Use antibacterial wipes on computer keyboards, door knobs, etc., especially if you have a sick family member; colds can lead to serious problems.
9. Spray perfume below the face and neck area, as far away from your face as you can get.


Tips

* Ref. to step # 1: If you are searching the Internet regarding Carbon Monoxide Detector, you can, also, search under Carbon Dioxide...using the word sensor or alarm.
* Ref. to step # 6: You do not have to own an expensive vacuum cleaner in order to keep you breathing better and your home clean. However, it is highly recommended to purchase a package of Hepa filters vacuum cleaning bags, for your vacuum cleaner. Hepa filters come in the standard size and fits most vacuum cleaners. They are sold at Sears Department Stores, or you search at other major department stores.You may want to search on the Internet.
* Ref. to step # 7: Buy a package of Carbon Filter earloop masks, and wear one while doing certain chores. They can be found at Walgreen's Drug Store. They, normally, come in a package that contains 5 masks. They are lab tested to be 98.6% effective on filtering out particles as small as 1 micron or greater.
* Instead of using harsh chemicals to clean with, try using more vinegar and water. Vinegar and water works great on glass. It will also remove mold, but it may take a few tries to succeed; simply put vinegar and water in a spray bottle and spray the mold area.
* Baking soda is a good product to clean with; it works well to freshen kitty litter boxes and garbage cans. Search for stores that sell natural products that aren't harmful for us to use.
* Mostly use a pump hair spray; a small amount of spring water can be added to weaken it. Anything that you can do to imorove your breathing, you should do.
* Ref. to step # 3: The pillow cases that are mentioned are sold at CVS/Pharmacy, and cost around eleven dollars, plus tax. If you do not have a CVS in your area, check for the pillow cases at any major pharmacy.
* Ref. to step # 5: If you are having a hard time breathing through your nose, due to your nose being stuffed up, try using a warm wash cloth on your sinus areas. You can also, hold your face over a steamy sink, with a towel over your head. There is always the shower, turn the hot water faucet on and let it get really steamed up in the bathroom...then close the door, remain in the bathroom for several minutes.
* Ref. to step # 9: A lot of people are allergic to perfume, most likely the alcohol ingredient. Nevertheless, the french vanilla or lilac sprays are great, and come without the alcohol in them...very soft and pleasing scents. Plus, lilac is known to have a calming effect on people.


Warnings

* You should always have smoke detectors in any home; not only are fires bad, but smoke can cause you bad breathing problems. Keep fresh and new batteries in your smoke alarms and make sure that they are in good working condition...it could save your life. You should also try to frequently check and change them if necessary.
* Watch out for people that are burning things in the neighborhood that may possibly contain some type of dangerous chemical...just the smoke alone isn't good for you.
* Do not crank boat motors in your neighborhood, or be around someone that does.
* Do not use faulty lawn equipment, the fumes can be deadly...for it can lead to major breathing problems.
* Keeping your car tuned up, will help to keep you breathing right...especially, keep your exhaust system in good shape.
* Keep all hedges trimmed away from your home, in order to prevent mold from growing on your house...mold can cause very bad problems.
* If you vacuum too much it can actually be harmful. All the dust that settles on the floor is thrown into the air as you vacuum.



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