Just Breathe!
Updated: Oct 10, 2023
Not sure how? Read on... (Scroll to the bottom to have this read by the author.)
Not so ironically, as I sat down to write this blog, I paused, closed my eyes, and took a full, steady breath. I promise I didn't do it for dramatic effect or to make a point. Using my breath to create a steady, safe, and open environment for myself is now simply a natural way of living.
Sure, we all breathe! We must do so within 4-6 minutes, or we cease to exist in this bodily form.
But my question to you is, are you using your breath's full potential?
Let me clarify.
Physical Benefits of Breath
The breath provides us oxygen, which nourishes all the cells in our body, draws out toxins, and then transmutes into CO2, which is then expelled from the body. The breathing process actually eliminates 70% of our toxins, and 90% of the nutrition needed by the body comes from the oxygen we breathe.
All that to say, breath is vital from a biological perspective. But are you using its full potential? More on that soon...
Mental Emotional Benefits of Breathing
Breath is also important from a psychological perspective. It acts as a bridge between the body, mind, and emotions. Every physical, mental, emotional, or contemplative state has a specific breathing pattern.
Here is where we can tap into the breath's full potential.
You can change your physical, mental, and even emotional state by simply changing how you breathe! That is why I automatically took a deep breath before writing this. I wanted to change my state from habitual to being tapped-in, intuitive, and creative.
Just consider this for a moment. You can change your breathing and return to a calm center the next time you feel angry, sad, stuck, or afraid. Try it out for yourself, and if you need support, I am here for you.
You can further explore your breath by observing how breath, thought, and emotion are connected by noticing how you breathe during different emotional states. The breathing pattern linked to feeling calm is slow and steady.
The great thing is the breath is free and portable! You bring it with you everywhere you go!
I recognize that not all of us know how to breathe naturally. I had a client who would stop breathing every time I invited her to breathe. This may have been due to deep trauma in her childhood. I had to be very creative in how I worked with her to restore her breath.
Even after 20 years of observing my breathing patterns, I still notice my breath becoming irregular or disturbed sometimes, even when I am resting.
You see, most of us are born breathing properly. When an infant inhales, they breathe to the bottom of their lungs, filling the lungs to the top, and then exhale from the top to the bottom. Just watch a baby breathe if you have the chance. It's so natural and beautiful!
However, the moment that baby faces a circumstance that feels unsafe or unstable, it changes its breathing pattern by holding its breath or restricting the flow of the breath. For example, maybe you cried as an infant because you were hungry, but your caretaker changed your diaper instead of feeding you. That moment had a biological effect on your body.
Breath restriction begins under stress, and then the body habitually returns to that distorted breathing pattern with each additional stressor until, eventually, we are breathing incorrectly even when we are not stressed.
I know that's wild, but it's true! We are being affected by the very way we are breathing every day.
Here's an interesting story. I was seeing a client for a consultation, and quickly into the session, I asked her, "Are you anxious most of the time for no reason?" I could see her eyes go wide as saucers and a light of being seen and understood shine over her head as she answered, "YES! How did you know?" I told her I could tell by the way she was breathing.
She was amazed and grateful when I told her that with practice, she could change her breathing pattern and thus release the anxiety from her body and go back to being her happy, free self. By the time she finished my cleanse program, she was already breathing more easily and naturally.
Change your breath, change your experience of life!
Specific breathing techniques can decrease depression and anxiety by up to 70%! Breathing also has the added benefits of:
Boosting the immune system
Increasing your energy level & enhancing the libido
Improving digestion
Lowering stress
Increasing mental clarity & creativity
Providing inner calm and peace
Your breath is your actual life force! When you learn to use it properly, you nurture your body, mind, emotions, and soul so your life can flow in the way you want it to.
So, take a moment, yes, right now.
Sit comfortably and tall in your body.
Now, just begin to observe how you are breathing for several breaths without judgment or expectation.
Once you get a feel for how you are breathing, slowly increase the depth of each inhalation and the length of each exhalation. Do not struggle or strain to accomplish this. Just do so to your body's capacity. After taking 3-7 breaths, simply notice how you feel...
The more you practice breathing, the easier it will become to breathe correctly and receive the amazing balancing effects of your precious breath!
Just breathe and watch your life expand!
In Loving Service,
Heather Indu Arena
How are you breathing?
Thank you for reading! You are what inspires me to write. Please like this post, and members, leave a comment to support my mission of getting inspirational and educational materials out to the world.
The Transformative Power of Breath
Are you ready to learn more about the breath and different breathing techniques to restore health, symmetry, balance, and peace?
Click here for details.
Words for the Soul
Words of inspiration and contemplation to help you feel alive and fulfilled physically, mentally, emotionally, & spiritually. Be inspired, and your soul will sing joyfully!
#BeInspired #WordsForTheSoul #Breath #Balance #BreatheEase #MentalClarity #NaturalHealth #BreathTherapy #EmotionalEase
