Why taking a deep breath feels good.
The self healing benefits of deep breathing that you need to know.
- An excerpt from the WISDOM BLOG (blog post September 12th, 2018).
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There are several reasons why taking a single deep breath - or several - are helpful and have proven benefits.
The basic mechanics of controlled breathing include three parts:
(1) inhaling deeply through the nose (aim for a count of four or five) making sure that your abdomen expands, (2) holding the breath for a moment
or two, and (3) exhaling completely through the mouth for a count longer than the inhalation.
Here are the top five reasons why it serves you well to take several conscious deep breaths - whenever you can - and as often as you can.
1. Present moment awareness. When you take a deep breath, your attention returns to the present moment. It's an effective way to reset and refocus your mind in
now. This is helpful for being attentive to what you need (to do) in
this moment, and to gain presence to what is important
now. It's also helpful for being aware and awake - for being able to assess what needs your attention, and for knowing how you feel. A conscious deep breath instantly allows for present moment awareness. It is only the present moment in which you have complete power to choose.
2. Reduce and alleviate anxiety. Deep breaths will signal the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) to be dominant. Your parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for restoring calm and balance in the systems of your body. The body is designed to exist -
to function at its best - in a calm yet alert state (the PNS activated), however when we
interpret situations as stressful, we activate the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The body cannot differentiate between a real physical threat and perceived psychological stress. Thus, a person who constantly worries, who tends to perceive situations as stressful - activates the SNS through their thoughts (and imagination) alone.
Hint....Think: "breathe - reset - calm"
3. Focus your Mind - Improve Your Brain Performance. Any time that you find it difficult to focus attention - take several deep breaths -
mindfully - as a way of increasing your oxygen intake. Breath-focused meditation and yogic breathing practices have numerous known cognitive benefits, including: increased ability to focus, decreased mind wandering, reports of
more positive emotions, and decreased emotional reactivity.
Breathing can change your state of mind.
4. Natural Pain Relief. When you’re anxious or stressed out, you may be prone to holding tension in various parts of your body. In fact, carrying tension in the body is one of the most common causes of mild muscle pain. There are many other reasons you could be experiencing pain. Other causes of body aches include too much physical activity, autoimmune disorder, thyroid issues, and suffering from the flu or the common cold.
Instead of using pain medication, or trying to push through the pain, there is a healthy alternative.
Deep breathing is a natural pain killer and can decrease the amount of pain you’re feeling. This is because breathing deeply releases endorphins in your brain. Endorphins have inflammation fighting capabilities and can decrease the amount of pain felt from inflamed parts of the body. Endorphins like dopamine are also responsible for helping you feel happy in relation to your actions. The autonomic nervous system and dopamine are connected, so when you breath deeply, you activate the parasympathetic side of the autonomic nervous system, which in turn releases dopamine into your brain. *Try the accompanying breath meditation above to experience this for yourself.
5. Helping the Body to Restore and Heal Itself. Deep breathing increases circulation of lymphatic fluid which aids in a healthy lymphatic system and in cleansing your body. Your lymphatic system is a system of vessels that run parallel to your blood vessels, carrying lymph. Lymph fluid is full of white blood cells – these are your immune cells which fight infections and illness. Immune cells travel to all your tissues and literally pick up waste (toxins) from your cells and take that waste out. You want toxins and waste to leave your body. You want your lymph system to detoxify your body; to move. If your lymphatic system moves slow, toxins sit around much longer and damage your cells. This is what causes fatigue, aches, pains, illness and disease. Deep breathing is the switch that triggers your lymph to flow; that aids in the body's ability to detoxify.
“Breathing is regenerative and restorative. It cleans our body of toxins that have built up.”
The simple practice of taking conscious deep breaths helps your body do what it is so intelligently designed to do.
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