Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Take a Break and Breathe

The Take a Zen Break post included a link about the Science of Breath,  which led me to this week’s post-exploring different breathing techniques and figuring out what works best in what situations.

Breathing is an integral part of healing and it’s been discussed in various forms for thousands of years. If you’ve had experience with natural child birth, yoga, Qigong, relaxation, or meditation, you know that the type of breathing can very and can result in physiological changes that make you feel more relaxed, lessen pain and anxiety considerably, and even lower blood pressure.

Watch this short video on How breathing works


Start off by noticing your breath. Is it shallow or are you breathing deeply from the stomach area? How do you feel?

Try a “ square breathing” technique to relax. For the count of four each, inhale, hold, exhale, hold. Use the chart to remind you. 


For different breathing techniques, check out the following links:

 Breathing: Three Exercises Dr. Andrew Weil provides three types of breathing exercises -Stimulating Breath, 4-7-8 or relaxing breath and Breath Counting. He provides easy to follow descriptions. 


• Years ago, I received a “loon clock,” which “chimes every hour. When I hear that, it’s a good reminder to take a moment and breathe. Just about anything can serve as the reminder to breathe-ringing phone, In our techie age, there are now apps to help us to remember to take a moment and truly breathe. If you need this type of reminder, there are plenty of free ones available on-line such as Mindfulness Bell.


No comments:

Post a Comment