Breathing can make great impacts to your health and happiness.
Many of us actually do shallow breathing, rather than deep breathing. So which group do you belong?
To find out if you're a shallow breather, try
Zi's simple test: Put your palms against your lower abdomen and blow out all the air. Now, take a big breath. If your abdomen expands when you inhale and air seems to flow in deeply to the pit of your stomach, you're on the right track to happier and healthier life.
Oxygen is fuel for your body as is food. Since there are no calories in oxygen, you can breathe in all you want for as long as you want and still no calories! The extra oxygen you take in will cause the chemical reactions in your body to take place much faster, thus, you burn more calories than you take in. This in turn speeds up your metabolism and makes you burn more fat and so helps detox your body. Deep Breathing can also be a quick and easy stress reliever.
In short, deep breathing raises levels of blood oxygen, promoting health in many ways — from stimulating the digestive process to improving fitness and mental performance. . . Remember, you are breathing right now. Every day, you have 20,000 opportunities to transform how you breathe and enhance your health and well-being.
Directions: Try this exercise sitting, standing and lying down.
1. Exhale deeply, contracting the belly.
2. Inhale slowly as you expand the abdomen.
3. Continue inhaling as you expand the chest.
4. Continue inhaling as you raise the shoulders up towards your ears.
5. Hold for a few comfortable seconds
6. Exhale in reverse pattern, slowly. Release shoulders, relax chest, contract the belly.
7. Repeat.
This exercise will require gentle practice to produce smooth and balanced inhalation and exhalation. Beginners should only do it 2 or 3 times continuously.
By Marianne Ross, Ph.D.So Are You Trying Now?? :P
