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The first breath we take when we are born, is a milestone in everybodies life. For nine months we "breathe" through the placenta but after we are born we are on our own. Our first draw of breath we take, expands our lungs and fills them with oxygen 'til the smallest corner. At this moment in life we know how to breathe right instinctively.

 

Due to negative emotions our breathing can change throughout life. It becomes shallow, rapid and the already used air gets shifted around in the airways which makes that the lungs and bloodvessels don't get enough oxygen.

The main reason for breathing the wrong way is stress. The more hectic the lifestyle and the lesser time there is for resting and relaxing, the greater the risk for a poor breathingtechnique. But also lack of exercise cramps up the breathingmuscles which we need to breathe the right way. When you don't exercise, your lungs don't get stimulated to breathe deep. For a healthy way of breathing it is important that your lungs get 'aired out' every day. Don't forget that when you have a sedentary lifestyle you only use one tenth of your lungcapacity. What a shame about all that potential energy that gets lost!

 

With a shallow breathing pattern the circulation of our tissues and organs is poor, which has a negative effect on the cullular metabolism and our resistance. The wrong way of breathing can even cause that you get ill quicker, suffer from headaches more frequently, makes you get tired faster, has a negative influence on your mood and the ability to think. If you are stuck with a problem, try to go for a walk, it fuels the body up with oxygen and maybe you get a step closer to the solution.

 

Also tight fitting clothes are no help at all for a good breathingpattern. Tight pants or belts make your breathing restless and disorder your circulation and on top of that gives you more chance for stomach- and boweltrouble.

 

For all the smokers we have a little test (of course non smokers can try it too). Light a candle and sit about 80 centimeters away from it. Now try and blow out the candle in one go. A smoker will have to put in a lot of force to blow the candle out, non smokers shouldn't have any trouble with it at all.

The more you smoke, the more difficult your breathing. The lungmovement isn't complete, so more air will stay in your lungs by exhaling. If you can't blow out the candle, a good exercise to train your lungs is to take a straw in your mouth and breathe in as deep as possible through the straw and then breathe out slowly through your nose. Repeat the exercise three times a day.

 

Use your nose! The chinese philosopher Lao Tse said: 'deep and full breathing through the nose keeps illnesses and diseases at a distance and raises your ability to achieve'. It might take some time to get used to, but breathing through the nose instead of the mouth is very important. The small hairs in your nose work as a filter, which cleans the inhaled air from bacteria, germs and dustparticles. On top of that you inhale deeper, more evenly and slower which gives you a relaxed feeling. Recent studies even showed that nosebreathing can decrease ear-, nose- and throat problems by half.

 

Most people breathe with the chest. The shoulders are lifted up and the stomach moves in. This way of breathing gives you very rare turn over of oxygen because the breathing is so shallow. Then how to do it right?

 

Best way to breathe is the abdominal way. Before we start the practical exercise keep these 3 pointers in mind:

So let's give this abdominal breathing a try with a small exercise! 

This exercise can be done laying down, seated or standing up, but best is to start of laying down so you can be completely relaxed. Put on some loose clothes and lay down on a comfortable, soft and level place.

Put a book on your belly (you can choose the heaviness of the literature) and try to move the book by alternatively moving in and out your belly. If you got this we can start on the real work.
Breath in through our nose (if your nose is blocked you can use your mouth) and let the book rise up so you have to push your belly out.

Hold your breath for a few seconds.

Breathe out through the mouth and let the book descend so the belly has to be tucked in again.

 

Repeat this exercise 3x in a row. Once you get used to the feeling you don't need the book anymore, you can put your hand on your belly and follow the movements that way. After the first exercises you should start to feel more relaxed, and who knows, maybe it can even help to lower your bloodpressure or get rid of the tiredness and stress. The abdominal way of breathing gently massages your abdominal organs, so even can improve bowelproblems.

 

Have fun and breathe in the healthy life!