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ENERGY An increased inflow of air into the lungs brings vitalizing energy into the body. If your energy is depleted or if your energy level is fine but you need a new surge, you don’t need artificial stimulants like caffeine. Natural breathing methods as indicated in this article that can be used to bring on this increased energy need. Let us assume you are a hard working businesswoman. You have an important report. The project must be completed in four hours to meet the deadline. You are exhausted. In the remaining time you need all your intelligence and alertness to complete the project summary. There are excellent chances that your energy will be renewed quickly by doing one or more breathing techniques. Now imagine you are hiking up a steep trail. You are getting out of breath. You can charge up your entire system easily as you continue walking by either short exhalations or long ones. Doing this is awesome for energy in climbing hills and mountains, bicycling, rowing, and kayaking. For those who know from yoga, the panting breath (khapalabati) is an effective tool to bring in quick revitalizing energy. LONGEVITY Many years ago, when I was immersed in practicing and teaching yoga, I was impressed by two anecdotal beliefs from India and China about the relationship of breathing and longevity. Although I had no research to support these ideas, my instincts lead me to believe there was truth to it. One was that animals that breathe rapidly have a much shorter life span than those that breathe more slowly. Among the rapidly breathing animals that had the shorter life span were rabbits, cats, and dogs. The animals that breathed slowly like the elephant, dinosaur, and giraffe lived much longer. The second was that humans are allotted at birth a certain number of breaths in a lifetime. The faster breathing individual will run out of his allotted breaths sooner than the slower breathing individual and thereof die sooner. It is like having a bank savings account with breaths rather than money. Those that more frequently withdraw their money from the bank will deplete assets sooner. In ancient China there is a saying: “Breathe long, live long.” The relationship between breathing, posture, and longevity is another interesting phenomenon. Some time ago I read about mountain people in the Caucasian mountains in Russia who are known for their longevity. It is not just their excellent diet and outdoor living in clean air. It had to do with the nature of their work. They carry goods and supplies on their heads and shoulders as they move up and down the mountain trails, which is obviously great exercise. But, according to the author, it was not the exercise aspect of their work that led to their extraordinary life span but the straight posture that was required to balance the supplies on their heads and shoulders. His theory was that it was the deep breathing due to erect body alignment that led to their longevity! Indeed, more times in life spent slowing down mind and body through breathing slower will add to longevity. And you will have more fun too. As the Simon & Garfunkel song goes: “Slow down, you move too fast, gonna make the morning last.” WRONG AND RIGHT WAY TO BREATHE Shallow and rapid breathing is the wrong way to breathe. Moving predominantly from the chest rather than allowing the diaphragm muscles to work the lungs and expand the whole front torso is inefficient breathing. Chest breathing empties only a tiny part of the existing air from the lungs, preventing new fresh air to enter. If I ask someone to take a deep breath, they will most likely start by taking a quick inhale gulp, lift their shoulders slightly, moving their chest muscles only rather then belly and upper chest muscles, and hold their breath. This is ineffective breathing for three reasons. First, it does not rid the lungs of used air. Second, the shoulders are not connected to the lungs so no air comes into the lungs. Third, it squeezes and contracts the lungs instead of expanding them. Holding the breath is also a wrong way to breathe. Few realize how many times during the day they hold their breath, particularly when under stress. Speaking on the telephone at work, communicating an emotionally charged subject, and before giving a speech are often such times. Holding the breath interrupts the natural rhythm of the breath cycle. It can create undue pressure on the heart, impede the circulatory system, constrict the breathing flow, and tightens the chest muscles. ONE BREATHING EXERCISE AND TWO METHODS Following is one exercise and two methods for the right way to breathe They should be done under the supervision of a qualified teacher or with physician approval before doing them on your own. At the beginning I suggest you do them lying on your back or sitting. The advantage of doing them on the back is that flat surface is good for posture and relaxing the body frame. Later, the methods can also be done standing or walking. EXERCISE: BELLY BREATH This exercise illustrates that abdomen expands rather than contracts on inhalation. This exercise is only for those that need to change your breathing pattern from tucking in the abdomen on inhalation to expanding the abdomen on inhalation. It is surprising how many people pull the abdominal muscles in on inhalation rather than letting the abdomen expand out. I am reminded of a forty five year old registered nurse, whom I met many years ago. She told me how shocked she was when she discovered that she was breathing incorrectly her whole life. She learned this while attending a yoga retreat weekend. She was pulling in her belly on the inhalation instead of the exhalation. She came from a family with a long history of fatal heart disease. She was highly motivated to change her breathing habits to minimize the possibility that this would happen to her. She told me it took her several months of practice before she could totally reverse this lifelong habit of wrong breathing. If you are lying on the back, you might want to bend the legs with feet flat on the floor for comfort or for back health. This position reduces muscular tension required to support your body, particularly back, limbs, and spine. If sitting, maintain a straight relaxed posture. Place one hand on the upper chest area and the other hand on the lower abdomen area just below the navel. Relax your shoulders. Watch your lower abdomen expand as you slowly inhale through your nose. Imagine that the expanding lower abdomen is a balloon that is gradually blowing up. At the same time as you are inhaling, use the upper hand to make sure that the chest is only moving slightly. After inhaling, exhale slowly through the mouth. On the exhalation, imagine the descending abdomen as a balloon gradually deflating. The duration of the time spent in inhalation and exhalation should be basically the same. Once you get into the rhythm, you can remove the hands and continue the breathing cycle for as long as you wish.
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