Deep Breathing: An Easy Way To Improve Your Life

Deep breathing helps us calm our nerves, reduce stress and reduce anxiety. Breathing well to live better is a cornerstone of physical and mental well-being that can regain our attention between the urgency and the pressure we live with. At the same time, what is just as interesting is that  this type of breathing allows us to connect with ourselves much better, with our basic necessities…

There are many cultures that see the breathing process as more than just a – seemingly – involuntary act that keeps us alive and that we hardly need to pay attention to. Many of us are part of the hyperventilating world that suddenly, when it feels the need to practice yoga, Mindfulness or Tai Chi, becomes aware that breathing is something much more than just taking in air and pushing it out again.

In the rhythmic process of expansion and contraction, the breath also represents the constant duality of nature, like day and night, like being awake and sleeping, like the calm and the storm, spring and winter… It is a cycle that has an order and a time, an inner music and incredible benefits if done well.

The majority of us breathe quickly and superficially, so that the capacity of our lungs is unused, since they barely expand. We usually breathe 17 or 18 times a minute. But when we get anxiety or stress, this breathing rate picks up, and can even reach 30 breaths per minute. It’s a risk. It’s like living with the sword of Damocles over our heads, like generating a progressive imbalance that affects our blood pressure, our immune system and our muscles, and our minds.

Yet, something as simple as “breathing deeply” and doing so with control generates a holistic benefit, balances multiple processes, and provides a way out of many of the  negative emotions  that plague us day in and day out.

So what if we learn to breathe well to live better?

Deep, slow and conscious breathing

It is a very interesting fact that definitely deserves some attention:  breathing is one of the few bodily functions that we do both voluntarily and involuntarily. This is a wonderful opportunity to control our body, and improve – if we practice this control in a smart way – our quality of life.

Think about how voluntary and conscious breathing can affect how we breathe when we do it automatically. In this way, we improve blood pressure, heart rate, circulation, digestion and many other bodily functions.

Now, it is very possible that some of our readers will wonder if there is scientific evidence that deep breathing is really as positive and beneficial as Eastern cultures say. But there is some evidence, such as that published in the scientific journal Harvard Health, that what is most beneficial to our body is slow breathing.

When we breathe deeply, but still slowly, we get oxygen to really reach our cells and keep the level of blood CO2 from falling. At the same time, it has been shown that the type of breathing that is most beneficial to us is diaphragmatic breathing: this is when we breathe deeply through the nose and fill our lungs until the lower abdomen lifts.

The benefits of deep breathing

At some point in our lives, we have all been told by someone that “it’s going to go well, just take a deep breath.” It is like a formula, like a magic word that, the moment we do it, comforts us, and it is an almost immediate relief that calms the body and reorganizes the mind. This strategy would have many more benefits if we got used to doing this daily so that it becomes a habit.

Here are some of the changes you will see:

• Your cellular metabolism in your body will improve.
• We will be able to better deal with stress and anxiety.
• We would sleep better.
• Our digestive system will work better.

• We will feel less muscle pain and have less headaches and migraines.
• We want to concentrate better on our tasks.
• We will have a better posture and have less back pain.
• We will learn to be more centered on the “here and now”.

Learn to breathe deeply

As we mentioned at the beginning, people tend to breathe around 16 to 17 times a minute. Our goal with deep breathing is to breathe 10 times per minute. Of course, it is not expected that you will be able to do this on the first try, but little by little, day by day, you would be able to achieve this number and thus invest in your well-being.

First, look for a comfortable place to sit where you can straighten your back. Your clothes should be comfortable, so that you can fit around the waist and abdomen without pressure from jeans or belts.

• Put your chest forward, relax your shoulders and let your gaze settle.
• Now, place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach.
• Inhale slowly and deeply for 4 seconds.
• When you do this, you should feel that your hand on your stomach moves much more than your hand on your chest.
• Hold your breath for 5 seconds, and exhale loudly through your mouth for 7 seconds.

Start with this rhythm, and when you are able to maintain this, you can start adjusting the number of seconds for each step until you can achieve an average of 10 breaths per minute. Little by little you will begin to see the benefits of your physical health, as well as a new level of mental clarity that will help you face each day.

You do not have to worry about starting a deep breathing day.