Posted May 7, 2017 in Debra’s Wellness Tips

Slow Breathing

Debra’s Wellness Tips

Most of us have been told breathing more deeply and slowly is beneficial. Practitioners of yoga have used breathing for relaxation for millennia.

We humans usually breathe fifteen to eighteen times per minute. We may think that we breathe only through the nostrils or lungs, but actually our whole body breathes. When we meditate, the frequency of our breathing can slow down to one to two times per minute. A baby breathes one to two times per minute in the mother’s womb. So when you cultivate your breathing, your breathing rate becomes just about the same as a baby’s in the mother’s womb. (See “What Are We Ignoring About Breathing?”)

While I have written a variety of wellness tips about breathing, according to Maggie Fox of NBC News, science has now identified a small cluster of brain cells deep in the brain that is actually the breathing center.

Proper breathing and posture has been used to successfully manage asthma, snoring, and sleep apnea, and shows promise in managing issues such as:
• Hypertension
• Bed Wetting in children
• Night-time toilet trips in adults
• Digestive disorders such as heartburn and reflux
• Anxiety and Panic Attacks

This week, practice s-l-o-w breathing. Lying quietly with your mouth closed, breathe in and out TWICE, and then hold your breath while you count ONE, TWO in your head. Repeat this for the same count.Then do the same thing but count ONE, TWO THREE, and repeat as before. Keep on increasing the count by one until you reach TEN and work your way backwards to TWO.

Then say ahhhh….

Tips from 5 April 2010 to 6 August 2012 are here: Archived Tips


Small Changes … Infinite Results™

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” 
~ Mother Teresa

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