Think of breathing as giving your cells a mini spring-clean; every breath you take cleanses and nourishes your body. You may think of breathing as a simple, natural process. But many people do not breathe to their full potential.
Some people breathe too rapidly and too shallowly’ often only are using a fraction of their total lung capacity. This kind of breathing may be brought on by asthma or panic attack, or, ironically, just by worrying too much about breathing. If your breathing is poor, your body is not enough oxygen, and in the short term, this can make you feel dizzy or lethargic and unwell.
How does it work?
Each time you breathe in, the oxygen molecules are absorbed from your lungs into your blood where they combine with hemoglobin ( a pigment found in red blood cells) to produce oxy hemoglobin , the compound that gives blood its bright red color. Oxy hemoglobin is then carried around your body in your bloodstream, delivering energy-providing oxygen to your body tissues and picking up carbon dioxide, the waste product of respiration, which is carried back to your lungs to be breathed out.
Exercise your lungs
Regular exercise is one way of getting more oxygen into your body. At rest, the average person breathes in about 0.5 liters (3/4 pint) of air with every breath. During heavy exercise, when your muscle cells need more energy, your air intake can increase to 4.5 liters (7 pints) per breath. By getting your breathing muscles into better shape, you’re making sure that they will work more effectively for you.
Learn to breathe again
During your weekend, set aside five or ten minutes each day to practice breathing from the abdomen, not from the chest. As you inhale, feel the breath entering your body through your nostrils, and let your stomach swell. Count slowly as you breathe in and out – take as long to exhale as you do to inhale. Feel the air you expel float away.
Exercise
Try the following yoga technique. Do this whenever you need a calm moment.
- Sit cross legged on the floor, with the thumb and index finger of each hand together and your hands resting palm up on your knees. Lengthen your spine, keeping your shoulders down and relaxed.
- Bend the three middle fingers of your right hand into the palm, allowing your thumb and little finger to stick up. Block your right nostril with your left little finger and breathing deeply through your left nostril, close your eyes, relax and inhale for five seconds. Exhale for five seconds repeat ten times.
- Release your little finger from your right nostril and block left nostril with your thumb. Close your eyes relax and inhale for five seconds. Exhale for five seconds. Repeat ten times.
Breathe better today and visit our blog again to read more such healthy articles.
