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Breathing: Our lives depend on it.
I think it is safe to say most of us do not breathe deeply enough.
I also think it is safe to say we do not put properly focus on our life-giving breath.
By simply focusing on our breath with deep abdominal breathing we can heal.
Deep breathing with focus relieves stress, reduces anxiety and may lower blood pressure. Oxygen is essential to healthy cell regeneration.
Practice any of the exercises below to help in healing.
What is abdominal breathing?
The best way to describe and teach this is for you to imagine yourself as a pitcher of water filling from the bottom to the top and then emptying from the top to the bottom. Inhale and inflate your abdomen and then your lungs and then deflate your lungs and then your abdomen.
Contract your abdominal muscles at the end of your exhale as though you were trying to pull your navel back to your backbone. It is odd at first because we are taught to breathe and make our chest big, but your breathing will improve with practice.
Find a pace that is comfortable and focused manner. Avoid breathing too fast, or too slow, and making yourself dizzy.
Another way to practice this is to lay on the floor and put your hands on your belly and breathe by pushing up your lower abdomen and then inflating your lungs.
How can I practice this
deep healing breath with focus?
Here's a few helpful hints:
1) As I am breathing in, I think, "I am breathing in."
As I breathe out, I think, "I am breathing out."
2) As I am breathing in, I think,
"The energy flows thru me."
As I am breathing out,
I think, "I am well."
3) As I am breathing in, I think, "Hong."
As I am breathing out, I think, "Saw."
This means simply "I ... am."
4-As I am breathing, I simply count to 5 on my inhale, hold for a count of 5 and exhale for a count of 5.
My favorite Tibetan healing breath exercise is done standing and is a 3-breath-pick-me-up.
1) Stand with your arms extended at shoulder height straight out in front of you.
2) Inhale deeply through your nose and purse your lips as though you were going to whistle.
3) Push your breath out fast through your pursed lips making sure your cheeks do not inflate.
4) Inhale again through your nose and exhale through your pursed lips.
5) For your 3rd and final breath, inhale through your nose and when you exhale through your pursed lips draw your hands back to your shoulders making a clenched fist and tighten the muscles in your arms.
6) Punch in and out and in and out as fast as you can 5 times while exhaling.
7) Pause the punching for a moment while continuing to exhale and then begin the punching again until your breath is completely exhaled.