Breathing Consciously

Do you ever think about breathing? Really pay attention to how you are breathing? Have you ever noticed if you are breathing only in your chest, down in your belly, fast or slow?

I was doing some research for a project and came across a wonderful article about "Conscious Breathing." So right there I stopped and began to notice my own breathing. What I noticed was that each breath was in my chest, it was super shallow, and barley any rise in my abdomen. So what does that mean?

I went back to the article. Lola Malaika sates in her article 4 Soft and Soothing Breathing Techniques that, "When you are under stress, you often hold your breath or breathe very fast. When you are relaxed, your exhalations are usually longer, deeper, and bring a sense of relief. However, you rarely notice the nuances of your breathing; in reality, there are only two ways of breathing: conscious and unconscious. Human breathing is controlled by your autonomous nervous system, which means that most of the time you breathe unconsciously, and do not regulate the quality or speed of your breaths.”

There were two things that I enjoyed the most about her article. The first thing was the way that she talks about the importance of breathing softly or with an intensity that is perfect for you and this is decided by your own intuition. She states that it is "its lightness, sweetness, and stillness that makes breathing feel so good. "The second thing that I like is that she gives some wonderful techniques.

Her article helped me to realize that I wasn't stressed but I was breathing like I was stressed. I was sitting relaxed on my sofa but breathing all in my chest and probably faster then it needed to be for a person who was "relaxing." So I gave one of the exercises a shot. This was the one that I really liked and found to be most helpful.

Parasympathetic Breathing and the Vagus Nerve

One of the most fundamentally important elements in the restorative parasympathetic nervous system is the vagus nerve. This nerve works as a connector between many vital organs, linking the brain to the tongue, vocal cords, heart, lungs, digestive tract, and various hormone glands. It influences the internal processes of the body (e.g., inflammation, blood pressure, heart rate, digestion, and absorption of nutrients) and supports homeostasis and immunity. Working on the softness of the breath, especially with parasympathetic breathing exercises, helps to tone the vagus nerve and activate self-healing powers of the body.

Try It:

Get in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and start observing your breathing. When you are ready, inhale for a count of two, hold your breath in for a count of two, and then exhale gently, counting out to four. After you exhale fully, hold the breath again from two to four counts. Keep your breathing round and smooth. The main principle of parasympathetic breathing is elongating exhalations that become at least twice as long as your inhalations. You can experiment by creating different patterns, for example, try a “2-2-4-2, 4-2-8-2” or any other pattern that works for you. Repeat 8 to 10 times. Never exaggerate or push too hard. Remember, it is all about doing less, but feeling more.

See what you think and happy breathing everyone!

Here is a link to the full article that will give you all four different techniques. Read Here