Deep Breathing: A Simple Way To Improve Your Life

Deep breathing helps us soothe restlessness, stress and anxiety. Breathing well to live better is a principle of physical and mental well-being that demands our attention between the speed and the pressures in which we live. This type of breathing allows us to connect more to ourselves, to our vital needs …

Many cultures see in the process of breathing something more important than this apparently involuntary act which guarantees our survival and to which we pay little attention. Many of us are part of this ever-changing world; so much so that when we feel the urge or the curiosity to practice yoga, mindfulness or tai chi, we realize that breathing means much more than inhaling air and exhaling it again.

“At every moment, I have to remember that I have to keep breathing, that my heart has to keep beating…”

-Emily Brontë-

In this rhythmic process of expansion and contraction, respiration also represents this constant polarity that we see in nature, such as night and day, waking and sleeping, calm and storm, spring and winter. …  This is a cycle that has its norms and its periods, its inner music  and its incredible benefits if performed perfectly.

Most people breathe quickly and shallowly, using only a small portion of the capacity of their barely expanding lungs. In a normal state, we breathe between 17 or 18 times per minute. However, when we suffer from anxiety or stress, this respiratory rate accelerates,  reaching up to 30 breaths. It’s a risk. It is like living with a sword of Damocles above our head as it generates a gradual imbalance which will affect our blood pressure, immune system, muscles and even our mind.

However, something as simple as “breathing deeply” and under control results in systemic benefit, balancing multiple processes and providing a way out for many of the negative emotions that cripple our daily lives.

What if we learned to breathe well in order to live better?

Deep but calm breathing

There is a very interesting fact that deserves at least some thought:  breathing is one of the few bodily functions that we perform both voluntarily and involuntarily. It is a great opportunity for control over our body, improving, if we exercise this control intelligently, our quality of life.

Consider that voluntary, conscious breathing can influence the way we breathe when we do so automatically. In this way, we improve blood pressure, heart rate, circulation, digestion and many other bodily functions.

It is possible that some of our readers are wondering if there is any scientific proof that deep breathing is actually as positive and beneficial as Eastern cultures tell us. It should be said that what some studies show us, like the one published in the scientific journal “Harvard Health”, is that slow breathing is the most beneficial thing for our body. 

When we breathe deeply, but especially slowly, we manage to ensure that oxygen actually reaches the cells and that the level of CO2 in the blood does not go down. We also came to the conclusion that the type of breathing that is most beneficial to us is diaphragmatic breathing: the one where we inhale the air deeply, letting it enter through the nose and completely fill the lungs, raising the part. lower abdomen.

The benefits of deep breathing

We have all been told, at some point in our lives, “it’s okay, take a deep breath”. It’s like a spell, a magic word that, when performed, produces complete well-being, almost instant relief that calms the body and reorganizes the mind. This strategy would have many more benefits if we got into the habit of putting it into practice every day in order to turn it into a habit.

Here are some changes we might notice:

• It would improve the cellular metabolism of our body.
• We would manage our stress and anxiety better.

• We would sleep better.
• The digestions would be less heavy.
• We would have less muscle pain and migraines.
• We would be more focused in our tasks.
• Our postural axis would improve and we would have less back pain.
• We would learn to be more “here and now” centered.

Learn to practice deep breathing

As we pointed out at the beginning, people breathe on average between 17 and 18 times per minute. Our goal with deep breathing is to reduce those numbers to 10 per minute. It is clear that we will not get there from the first session but, little by little and day after day, we will achieve this objective which will undoubtedly have repercussions on our well-being.

“Living is not just about breathing, it’s much more than that…”

-Mao Zedong-

Here’s how you can make it happen.

First,  find a comfortable place to settle down. You should have a straight back  and wear clothes in which you are comfortable, leaving the waist and abdomen area free from any pressure (open the button of the jeans or remove your belt).

• Straighten your chest, relax your shoulders and close your eyes.
• Place one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen.
• Breathe in slowly and deeply after 4 seconds.
• As soon as you do this, you should notice that the hand on the abdomen rises much more than the hand on the chest.
• Hold this air for 5 seconds and then exhale it audibly after 7 seconds.

Start with this rhythm and then as you learn to control it you can adjust the times to reach an average of 10 breaths per minute. Gradually,  you will notice noticeable benefits on your physical health and an adequate mental calm thanks to which you will be able to better face your daily life.

Don’t hesitate to start today!