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If you're bent (no pun intended) on improving your health, you're probably exercising and watching what you eat. But you would be wise to pay attention to how you breathe too. Studies show that mindful breathing can do wonders to increase your well-being. (Extra incentives: It's free, you own the necessary equipment, and you can practice it anywhere.)
Benefits
There are a myriad of health reasons to improve your breathing. Research suggests that deeper and slower inhaling and exhaling can help your body heal faster from illness, lower blood pressure, and possibly help increase immunity. Studies have also shown that the deep breathing associated with meditation can stimulate growth of the brains frontal cortex, which regulates emotion. So, fuller breaths may contribute to making you a measureably more content person. Now, how about that?
What happens when you inhale?
As you draw in air through your nose or mouth your pulmonary cavity (the space that houses your heart and lungs) expands. The muscles between the ribs cause the ribcage to widen, and the diaphragm moves down. This fills your lungs with oxygen, which moves to your bloodstream to help cells produce energy. When you exhale, you release carbon dioxide, a toxin produced by the body. The release of this chemical helps your organs work efficiently.
Whether you're aware of it or not, your breathing often changes depending on the situation you're in, when you're anxious, you naturally take quick shallow breaths (and hence, not enough oxygen). This happens because your body releases adrenaline and cortisol, and these chemichals elevate your heart rate and increase your blood pressure. When you feel calm however, your breathing slows, and your blood presure and heart rate drop. But here's the catch: with the fast pase of life today, it's more likely that you're breathing shallowly all the time, (you may even occasionally hold your breath). This can weaken your immune system and increase your risk of disorders such as cardiovascular disease.
Breathing Properly
To check whether you breathe properly, lie down on the floor or sit in a chair upright. Take a breath in through your nose and notice where the breath is going. If all that happens is that your upper chest moves a little, and then you exhale, your breathing is not effective. If you take a deep breath, pulling in your stomach tightly, then exhale and let everything go, your breathing is still not effective -- in either of these cases, you'll need to re-educate your body's breathing.
The Pilates breath is wide and full into your back and sides, filling the lungs like bellows, expanding the diaphragm and pushing your ribcage out to the sides - imagine a bucket handle being lifted out. When you exhale, the diaphragm contracts, pushing all the stale air out of the lungs. Each step in the pilates exercises begins with a direction to inhale or exhale, and the movement accompanies the breath. You must have proper control over your breathing so that the breath comes and goes in a steady , rhythmic, flowing way - otherwise, you will very likely find yourself holding your breath as you rush through the movement before collapsing in a breathless heap!
~ Simple Magazine
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