Breathing Lessons

BACK TO BASICS | by VALERIE GRIFFITH

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON WHEN THE FESTIVE TURNS FRANTIC, give yourself a gift:  Breathe.

Slow, deep breaths can calm a frenzied soul. In fact, the Latin word spiritus, from which we derive the word spirituality, means “breath”.

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When I’m anxious or overwrought, I sometimes forget to breathe, or at least how to breathe.

But we’re born knowing how to breathe perfectly. Just watch a newborn’s belly slowly rise and fall with each soft inhalation and exhalation. Belly breathing delivers a full complement of oxygen to the lungs, which in turn ensures physical and emotional well being.

As adults, many of us lose our knack for breathing correctly and switch from the deep abdominal breathing we did as babies to shallow chest breathing.

Chest breathing is triggered by our fight-or-flight instinct. The hit of adrenalin, the racing heart, the short rapid breaths are all tools that help us face or flee a threat. Good stuff when you’re eyeball to eyeball with a salivating tiger, but when the stress response is engaged too often, we affect our physical and emotional health in negative ways.

Conversely, deep breathing initiates a healing process: the heartbeat slows, respiration decreases, blood pressure drops.

Here’s a simple, soothing exercise that will remind you how to breathe better:

• Find a quiet space. Lie on your back. Relax.
• Soften your shoulders and jaw and start to lengthen your breath.
• Stack your hands and place them on your belly. As you inhale, concentrate on pushing your hands up with your stomach muscles; as you exhale, gently press down.
• Breathe in to a slow count of 3 and out to a slow count of 3.
• Gradually lengthen each breathe as you can.

Practice 10 to 20 minutes every day and eventually you’ll be breathing like a baby.