If You Keep One Resolution, Make It This One

If you are feeling stressed out, stop and take 10 deep breaths...it really does help! Then focus your mind on one thing and one thing only; things are only overwhelming when you look at them all at once. ~ B. Dave Walters


Breathing right is the single most important thing you can do to improve your life.  It will help you live a longer, more energetic, and stress-free life. ~ Sheldon Saul Hendler, MD, PhD - The Oxygen Breakthrough


Breathe.  Ahhhh.


I read an article the other day suggesting that many people have dropped their New Year's resolutions by January 17.  If this might be you, rejoice in the fact that you are not alone.  And keep breathing.  It is, after all, the single most important thing you can do for yourself, any time.  (And if it's not you, congratulations.  And keep breathing :)


It may seem strange, but as adults we have generally forgotten how to breathe well, with unfortunate results.  We hunch over our computers all day long, with sunken collapsed chests and tight shoulders.  Not a pretty picture.  And it feels terrible!  (I know this because I am sitting at my computer right now, chest collapsed and shoulders tight.  Excuse me while I straighten up to breathe - thanks!)


What needs to happen for us to breathe well?  More on that in a minute - let's first look at the remarkable changes in our bodies and minds when we breathe well.  The chest and rib cage open more fully, with the following benefits:

•    Better support for the spine
•    Toning the diaphragm and strengthening the deep core
•    Relaxing the body
•    Easing neck and shoulder tension
•    Lowering blood pressure
•    Improving heart rate variability, important for good heart health
•    Reducing stress and burnout
•    More restful sleep
•    Relieving pain
•    Calming the mind and reducing anxiety and/or depression
•    Boosting immune function
•    Increasing energy (for maintaining those other New Year’s resolutions!)

The ancient yogis have said that a person's lifespan is measured in number of breaths, not time.  The fewer the breaths one takes, the longer the lifespan.  Modern research confirms this.  People with greater vital capacity (the amount of air that can be expelled out of the lungs after a deep inhale) have a greater life expectancy.


How to increase vital capacity and breathe well?  Try this.

• Sit up straight or lie down on flat surface.  Notice your thoughts.  Does your mind feel busy and active or relatively quiet?  Begin to notice the sensation of your breath moving into your body.
• Place one hand on your belly and the other on your upper chest.  Without trying to change it, begin to notice where the breath flows naturally, whether into the chest or belly.  This is your normal breath pattern.
• Now take a slightly deeper breath in through the nose, without forcing.  Notice what part of your body feels tight or restricted when you breathe.
• Begin to invite the breath in a little more deeply, still without forcing.  Take several breaths this way.
• With your hand on your belly, inhale down into your belly so your hand rises.  When you exhale, feel your hand drop down as your belly moves toward your spine.   Take several breaths this way.  (If you feel dizzy or lightheaded, return to your normal breath.)
• Begin to lengthen the exhale so it's a little longer than your inhale.    Notice any sensations, thoughts, feelings as you breathe in and out and your belly rises and falls.  Does your mind feel quieter?