We all know this one’s a must……but the effects different types of breathing have on your body may be a surprise!

Let’s deal with the totally obvious first….breathing brings oxygen into the body, which is then used in the cells for the processes that happens in your body, the sum total of which is called your metabolism. Waste gases that the body doesn’t want – carbon dioxide are then transported out of the body with the out breath. Breathing allows our ‘machine’ to run and perform all the functions necessary for survival. So, if our lung capacity is generous and we are taking good full breaths it makes sense that we will be getting more oxygen into the body and so our engines can run faster, smoother and more efficiently.  The knock on effect’s of this in terms of eating and digestion is that we will be able to digest food more easily, absorb more of the nutrients into the blood stream and burn calories faster in the cells (and burn more of them) resulting in more ENERGY available to do whatever we are doing and helping maintain a healthy WEIGHT.

From more of a yogic point of view, the breathing pattern has some very important effects.

Another way to say ‘to breathe in’, is to say ‘ to inspire’. To be inspired is to have your thought’s or feelings excited and raised to a higher level – beyond the mundane and the trivial, into the realm of idea’s and solutions, to see the bigger picture – the dream, to have the vision. In yoga air represents ‘spirit’ and conscious breathing is literally bringing ‘spirit’ into the body……we say, the breath is the bridge between the body and spirit. So if you want to get creative and have some quality ‘brain waves’……..

It is well documented how the brain patterns change when breathing exercises are practised and they demonstrate how easily and quickly you can calm an agitated mind. The respiratory and the nervous system’s are intimately connected – if you are stressed or panic, the breath becomes shallow and fast (part of the sequence of changes that happen as adrenaline causes the ‘flight or flight’ reaction to kick in), by changing the breath you can change the level of stress. It is impossible to panic and have a deep rhythmical  breath at the same time. So consciously focusing on your breathing is an amazing tool for stress relief and panic attacks.

‘…and now breath!’

Most people breathe unconsciously all the time and have no appreciation of the power and potential within this automatic function. If you want to know more and practise techniques, find a good yoga class or there are plenty of good books. My aim here is to just make you more aware of it and perhaps encourage you to take little pockets of time during your day to breathe slowly, deeply and rhythmically. The more you do this – it’s like using a muscle or learning to drink more water, your body gets used to it, it becomes a normal practice and as you feel the benefits this fuels your desire to do it a little bit more.

Worth knowing – cancer cells hate oxygen, they love sugar (as I have said before) but they are frazzled by oxygen. So for the health of you mind, body and spirit…….BREATHE!