Importance of Breathing
Image courtesy of federico stevanin/FreedigitalPhotos.net
Breathing is something we all do but most of us don’t do it properly. We breathe shallowly and quickly so we don’t get the benefits that our bodies need from a decent supply of oxygen into our lungs. Another wonderful benefit of proper breathing is that it can quickly help us manage stress.
Here are 3 quick ways to improve your breathing:
- Check in at least once a day with your breath to see if you are breathing from your chest or your stomach. Try closing your eyes, putting your left hand on your chest and your right hand on your stomach below the navel. Breathe in. If you are breathing from your chest, you should feel the hand that is on your stomach rise and fall with each breath. The one on your chest should remain in the same position.
- Sigh because it is your body’s natural way of coping with stress. So have some fun, and make sure to exhale through the mouth.
- Laugh. When you laugh, you exhale much more deeply so the next breath will be from the diaphragm not the chest. So giggle your way to breathing properly!
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