De-Stress through Breathe

Every moment of the day we breathe without a thought to it even happening, mostly taking this life-sustaining process for granted. We breathe roughly 23,000 times a day and take in about 4,500 gallons of air - 25 times that amount when we exercise. That's a lot of air! There are three types of ways that we breath: nasal, chest and belly breathers. Nasal breathers breathe in through the nasal and do not use the diaphragm to breathe. Chest breathers breathe only into their chest using a slight portion of the diaphragm to breathe. And belly breathers breathe into their bellies and use the full diaphragm to breathe. The diaphragm is important in getting oxygen into your body to feed the whole body with this vital life-sustaining ingredient. Take a few breaths and figure out which one you are? The best type of breather is the belly breather as it allows you to have a balanced breathing rhythm at a slow, smooth pace and helps keep you calm and peaceful. Breathing can help you calm down after an emotional, stressful or traumatic event. Notice how your breathing changes during these times, especially in anger...the breathe gets very rapid. When you change your breathing rhythms and habits your state of mind and emotions can change and become stabilized. This allows a more relaxed and at-ease body and mind. An easy simple exercise you can do to help de-stress at any time of the day is to put your hand on your belly. Take a deep breathe in through your nose, making sure that the belly expands. Bring in all the oxygen you can and slowly exhale through the nose. This simple breathing technique can bring you into balance at any time.