I am not just talking about the big breath you take, when you all of a sudden zone back in from watching a tv show, wondering when you last actually sipped air into your lungs and really gulp it down. I am talking about real breathing that sounds like the wind blowing through the trees, tickling the leaves on an autumn day.
Our respiratory system is a complex mixture of bells and whistles. Each part pushing and pulling its way full steam ahead. By breathing, we are able to bring oxygen into our body, whilst excreting the waste gas carbon dioxide. Oxygen is life’s most important nutrient.
Now, if you have got past my poetic anecdotes read on for the science.
As you breath the diaphragm (large sheet of muscle that sits below the lungs) descends into the abdomen pulling air into the lungs. When we breath in, we inhale the surrounding air which is around 21% oxygen. However, there are two types of breathing. Many people breath excessively from their upper chest, typically breathing in for 2 seconds and out for 3, what I would call our mindless breath.
Mindful breath is diaphragmatic breathing in a sequence of either 4-7-8 (see below) or just deep “belly breaths”. Now this isn’t just a lot of mindful mumbo jumbo, there are really important aspects to breathing in this way. Diaphragmatic breathing is taking slow, deep breaths that make your abdomen rise and fall. You can do this sitting or lying down, in a sequence, for 5 minutes or half an hour, in the toilet whilst you hide from your kids and so on. It is not only calming but also has great health benefits backed by science.
Breathing with the diaphragm strengthens the immune system because it actives the lymphatics which is a network of vessels that helps protects us from infection and disease and encourages draining of excess fluid. It also pushes blood back up to the heart via the inferior vena cava, (the largest vein in the human body) responsible for carrying deoxygenated blood from the lower limbs and all of the organs below the diaphragm and it relaxes the vagus nerve to decrease inflammation and overall chill you out. Who would’ve thought that a few “belly breaths” could be so beneficial to so many different parts of our internal engine?
Try this 4-7-8 relaxing breath technique when you want to quiet the storm in your mind, rejuvenate your body, if you are still hiding in your downstairs loo from the kids or if you are having difficulty switching off before bed.
- Empty your lungs of air
- Breathe in quietly through your noses for 4 seconds
- Hold your breath for a count of 7 seconds
- Bring the “wind” – Exhale forcefully through the mouth (quietly so the kids don’t hear) or pursing the lips and making a “whooshing” sound for 8 seconds
- Repeat the cycle up to 4 times.
Annnndddd relax…
In this immediate and expectant world, we have forgotten how to breath.
I am not just talking about the big breath you take, when you all of a sudden zone back in from watching a tv show, wondering when you last actually sipped air into your lungs and really gulp it down. I am talking about real breathing that sounds like the wind blowing through the trees, tickling the leaves on an autumn day.
Our respiratory system is a complex mixture of bells and whistles. Each part pushing and pulling its way full steam ahead. By breathing, we are able to bring oxygen into our body, whilst excreting the waste gas carbon dioxide. Oxygen is life’s most important nutrient.
Now, if you have got past my poetic anecdotes read on for the science.
As you breath the diaphragm (large sheet of muscle that sits below the lungs) descends into the abdomen pulling air into the lungs. When we breath in, we inhale the surrounding air which is around 21% oxygen. However, there are two types of breathing. Many people breath excessively from their upper chest, typically breathing in for 2 seconds and out for 3, what I would call our mindless breath.
Mindful breath is diaphragmatic breathing in a sequence of either 4-7-8 (see below) or just deep “belly breaths”. Now this isn’t just a lot of mindful mumbo jumbo, there are really important aspects to breathing in this way. Diaphragmatic breathing is taking slow, deep breaths that make your abdomen rise and fall. You can do this sitting or lying down, in a sequence, for 5 minutes or half an hour, in the toilet whilst you hide from your kids and so on. It is not only calming but also has great health benefits backed by science.
Breathing with the diaphragm strengthens the immune system because it actives the lymphatics which is a network of vessels that helps protects us from infection and disease and encourages draining of excess fluid. It also pushes blood back up to the heart via the inferior vena cava, (the largest vein in the human body) responsible for carrying deoxygenated blood from the lower limbs and all of the organs below the diaphragm and it relaxes the vagus nerve to decrease inflammation and overall chill you out. Who would’ve thought that a few “belly breaths” could be so beneficial to so many different parts of our internal engine?
Try this 4-7-8 relaxing breath technique when you want to quiet the storm in your mind, rejuvenate your body, if you are still hiding in your downstairs loo from the kids or if you are having difficulty switching off before bed.
- Empty your lungs of air
- Breathe in quietly through your noses for 4 seconds
- Hold your breath for a count of 7 seconds
- Bring the “wind” – Exhale forcefully through the mouth (quietly so the kids don’t hear) or pursing the lips and making a “whooshing” sound for 8 seconds
- Repeat the cycle up to 4 times.
Annnndddd relax…
