Looking at this post title you’re probably thinking, “I breathe all the time, dummy. Tell me something new!” Well, I have news for you. If you breathe better, you’ll have more energy, be more alert and just overall feel better.
Now the question is how do you breathe better?
Personal trainers have been pushing cardio exercise for years. They understand that lung capacity and breathing are important to your overall health. And while running on a treadmill for 30 minutes is great, they’re missing the other 23.5 hours of the day. This is where a very simple, quick breathing exercise comes in handy.
Breathing brings oxygen into the body and releases waste gases (carbon dioxide). Regular breathing just moves enough air in and out to make our bodies work for what we are doing right then. Deep breathing clears the lungs of the waste better and faster, letting them work better.
Throughout the day, most people take about 21,000 breaths. The issue is that most of these are just short quick breaths. They bring just enough oxygen into our bodies to handle what we are doing right then. So if you’re sitting at your computer all day, then you don’t need very much oxygen, so you take shallow breaths, which is where in the problem comes. Because of this lack of deep breathing associated with working out, your body doesn’t get enough O2. So you start feeling tired, un-energetic and your body copes by making you want sleep, food and essentially building a fat reserve to help sustain energy.
To combat this problem, the solution is easy. Get on a schedule of deep breathing. This idea has caught on so much that pep-talker Tony Robbins even has seminars on it.
Here’s how you do it:
Take a deep slow breath through your nose, counting until you can’t hold any more (let’s say you got to 8). Then hold your breath in for half that time (so count to 4), then slowly release it for the full 8 count through your mouth. Do this 10 times in a row (you’ll find its hard to do at first, but keep trying). You may feel light headed, which is just the oxygen getting to your brain (which is good!), so make sure you’re sitting. Do this 3 times a day, especially if you’re feeling a little lethargic at some point.
Studies show that doing this technique will give you lasting energy, clear your head, and actually help your health (including ability to lose weight). If you don’t see the results immediately, don’t stress, just keep doing the exercise and after a few days you should feel yourself more energetic, and alive.
This is very easy to do just while sitting in an office, coffee shop, on a bus, etc. There is no excuse for not being able to do this. And since it doesn’t require a gym membership, you won’t have to spend any money!!
I’ve been doing this for a few years now and still love the feeling that a deep breath brings. I can almost feel energy being shot down my arms and legs after 10 good deep breaths.
Try this for more energy, better sleeping and better health.
Here is a website resource for more in-depth info on how deep breathing helps the body by Marcelle Pick.