Breathing, we all do it, we kind of have to. While most of us do
it automatically, with very little thought or attention to detail, this
kind of robotic reaction can leave us missing out on an important
element of our personal health. It's when we breathe consciously, with
purpose and reason, that we uncover the potential to find what we've
been missing out on, uncovering that and so much more.
Breathing is a contagious action. You probably recall your days in high school biology when a yawn began with one person and ended with the whole class in a collective demonstration of tiredness. As soon as someone yawned, everyone else had the urge. Along these lines, husbands and wives often find themselves breathing in sync as they lie next to each other in bed and friends often find themselves breathing together as they ride in a car or sit in a movie theater. In fact, there is speculation that people tend to like others more when they are breathing in sync.
The reasons for this are simple: breathing is a life force, something we do from the day we are born until the day we die. This makes it powerful, powerful enough to affect our relationships, facilitate our health, and calm our emotions. But, its power can fall by the waste side if we aren't consciously aware of its capacity through conscious breathing.
Conscious breathing, by definition, is exactly how it sounds: it is a natural breathing technique in which you are fully aware of every breath you are taking. It involves merging the inhale and the exhale with your conscious awareness. There is control of the breath, which enables you to enjoy its continuous flow in and out. This conscious breath helps you move through emotions, fatigue, stress, and pain.
The first act in conscious breathing is sitting down somewhere quiet, comfortable, and where you won't face interruption. After closing your eyes, breathe slowing through your nose while counting to five (this number will increase over time). While breathing, don't focus on the presentation you have due at nine a.m. tomorrow, don't focus on your child's trouble at school, and don't focus on the new radiator your car needs, instead simply focus on one thing: breathing.
This type of breathing doesn't speed up breathing or slow it down; it doesn't change the action of breathing whatsoever. Instead, it makes you conscious of every breath you are taking by teaching you how to focus on the actual sensations of breathing. Some exercises may involve focusing on the nostrils, the way they slightly open and close with each breath. Some exercises may focus on the rise and fall of a rib cage. Some exercises may focus on the feeling of a warm gust across the upper lip.
The awareness of sensations that is created by conscious breathing provides a path for you to transform emotionally. This kind of focus allows you to experience a strong release from stress, allowing you to let go of your past traumas and demons instead of wasting energy holding them in.
Conscious Breathing accesses the inner power of the breath, summonsing deep seated emotions only so that they will be released. By breathing in this manner, you're telling your body that it's safe for stress and fear to rise up; stress and fear have to be at the surface in order to be let go. Once they are let go, a sense of relaxation and serenity take over.
When you are concentrating on nothing but your breathing, you are letting go of past worries and future apprehensions. You are doing what everyone aspires to do: living in the present moment. In the present moment there are no worries, there is no heartache, everything is simply perfect. The more time you can spend in this present moment, the more your mind and body will adopt this notion of blissfulness.
The predecessor of other techniques such as mindfulness and visualization, conscious breathing gives you the ability to breathe through your problems; it creates opportunity for you to let go of things you would normally hold in. And, because it balances you out and creates equilibrium, it allows you to handle present and future stresses in a more efficient manner. Most of all, when stresses come your way, it reminds you to just breathe.
Breathing is a contagious action. You probably recall your days in high school biology when a yawn began with one person and ended with the whole class in a collective demonstration of tiredness. As soon as someone yawned, everyone else had the urge. Along these lines, husbands and wives often find themselves breathing in sync as they lie next to each other in bed and friends often find themselves breathing together as they ride in a car or sit in a movie theater. In fact, there is speculation that people tend to like others more when they are breathing in sync.
The reasons for this are simple: breathing is a life force, something we do from the day we are born until the day we die. This makes it powerful, powerful enough to affect our relationships, facilitate our health, and calm our emotions. But, its power can fall by the waste side if we aren't consciously aware of its capacity through conscious breathing.
Conscious breathing, by definition, is exactly how it sounds: it is a natural breathing technique in which you are fully aware of every breath you are taking. It involves merging the inhale and the exhale with your conscious awareness. There is control of the breath, which enables you to enjoy its continuous flow in and out. This conscious breath helps you move through emotions, fatigue, stress, and pain.
The first act in conscious breathing is sitting down somewhere quiet, comfortable, and where you won't face interruption. After closing your eyes, breathe slowing through your nose while counting to five (this number will increase over time). While breathing, don't focus on the presentation you have due at nine a.m. tomorrow, don't focus on your child's trouble at school, and don't focus on the new radiator your car needs, instead simply focus on one thing: breathing.
This type of breathing doesn't speed up breathing or slow it down; it doesn't change the action of breathing whatsoever. Instead, it makes you conscious of every breath you are taking by teaching you how to focus on the actual sensations of breathing. Some exercises may involve focusing on the nostrils, the way they slightly open and close with each breath. Some exercises may focus on the rise and fall of a rib cage. Some exercises may focus on the feeling of a warm gust across the upper lip.
The awareness of sensations that is created by conscious breathing provides a path for you to transform emotionally. This kind of focus allows you to experience a strong release from stress, allowing you to let go of your past traumas and demons instead of wasting energy holding them in.
Conscious Breathing accesses the inner power of the breath, summonsing deep seated emotions only so that they will be released. By breathing in this manner, you're telling your body that it's safe for stress and fear to rise up; stress and fear have to be at the surface in order to be let go. Once they are let go, a sense of relaxation and serenity take over.
When you are concentrating on nothing but your breathing, you are letting go of past worries and future apprehensions. You are doing what everyone aspires to do: living in the present moment. In the present moment there are no worries, there is no heartache, everything is simply perfect. The more time you can spend in this present moment, the more your mind and body will adopt this notion of blissfulness.
The predecessor of other techniques such as mindfulness and visualization, conscious breathing gives you the ability to breathe through your problems; it creates opportunity for you to let go of things you would normally hold in. And, because it balances you out and creates equilibrium, it allows you to handle present and future stresses in a more efficient manner. Most of all, when stresses come your way, it reminds you to just breathe.
Jennifer Jordan is senior editor of http://www.yogatwisted.com.
Specializing in articles that not only teach yoga techniques, but also
teach techniques on fulfillment and enrichment, she aims to educate
students proudly enrolled in the school of life.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Jordan
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