How to Breathe

Believe it or not, most people don’t know how to breathe. Of course we all do it, but most of us don’t do it right. With a little practice, proper breathing will become second nature, and it will improve your mental and physical health as well as your stamina.

Improper Breathing

Most of us are rapid, shallow breathers. We raise our shoulders, pull in our diaphragm, and take a breath that fills only the top portion of our lungs.

How to Breathe Correctly

When you breathe properly, your diaphragm, your stomach, and your ribcage expand, not the pectoral area. Fully exhaling is important, too. Remember, you are breathing in oxygen rich air and releasing carbon dioxide and toxins.

Have you ever watched babies breathe? Their stomachs rise and their rib cages fully expand with each breath they take.  Watch and learn.

Benefits of Breathing Properly

Every cell in our body requires oxygen to survive. Higher oxygen levels increase function and are vital for good health. Many of the most effective natural treatments for serious life threatening diseases focus on oxygenating the cells. The easiest way to get more oxygen into your body and in every cell of your body is to breathe properly.

Proper breathing dramatically increases stamina and mental clarity, elevates your mood, and helps the body detoxify more efficiently (more toxins are released through breathing than through the pores, urination, and defecation combined).

Learn How to Breathe

In ancient martial arts it is said that the student spends months or years learning how to breathe and to heal, before he learns to defend himself.

Practice by expanding your belly while breathing in. Fill your entire lungs with air. Pull in your belly when you exhale. Breathe slow and deep. When you practice this technique, try to take four breaths per minute. Think quality over quantity.  Breathe only through your nose for several minutes. Then inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth for several minutes.

Practice deliberate breathing as often as possible. Use it during exercise, when you’re trying to go to sleep, when you realize you are stressed. And it’s a great tool when you’re trying to hold your temper. Though it will take practice and effort for proper breathing to become a habitual, unconscious act (4 days to 3 weeks), in time, it will become as easy as breathing (pun intended). Learning to Breathe Properly is life changing. Ad squats into your daily routine, check out Cheap and Easy Detox Diet Plan, and thank me in a couple fo weeks 😉

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By Michael Edwards

Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia. Conventional medicine wasn’t working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.