BREATHING MATTERS
Oct 31, 2017Breathing matters more than everything else when addressing chronic pain. If we don't breathe, we die. But what if we breathe too much or too little? Then what happens? A lot of very significant things happen because every single one of your bodily functions is tied in to breathing.
Without getting too science-y, consider that the pace and quality of respiration affects the balance of gases in your blood. These blood gases affect every other physiological function in your body.
What does this mean for you in everyday terms?
Breathing affects your energy, your mood, your concentration, your memory, your sleep, you digestion, your heart rate and the pace and sanity with which your organs, muscles and cells are able to function, obtain nourishment and expel waste.
OBSERVATIONAL BREATHING EXERCISE
- Begin by observing your natural breathing: Observe what moves, expands, contracts
- Then add a moment of pause before initiating the next in our out breath.
- If that's going well, add 10% more volume to your inhalation and exhalation
- Then 10% more and again. Do this a few more time until you feel like you're breathing is at 70-75% of max tidal volume
- Rest
- Begin again.
Photo: Dan7Kids
