Focus
On Your Breathing
It’s not in the
breathing-- it’s in how you are breathing.
For example, when we
want to relax we either head for the hills or the ocean. Why do we have this
instinct? In the hills, we would normally head somewhere where there is a fresh
stream nearby.
You are up on a
hillside: clear air, fresh brook babbling by. The combination gives you a
different type of air than what you would get in the city. The seaside does the
same thing. That soothing sound and the waves hitting the shore creates ozone
and that combination is the most relaxing environment you can find yourself in.
Our bodies instinctively
know that we need to breathe in a specific way and specific amounts of oxygen
to be able to relax. You will learn this today and practice it every day
through the rest of your life. Even if it is fifteen minutes in the morning and
fifteen minutes in the afternoon, do your relaxation breathe.
How do we do this? Let’s
have a look!
Find a place where you
can sit comfortably and not be disturbed for about fifteen minutes.
Close your eyes to focus
your attention inward – when your eyes are open you focus your attention
outward. The easiest place to focus your attention when your eyes are closed is
about chest level, which is perfect if you are to concentrate on your
breathing. Get in touch with your chest as it moves up and down. Moving up
you’re breathing in, moving down you’re breathing out.
Let’s have a look at the
next breath; we are going to start a bit lower than chest level. Focus on your
bellybutton. See if you can move your bellybutton up and down. As you are
moving your bellybutton up and down you are breathing into the bottom area of
your lungs.
As your bellybutton
moves up you breathe in and as your bellybutton moves down you breathe out. As
you do this it may be slightly tender on your chest. That is fine, this means
you have to take it easy with this exercise, don’t take it quite that deep. See
if you can go just beneath your ribs.
Focusing just below your
ribs is not quite as deep as all the way down to the bellybutton. If you feel
discomfort, rub your chest with your hand, to release the tension.
Breathe
as deeply as you can and then give a good sigh to let it go-- this will release
the tension you may have in your chest muscles. This tension is due to stagnant
air being released. You breathe all the way down (in) and up (out), just a
little bit higher and up into your upper chest and out.
Breathe in, down to your
bellybutton, fill up to your lower ribs and breathe out with a sigh. Breathe
down to your bellybutton, to your lower ribs and then to your chest where you
normally breathe and let it out slowly.
By now you will realize
that your mind has calmed down, because you are focusing on what your chest and
belly is doing.
Let’s do a few more
breaths. Down to your bellybutton and let it out slowly, down to your lowest
rib and let it out with a sigh. Take a shallow breathe into your chest and
release with a sigh.
Let’s do a big breath,
as you breathe in push out your bellybutton, then your lower ribs and then your
chest and release it all with a sigh. Let’s do another big breath, as you
breathe in push out your bellybutton, then your lower ribs and then your chest
and release it all with a sigh.
Now that you are doing
this exercise and you are moving your front muscles, you will find that your
shoulders are getting a bit uptight as the front muscles are releasing, the
tension in your shoulders build up.
To release, move your
shoulders back and forth a few times, one by one. If it is a bit lower down
your back, move your shoulders slightly forward and then wiggle the middle of
your back.
While you are doing
this, don’t forget to breathe. Focus on the area just below your ribs. You will
find while you are doing this you are releasing tension in your entire body.
You may feel after a
while you seem to be getting a headache. This is a very good sign; it means
your detoxification is starting. When you start this breath work, make sure you
have water with you, so that you can drink water as you start to
detoxification. Bring your breath back to your normal rhythm of breathing. Sit
there for a while and feel the difference in your body. Now that you are back
to your normal breathing, open your eyes.
Why do I suggest that
you close your eyes to breathe?
To
focus on what is happening in your body, I suggest you shut out the world
around you. This is done to help you focus on that is going on inside your
body. After you have done this exercise for a while you can start doing the
exercise with your eyes open.
Tim
is 70 years old and does his breathing exercise together with tai chi, every
morning. Tim says, “I don’t get sick, I do my exercises every day and I watch
that I eat. This has kept me going for years.” He is healthy and always on the
go.
What happens to your
body when you do the breathing exercise?
Does anything change now
that you have been doing this breathing exercise for 2 weeks?
Next Week – 6 - Water and Physical Health
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