The importance of your breath
We all know that breathing is vital to our existence. And we miss it when it’s difficult or impossible. If you don’t think so, ask an asthmatic, someone with COPD, or somebody who has been in a situation where they were running out of air to breathe.
But just as with eating or drinking, it’s not only important to be ABLE to breathe, but it’s important what and how you breathe.
Many of us either work or live in situations where the air we breathe is not good for us. Maybe it’s a factory where there are fumes from harmful chemicals such as toluene, ammonia, or bleach. Maybe it’s a place where there is a lot of dust in their air, such as from paper, yarn, or carpet, or from processing wood. Maybe it’s a location where there is a lot of cigarette or cigar smoke.
ALL of these are harmful unless you protect yourself adequately and regularly. Wearing a cheap paper dust mask won’t help protect you from paint fumes or bleach fumes. And even having a high-tech protective breathing mask won’t help you, if you don’t wear it properly or if you leave it hanging around your neck because it’s uncomfortable.
And I know a lot of people don’t want to read this, but it’s a fact: secondhand smoke (the exhaled smoke, or that drifts from lighted tobacco products) from cigarettes, cigars, and pipes can be harmful and dangerous—especially to children or those who may already have breathing issues (COPD, allergies, etc.) If you love your kids, don’t smoke around them. It’s that simple.
According to the American Cancer Society, secondhand smoke contains all the same chemicals that the original smoke contains (including 70 that can cause cancer), and in fact causes lung cancer in people who have never smoked in their lives.
Vaping is harmful too, by the way. According to experts at Johns Hopkins University, although the concentration of harmful chemicals in commercial vape juice is lower than in tobacco smoke, it still is enough to be dangerous. And the nicotine in vape juice is just as addictive as the nicotine in regular tobacco smoke, so you’re not doing yourself any favors by vaping.
You’ve probably heard most of this before, but it never hurts to be reminded of things that are vital to your health. However, you may NOT have heard of how important it is to breathe properly.
Breathing affects every part of your body. You need the oxygen to help you burn the carbs in your food. In addition to helping you use that fuel, breathing properly will help you in other ways.
For example, having enough oxygen going to your brain improves focus and concentration, as well as reducing stress, tension, and anxiety by increasing feelings of calm and relaxation. In turn, this can help reduce high blood pressure.
Breathing properly also will help increase your metabolism, which aids in digestion and bowel function, and (BONUS!) can aid in weight loss.
But what is proper breathing? Well, some people think that proper breathing is all about using their chest muscles, but that’s not true. Ask any good singer and they will tell you: the way to pull in air most effectively is by using your abdominal muscles, not your chest muscles.
Try this: lie on your back on the floor and put one hand on your chest, and the other on your stomach. Breathe normally. Which hand feels like it has been “lifted”, the one on your chest or the one on your stomach? Now take a deep breath like you are going to dive into water and pay attention to the same thing. Which hand was lifted?
If you are breathing properly, in both cases the hand that should have been lifted the most was the one on your stomach, not the one on your chest. The hand on your chest should hardly move at all.
Your rate of breathing is important, too. Rapid shallow breaths make you feel tense, even in a situation where you should not be tense. Slow, deep breaths have a calming effect on the body and on the mind. That is why people who meditate often develop breathing rates that are much slower than other people.
There are methods of practicing good breathing techniques, and practicing makes these normal for you, so that eventually you don’t have to think about it. If you are interested in learning more about these practice techniques, contact me, and I will email you a couple of exercises you can do in your home to help you breathe better.
Breathing is important. It is fundamental to our health, and you should ignore neither the quality of the air you breathe nor how you breathe.