by Crystal Claire
The first thing we do when we are born is to inhale that first breath bringing the life force into the physical. It will sustain life until we exhale our last breath when we die. The breath is the gift of life itself.
Without the breath there is no Life.
Most people breathe without awareness as it naturally occurs from the autonomic nervous system. Depending on our physical state , the breath can have an effect on our vitality and well-being. But when we do conscious breathing it becomes a spiritual experience practiced often by Yogis, Buddhist and those who meditate.
We are so affected by outside elements which drain our energy, interfering with our well-being that we forget what optimum health is all about. Our Life-force becomes clogged by stress and traumas which eventually control our lives without us even noticing the consequences. Our immune system is compromised causing endless problems in our daily lives such as anxiety, digestion problems, insomnia, memory loss, depression etc…
New research in the medical field has found that teaching army Veterans conscious breathing is helping them cope better with post traumatic disorders. Other great benefits are, that the breath lowers cortisol level in the brain, slows down the heart rate and improved blood pressure.
Our need to live as human beings is to take responsibility for the quality of life we wish to enjoy. We are in control, if we want to nurture ourselves, to seek that, which will serve to promote good health through conscious breathing. Without breathing the body ceases to function.
Everyone would love to live a long life, full of vitality and devoid of illness. To achieve that we need to learn a new way of breathing. During the day take 5 to 10 minutes to do the beneficial diaphragm breathing. Instead of our usual shallow breath, we now consciously breathe in slowly and deeply through the nose, drawing the breath to the stomach which inflates and expands, while the chest remains still. When we breath out, tighten the abdominal muscles exhaling through the mouth while the chest remains still. Do that to the count of 4 with each in- breath and to the count of 6 with each out-breath.
When we are conscious of the wonderful gift of the breath, we cannot but be grateful for the gift of LIFE.