Breathe in the New Year
Welcome to 2014! Thank you for you for receiving treatment at Healing Bridge Physical Therapy. With the significant changes that many are feeling in our healthcare environment, now more than ever, we want to be a part of your total wellness care. We’ll be offering one to two wellness articles each month to support you in your goals of taking the best care possible of your one and only body. We’ll also be posting frequent healthy tips on our facebook page, so if you’re a facebook user, please LIKE us.
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How about getting your NEW YEAR started with healthy breathing? Here’s how:
Breathe in the New Year
At the moment of birth we take our miraculous first breath. From then on, breathing is natural, easy, and peaceful — right? Not Exactly…
For infants, healthy, full breathing comes spontaneously. Their whole body is involved in the gentle inhalations and exhalations of life. However, as we learn to participate in and cope with the environment and circumstances around us, we shape our breath to meet the changing demands of life. As we mature, the changes in our breathing are unconscious and imperceptible…until one day, voila!… … We have become adults and have transitioned our natural breathing pattern into what seems like one primary breath per day: The big INHALATION as we prepare for the beginning of each day and the final EXHALATION when our heads hit the pillow at night. So, what is happening in between — all day long?
If you observe your breath, you may notice countless times throughout each day that your breathing is shallow due to our modern, highly-demanding lifestyles. One of the tricks to “healthy breathing” is to observe your breathing, without trying to change it or straining to inhale or exhale.
There are many breathing exercises which can be useful. But you don’t have to find more time in your day to integrate a fuller, healthier breathing pattern into your life. Try these simple tips to pause and notice 5 breaths 5 times per day:
– Before you take your first sip of morning tea or coffee, pause and notice the next 5 breaths.
– In your shower: Enjoy 5 breaths as the warm water soothes your body.
– In Your Car: Before you even pull out of your driveway pause for 5 breaths. You can also take a few gentle breaths at a stop light or stop sign.
– Waiting in line at the store: Follow a few breaths as you look around and notice anything that brings you joy: smiling children, a kind clerk behind the counter, a funny magazine heading, etc.
– Waiting for something to load onto your computer: just stop and let yourself breathe in the moment.
– If you sense a strong emotion, be it anger or joy, let yourself pause for at least 5 breaths while you feel the response in your body. Give it time. Hold it, care for it.
Notice how difficult it can be to stay present for just 5 breaths. Don’t be hard on yourself if it’s difficult to focus. Be gentle, kind, even playful about those silly repetitive thoughts that demand your attention all day long, and restrict your breathing.
The seemingly natural act of breathing is one of the easiest things you can do to support more balance in your life. Breathing fully, allowing the expansion of your lungs, ribs, and abdomen can affect the health of your physical being dramatically. Try it for yourself.
Remember, life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away. Do you want your breath taken away by stress, anxiety, work, bills, and traffic? Or would you rather have your system well-tuned to respond to the beautiful sunset over the mountains, the snow gently blanketing the city and illuminating the atmosphere, or the awe that fills your soul at the sight of a newborn infant and it’s natural, spontaneous first breaths of life.
Happy Breathing!
Allison Suran, PT, GCFP
Owner/Founder, Healing Bridge Physical Therapy