Breathing Exercises
“Lead with the breath”, instructed the online yoga teacher. It’s a common reminder in yoga. In order to do any of the positions/poses, one needs to remember to breathe. When one is having difficulty maintaining a balance pose, the first reminder is to keep breathing. For something that is involuntary, it is interesting how often when we are under “pressure”, in this example trying to maintain focus so we don’t wobble, breathing is forgotten. Many times when we are under stress we tense our shoulders and hold our breath.
I thought of other times we are instructed to breathe. In getting any type of x-ray, one is told, “Hold it. Okay breathe.” We are instructed to take deep slow breaths when we feel the fast and shallow hyperventilation that can accompany feeling distraught or anxious. We are reminded to breathe during pain. For instance, in child birth, the point of Lamaze is to breathe short, quick breaths through the contraction.
Breathing through pain always reminds me of a dear friend’s story. When his wife was pregnant, they dutifully took Lamaze classes and learned to breathe during labor, especially important during the final stages of strong contractions. Unfortunately, when the time came for the baby to be born, the wife had a very long labor which did not progress in a timely fashion. She had to have a Caesarean section, so they did not have any opportunity to use the breathing methods. However, many years later when he had a kidney stone, he remembered the short, quick Lamaze breathing which helped him with his kidney pain.
The benefits of breathing affect all body systems: natural painkiller, improves blood flow, lowers blood pressure, improves immunity, calms anxiety, improves posture, improves sleep, improves digestion, stimulates lymphatic system, detoxifies the body, reduces inflammation, increases energy level, and relaxes body and mind.
The idea of deep breathing is nothing new. Between 1830-1860 George Catlin, an attorney turned painter visited over 150 million tribal people in North, Central and South America to paint and study their cultures. He discovered that the Native Americans who did not adopt any western traditions or lifestyle behaviors, were far healthier than western society. Part of the reason, he surmised, was that they were nose (not mouth) breathers which in turn allowed them to take deeper breaths and thus reduce many ailments. *(Click here for an interesting read on his findings.)
It is interesting that not only leading with the breath is such a necessary action for our physical survival but breath is also elemental to our spiritual existence. From the beginning of humankind it was all about the breath: God breathed life into Adam. In both Old and New Testaments as well as the Quran, breath is considered God’s Spirit. Almost all of the Eastern religions speak about breathing for life, healing and existence. Breathing is, in a primitive way, quite mysterious. While we can see the chest rise and fall, we don’t see what is actually entering the body. We may know the anatomy and physiology of how oxygen is transported to the cells, yet we do not feel the internal movement or exchange happening on the cellular level. No wonder most ancient cultures treated the breath as something sacred.
I need to remember to breathe some days. I find that especially true when I have a lot of decisions, activities, responsibilities pulling me hither and yon. Situations that can topple me if I do not stay focused with one thing at a time and remember to physically breathe.
One of the pieces of equipment that was (maybe still is?) regularly doled out in any hospital stay was the incentive spirometer. It is a plastic breathing tube with a cylinder attached containing a moveable marker-either a ball or plunger, so that one could see how far one’s inspiration could move the marker. It is used to incentivize the patient to breathe deeply- getting the oxygen deep into the air sacs of one’s lungs in order to prevent stasis which could lead to pneumonia as well as increased oxygen to promote overall body healing. A very simple apparatus but critical in preventing further complications to one’s healing.
Generally, no one uses an incentive spirometer outside of the hospital (or maybe for a few days/weeks post hospitalization). Yet, I am wondering if it is not a bad idea to have one as a visual reminder to lead with the breath in all our activities. Starting our day? Breathe. Feeling overwhelmed at work? Breathe. Nervous before a test? Breathe. Sluggish? Breathe. Difficulty concentrating? Breathe. Anxious about a meeting? Breathe. Pain when moving? Breathe. Click here for simple deep breathing exercises. or here.
What about using one as a visual reminder for our spiritual breathing? Before we do anything else, how much are we leading with spiritual breathing? I do feel that our emotional side, just like our physical beings are tied to our spiritual breath. God’s breath can benefit me when I am being emotionally and spiritually pulled hither and yon. If I do not stay focused on what God has called me to do and on God’s promises, I can be toppled by a world gone crazy. There are plenty of stories, activities and choices that can pull me down if I do not continue to breathe in God’s goodness and grace. Just like the meter that gets higher and higher the more we practice with the physical spirometer, we can continue to practice filling ourselves with God’s spirit as we breathe in His word into our lives and as we trust Him to “oxygenate” every cell in our being.
What about you? Do you practice deep breathing? If so, when? Have you ever been toppled physically, emotionally or spiritually from “shallow” breath? What can you do to increase your breathing capacity? Physically? Emotionally? Spiritually?
“Lead with the breath.”
Not a bad suggestion for life.
Breathe on me, Breath of God. Edwin Hatch. 1878
Breathe on me, Breath of God, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what Thou dost love, And do what Thou wouldst do.
Breathe on me, Breath of God, Until my heart is pure, Until with Thee I will one will, To do and to endure.
Breathe on me, Breath of God, Till I am wholly Thine, Until this earthly part of me Glows with Thy fire divine.
Breathe on me, Breath of God, So shall I never die, But live with Thee the perfect life Of Thine eternity.
