It has been said that a human can live without food for three weeks, water for seven days, and air for three minutes. The involuntary practice of breathing keeps us alive more than any other source. Since we generally are not conscious of our breathing, our tendency is to get the bare minimum out of it rather than taking full advantage of the benefits it provides. Hopefully, I can convince you otherwise.
Most of us breathe incorrectly. We take shallow shoulder-shrug breaths. Where do we learn this? All babies innately breathe the way we are supposed to. Just watch them. Their little bellies rise and fall with each breath. This is known as deep diaphragm breathing, and it’s what we all should be doing. Our breath is one of the most powerful cleansing tools we have at our disposal. However, when we breathe shallowly, only about 10% of our blood is cleansed. This leads to toxin build up in the body. Toxins and waste cannot leave the body unless they are first combined with oxygen. With deep diaphragm breathing, 80% to 100% of the blood is cleansed.
Every cell in our body is dependent on oxygen. Our brain, which makes up roughly 2% of our body weight, utilizes about 20% of our total body oxygen consumption. Just by breathing deeply, we can literally feed our brain and increase our mental capacity and performance. Do you have brain fog? Try deep mindful breathing. The way I look at it, oxygen is the most important supplement for the body—and it’s free!
When I taught Theatre, all of my students learned some important breathing techniques. My favorite one helps to calm the central nervous system and is great for anxiety (ie. about the to go on stage), clearing the mind when you can’t turn your brain off, or if you can’t fall asleep. It’s called the 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise. You can do this while sitting, standing or lying down. Let’s try it together!
The 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise
- Breathe in deeply through the nose for four counts.
- Hold your breath for a count of seven.
- Exhale through the mouth, tongue touching behind front teeth, making a whooshing sound for 8 counts.
- Do this cycle three times.
Check in with yourself and notice how you feel. You may feel a bit light-headed. More relaxed? That’s the goal with this exercise. Once you get the hang of this exercise, you can add additional repetitions. It’s a good one to have in your healthy lifestyle toolbox.
Aside from breathing, there are other factors that affect the body’s oxygen levels. For example, are you drinking enough water? Remember, water carries oxygen. Most Americans are dehydrated. If you no longer feel thirsty, even when you haven’t had any liquids in a good length of time, it is an indication that you are chronically dehydrated. You should be drinking half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. So again, when you find yourself with brain fog or having the late afternoon slump, drink some water. Chances are you’ll feel better and clearer quickly.
One last thought as I wrap up. I can’t write a post on mindful breathing without mentioning yoga. The foundations of yoga are based on the breath. It elevates mindful breathing to an art form. When you practice yoga, you receive so many benefits. You get your deep breathing, a great form of non-jarring exercise, a fabulous way to detox the body and a restorative meditation at the end, known as Savasana (shah-VAHS-uh-nuh). And you can start at any level. You can do yoga from a chair. Seriously, go to Youtube and type it in. The more you practice, the more flexible, detoxed and toned your body will be.
Breathe deeply, friends. Namaste!