Changing seasons can shift our emotional well-being and mood positively and negatively. Consider fortifying your breathing practice to invite healing and deeper reflection on this past year and focus your attention on your intention for the year ahead. While many of us practice daily breathing breaks, new and historical evidence suggests that we have more to learn about the quality and methods of our breathing. The book, “Breath,” by James Nestor, covers the compelling de-evolution of human breathing, shares research on how our lack of quality breathing affects our health, and offers practical habits to help us improve our breathing.
Habits like mouth-breathing, elevated respiration rates, and poor breathing posture can lead to health problems. But, as Nestor explains, we can improve our breathing habits, coach our children, and improve our overall well-being. Breathing exercises can be tailored to address muscle cramping (including skeletal, GI tract, and reproductive muscles,) headaches, hypertension, sleep disturbances, overwhelm, attention challenges, mood, and overall mental health. Check out these common breathing practices to fortify your daily breathing breaks:
- Equal Breathing (5-6 seconds inhale/exhale) – can lower blood pressure, heart rate, and restore a sense of balance to your mood.
- Alternate Nostril Breathing – can lower heart rate, stimulate creativity, elevate mood, or enable deep calm, depending on the nostril taking the breath.
- Humming Bee Breath – can promote instant calm and relieve head tension.
- Sitali Breath – can relax your mind and lower body temperature.
- Resonnant Breathing – can calm stress hormones and improve heart rate function.
- Lion’s Breath – can relieve facial and chest tension.
Written by Kali Schlieman, BaySport Health Coach: Kali Schlieman, MPH, is a certified fitness trainer and health coach with over thirty years of collaborating with people to achieve their best health through self-discovery, education, and laughter! She has two children in college and lives with her husband on their urban farm where she teaches friends and neighbors to grow their own food. She enjoys cycling, hiking, reading, and going on adventures with family and friends.
Photo by Ivan Samkov
