Do you have any of the following: chronic, stubborn high blood pressure, head pressure, headaches, numbness, dizziness, (especially upon standing quickly), chronic fatigue, memory problems (possibly bordering on amnesia), nervous irritability, chest pressure or heart palpitations, sexual impotence, constipation or more? Do you have to take drugs to keep them under control? Maybe there’s another answer or collateral that will work for you.
All of the above can also be symptoms of suffocation. By far the largest majority of people are shallow breathers. Stress and tension contribute to shallow breathing. Many instances of shallow breathing, like apnea, a temporary stopping of breathing, can contribute to suffocation, a little at a time and can be diagnosed as Alzheimer’s. Bacteria, viruses and most diseases are anaerobic, they can’t live in an oxygen rich atmosphere.
Some doctors and researcher feel that hypertonia, the old term for chronic tension and stress, is the number one cause of hypertension (high blood pressure). Hypertonia upsets the chemistry balance of the entire body. It affects cellular oxygenation, nervous function, muscle action and tension, blood circulation, digestion and the body’s long-term physical and emotional condition. Anxiety and depression can also be symptoms of hypertonia. Think about it. What would the reactions be if we were being asphyxiated?
What if you could positively affect all of the above symptoms by practicing a simple exercise, one you could do at home, riding in a car, at work, lying down, seated or standing? Would you be willing to spend five minutes, three times a day for a few months to begin seeing results? Or, do you just want to take a pill and let someone else be in charge of your life, health and well-being?
What’s the magic exercise? Deep breathing. Deep breathing is more than pumping iron, running or other aerobic or anaerobic exercise(s), it’s a science, long established in promoting health and longevity. The following are the basics of how healthful deep breathing may help you.
In the beginning, until you get a little practice under your belt, lying down is easiest. Wear as few clothes as you feel comfortable with and practice naked if possible. Restrictive or tight clothes can hinder your progress. Once you’ve learned the basics it will be possible to practice almost anywhere, anytime and in a sitting or standing position.
Lie down and place your hands, one on top of the other, on your navel. First, breathe in through your nose and direct the breath into your abdomen. You should feel your hands rise upward. Expand your abdomen until it’s full, this fills the lower lobes of the lungs. Next begin breathing into your chest. Expand the chest until your upper lungs, or what’s called the super lobes, are filled. Don’t rush the process, breathe in slowly until your lungs are completely filled.
On a personal note: if I breathe into the abdomen first, because of an accident when I was young, my sternum pops. It makes breathing in, abdomen first, very uncomfortable so I breathe into the chest first and then fill the lower lungs last. The reason for the other way is because most people won’t breathe into their lower lungs second from the force of (bad) habit of breathing shallow.
There are two schools of thought concerning the out breath. Is it better to breathe out through the nose or through the mouth? Research indicates that breathing through the mouth signals the body to go into the fight or flight mode. I breathe in and out through the nose. Try humming quietly for 20 seconds on the out breath. You’ll find it’s difficult at first, but will be possible with some practice. You may want to consult with your health care provider and have your progress monitored. Don’t stop taking your medication but, with time, practice and patience on your part, your doctor may see fit to lower your medication in stages or possibly take you off it completely.
There are times when it may be necessary to see a competent chiropractor. If your spine or neck is misaligned, it can pinch nerves that will affect the blood pressure.
The whole process sounds easy but it takes conscious thinking to break lifelong habits. My blood pressure is perfect but my tendency is to shallow breathe because I feel there’s always more to do than time to do it in. I’ve been working on my known bad habits for years, but fall back into them when I fill my life with too many things, and when I do, I begin to shallow breathe. Anxiety, where time is concerned, is my bug-a-boo. I try to do my breath control upon awakening in the morning and before going to sleep at night. The hard part for me is during the day.
