It tends to be easier to take things for granted when they’re a constant part of our lives. How true this can be with spouses, friends, and family. As unfortunate as this is, it does happen. One activity that we all have shared since birth is breathing. Most of us have never given it any consideration.

If you observe a healthy newborn breathe, as they inhale the lower abdomen extends to fill the majority of the lungs from the bottom to the top. It is a deeper and longer breath. This is normal, healthy breathing.

However, very few of us adults breathe this way. As the matter of fact, most of us breathe with a shallow breath drawing air in only to the mid to upper lungs and only filling approximately one-fifth of their capacity.

Forget about what you just read and go to a large mirror. With your eyes starring directly at your shoulders, take a very deep breath. Did your shoulders move upward quickly? If you are like most of my clients, they did.

This type of breath is what is called a stressed breath. Have you ever noticed when you’ve been surprised by something how you’ll take a quick shallow upper lung breath and hold it? This is relaying information to the brain that you are stressed or anxious and begins the stress response in the body. The endocrine system - adrenals, thyroid, pancreas, pituitary, hypothalamus - is stepping up production of hormones to meet a perceived energy need. The fight or flight reflex is in full gear.

Normally, as the situation passes, the breathing should return to deep, calm abdominal breaths, and the stress response in the endocrine system deactivates.

However, this is not what I am seeing clinically. Because of chronic stress, anxiety ensues, and the breath pattern is reset to a more shallow and less effective state that constantly tells the body that it is in a stressed state. This breaks the body down prematurely, weakens the endocrine system, and leads to hormonal dysfunction.

This newly established breath pattern decreases the amount of oxygen in the body that can lead to anything from sleep problems and fatigue to immune system dysfunction and disease.

This shallow breath also makes it easier for us to suppress and repress feelings we don’t want to feel back into the subconscious. This will then create havoc on hormones, the body, our health, and our relationships.

If your breath pattern demonstrates this stressed pattern, don’t get discouraged, it can be retrained. Sit down in a firm chair at the same time each day for about 10 minutes. Place one hand palm side on your belly button and on each inhale, begin by expanding your lower lungs first by pushing out your hand. Your shoulders should barely move even with full inhalation. Breath out and contract your abdomen as your hand moves in.

Do this daily for as long as it takes to re-establish the proper, normal breathing pattern. It took me about three months to do this, so please be patient. You may begin to notice changes in your attitude, comfort, and overall health. Hang in there, you’re worth it.

• Natural Anxiety Cures - Simple Yet Effective Advice to Help You Regain Your Life
• Overcoming Panic Disorder - How to Overcome Panic and Live a Productive Life Again
• Panic Attack and Anxiety Healing: Let's Talk Neuroplasticity
• Control Your Panic Attack Without Medicine and With Easy to Follow Methods
• How to Completely Free Yourself from Panic Attack
• What is a Panic Attack and How to Identify It
• Public Speaking and Panic Attacks
• How to Thrive With Social Anxiety Disorder
• Coping With Panic Attacks - Tips and Techniques That Will Help
• Anxiety - Are There Any Natural Cures?

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.