Exercise--with your Breath

The first thing we do when we are born: breathe.  The last thing we do before we die: breathe--to say nothing of the jillions upon billions of breaths in between.  The fastest path to feeling grounded and centered and in the moment is to take a deep inhalation and an equally deep exhalation.  Unfortunately, we forgot how to do this in modern, technology-driven busy life.

The work of the mind is to think, rethink, worry and wonder.  Some say that 95% of our thoughts today are the same ones we had yesterday.  This is tiresome and boring.  Unfortunately, knowing this is not enough to keep it from happening.  We have to engage the body to relieve the mind.  The breath is the fastest track.  By inhaling deeply through the nose--and exhaling equally deeply through the nose we engage the relaxation response in the body.  Whew--now we are out of the "monkey mind" of the head just by mindfully breathing.  The heart rate slows down.  We drop into the present moment (the body is always in the present moment).  We massage the internal organs.  The diaphragm pulls down on the inhalation; the rib cage expands; the internal organs get a massage all by breathing deeply and intentionally.

Modern life is hectic.  It keeps too much energy in the mind with the breath at the top of the chest.  We benefit from redirecting that energy downward--inside the body--so that we can literally get out of the mind and promote and protect our own health.  We don't need a gym membership for this. We don't need equipment.  We can do this in meetings, driving in the car, talking to difficult people.  We all have time for this.

When I teach yoga, chi flow and meditation, we work on improving our deep breathing.  We then move our bodies with the breath.  That means we create the "mind-body" connection.  When I go to my gym, the trainer coaches us to use the exhalation to lift challenging weights.  I notice the irony here. The weight is heavy.   The breath is invisible and weightless, yet it is the breath that is going to help me?  Why, yes.  That is just how powerful it is.

Exercise your breath.  Place your hands on your belly and inhale deeply through the nose.  Notice the belly expanding as the diaphragm presses down.  Notice your chest rise as your rib cage expands. Pause for a second.  Then send that breath back down as you exhale through the nose.  Notice a wave-like feeling as you continue to do this.  By tonifying the breath, you are promoting and protecting your own good health.

I highly recommend this form of exercise.