Breathe

Breathe

Is a communication from Angelo Castello DC for the purpose of providing information to improve health, wellbeing, and one's quality of life.

For the first installment of BREATHE, I chose the topic of Breathing.
Feel free to suggest topics for further installments.

Breathing. What is more important than breathing?
Without it, whatever we may think is important doesn’t matter.
Breathing is the most essential thing in our lives.
It’s something we rarely think about and has happened automatically since our first gasp at birth.

Not all breaths are the same.
Sometimes we stop breathing, or breathe very little when we are startled or frightened. When we are relaxed and feeling safe we breathe more slowly and deeply. A sleeping infant is a good example.

Our breathing pattern can be a reflection of our emotional state. By paying attention to our breathing and intentionally allowing our inhalations and exhalations to be even in duration and deeper than usual, we can initiate a relaxation response.
Try it! Breathe into and out of the abdomen.

If you are unfamiliar with abdominal breathing, lie down with your hands covering your bellybutton and breathe through your nose and feel your hands rise and abdomen expand during each breath in. The opposite happens while exhaling. Feel what happens after five minutes. Certainly continue if you want to spend more time breathing this way.

A regular routine of at least five minutes of "relaxing breathing" will calm the nervous system and brain.
Lastly, the second important part to this powerful method for relaxing, is to mentally count "1" during each breath in and "2" with every out breath. Concentrate, stay focused, be regular, and you will get from this what you put into it.
It is simply the most calming thing we can do and is fundamental to most relaxation methods. The benefits can include ; being more relaxed, more focused, more alert, more aware, more creative, and much more.
Be patient and feel free to let me know how it goes for you.

Be well~
Angelo Castello DC

For further reading, "The Science of Pranayama", by S S Sivananda