Bellissima Magazine
March Issue
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Take a Deep Breath

Have you ever suddenly taken a deep breath and then noticed you really haven't been breathing for a few moments?

In our modern culture, we live with mounting stress, pressure and anxiety on a daily basis. When we reach high levels of stress, we often begin to shallow breathe or we might stop the breath flow altogether for moments at a time. This locks the negative emotions into the core of our physical being. As we continue to live in the patterns we create we become accustomed to the lack of oxygen. However, this doesn't indicate our bodies learn how to remain healthy without the breath flow. So many of the health issues we now face can be aided by more oxygen flow, more water intake and a simple, healthy diet.

WHAT BREATHING CAN DO FOR US
Just the practice of taking 5-10 deep breaths consciously will help to reduce emotional fear and stress immediately. A regular practice of deep breathing, utilizing the diaphragm, and meditation can greatly reduce hypertension and high blood pressure. Working to alter negative thought patterns along with these practices can eliminate the need for medication in many cases. The answers to healing are often within ourselves and our commitment to our emotional well being.

Yogic breathing is key to the emotional and mental transformation that people experience during this practice. The breath actively facilitates the body to get into the asanas (postures) by oxygenating the muscles and allowing them to stretch and elongate rather than contract. This allows the body to go deeper into the poses while remaining safe from injury as each person respects their own personal edges. This mirrors our ability to be wherever we are in our lives with acceptance and still vision out where we would like to go without attachment. Yoga is referred to as a "practice" rather than a sport for this reason.

Breath, combined with the asanas, allows the mind to be calmed and the inner peace is experienced. This prepares us for a deeper meditation practice.

Breath work classes offer a powerful tool in releasing fear, stress, anxiety and other negative emotions as well as aiding in a natural healing for the physical body. This level of breathing allows us to breathe better, have more energy, feel more peaceful and ultimately attain higher levels of consciousness. I have witnessed many people in the depths of emotional despair experience such relief after only one session of breath work because they are able to release the emotions and see their lives from a completely altered state of consciousness.
Through the use of breath work, people have released anger and pain from ending relationships, gained clarity in their lives and achieved greater physical health.

Everything we have ever experienced emotionally is embedded in our physical cells. Breathing at this level facilitates the release of the emotional energy we can store and carry for a lifetime. The inhalation represents taking in life, love and joy; the exhalation represents letting go of the labor in life. The amount of air we can bring into our bodies is directly related to how much good we will allow ourselves to receive. This is why people often feel lighter, more peaceful and calmer than they have felt in years after breath work. We take in the energy that is all around us at a different level when we practice breathing deeply through the diaphragm which will alter our electromagnetic field as well as our bodies at a cellular level.

Try the following exercise on a daily basis: lie on your back and take a deep breath and make the "aahh" sound as you exhale. Do this three to four times visualizing all the stress and tension leaving your body beginning with relaxing all the muscles of your body. Visualize the softening of muscles beginning at the top of your head leading all the way down to your feet, visualizing the stress and tension exiting your body through your toes, even give it a color and allow yourself to completely let it go.

1. Take a deep breath through your nose going slowly.
2. Make your stomach expand with the inhalation.
3. When the stomach has reached capacity, bring the breath up to the chest making it rise as well.
4. Now let go of the breath through the mouth.
5. Allow the stomach and chest to contract with the expulsion of air, Continue like this for 10-20 breaths to begin.
6. When you feel more comfortable and you concentrate less, increase your breaths to 20-30.
7. Continue as you are comfortable and feel the altered state of your body and mind with this practice.

You will begin to feel lighter and a renewed sense of freedom in your emotional state. Your energy will increase and your stress will decrease.

Remember, every breath you take is saying "yes" to life, "yes" to health and "yes" to well being. So take a deep breath!

Karen Winter, EFT, is a relationship facilitator in San Diego and a messenger for men and women who go through emotional transitions and/or divorce. Visit www.recreatingfamilies.com. For more information on breath classes please email: karen@recreatingfamilies.com. For breath facilitators in other areas, visit www.transformationalbreathing.com.

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