The Power of Deep Breathing | 7 Types of Meditation Foundation Breathing that allow you to find the power of balance between body and mind

In the moment of experiencing major events, such as going on stage to receive an award, speaking on stage, everyone should have experienced it.

If you're nervous, someone will tell you, "Take a deep breath, relax, and you won't be nervous." ”

Whether there is meditation or not, whether or not we understand the breath, the wisdom of the body is relieving our physical and mental stress through the breath.

Inhaling and exhaling is simple and even forgotten and ignored by us, but it is very effective and beneficial to our physical and mental health.

What is deep breathing?

Deep breathing is the conscious and active use of diaphragm to increase the inflow and outflow of air, as well as reduce the frequency of each respiratory cycle.

The diaphragm is the muscle that separates the abdominal cavity from the chest cavity, and the diaphragm attaches to the base of the lungs and is rarely activated during unconscious breathing, which is also a common short breathing mode in adults, which reduces the quality of our breathing.

When breathing deeply, we can mobilize this muscle by allowing the abdomen to rise and fall freely, thus promoting greater airflow, and deep breathing involves the entire torso, from the lower abdomen to the base of the neck.

Life energy - breathing

Breathing, a channel connecting the body and mind.

For a normal person, the number of inhalations per day is about 18,000 to 20,000 times, and the total is an average of 5,000 plus warehouse air, which if converted into weight, is about 35 times the amount of our diet.

Maybe we can go weeks without eating or drinking water for days, but only for a short time without being able to breathe.

If oxygen is not guaranteed to be constantly supplied to each cell, those cells will quickly die.

Breathing is one of the channels that can allow us to effectively improve the body and mind, it can help us release the accumulated toxins in the body, release the accumulated emotions, can change the body structure, body functions, but also can change a person's consciousness.

Many eastern views have long held that breathing is a manifestation of the life energy present in the body.

Life begins with an inhalation and ends with an exhalation, and everything in between is possible.

In yoga, breathing is a key element of practice, and the Yoga Sutra views pranayama as one of the eight branches of yoga, and pranayama, which controls breathing, expands life energy through breathing.

From a scientific point of view, breathing is also a kind of life force, and the increase in oxygen can make the cells produce energy, which can better maintain the function of the body.

Benefits of deep breathing

1. Beneficial for cardiovascular diseases

Deep breathing is effective in reducing high blood pressure and heart rate in patients with high blood pressure.

2. Anxiety and depression

Deep breathing can alleviate problems in the general population and people suffering from anxiety and depression.

3. Regulate respiratory diseases

Deep breathing helps treat asthma and tuberculosis and helps to quit smoking.

4. The effect of improving health

Slow-paced deep breathing can increase relaxation responses by activating the parasympathetic nervous system and reduce stress responses by inhibiting the sympathetic nervous system.

5. Promotes emotional well-being

Deep breathing fosters positive emotions and behaviors.

Promotes mood regulation and overall health, enhances vitality, and evidence also suggests beneficial effects of deep breathing on brain activity, increasing alpha and theta waves.

6. Promote antioxidant reaction and delay aging

According to relevant studies, deep breathing can promote antioxidant reactions and prevent the effects of free radicals, which can improve health levels and prolong life.

The basic breathing method of meditation

1. Breathe naturally

It is the most common way of breathing that we use, walking, sitting, standing, without deliberately changing and adjusting.

This way tends to be used by beginners, and for beginners, comfort is a crucial thing,

So don't deliberately pursue some kind of breathing method without a better experience of meditation.

2. Chest breathing

Chest breathing is close to the breathing method we use every day, only to a deeper and more focused degree than daily breathing.

During the exercise, the middle and upper parts of the lungs are involved in breathing, the chest and ribs are undulating, and the abdomen is relatively immobile.

【Practice Method】

Step 1: Choose a comfortable sitting position.

Step 2: Gently place your hands on the ribs and inhale slowly through both nostrils while feeling the ribs expand outward and lift upwards.

Step 3: The abdomen does not expand, exhale slowly, the ribs adduct inward and sink downwards, expelling the turbidity in the chest cavity.

Step 4: Repeat the steps above to practice, inhale and exhale into 1 set.

3.Abdominal breathing

Abdominal breathing, also known as transphrasal breathing, uses the bottom of the lungs to breathe when practicing, feeling only the abdomen is undulating, and the chest remains relatively still.

By controlling the inhaled gas in this way, the diaphragm muscles can be more powerful, and abdominal breathing can exercise the abdomen to massage the abdominal organs, increase lung capacity, and promote blood circulation throughout the body.

Step 2: Gently place your hand on the abdomen, when inhaling, use your nose to slowly inhale fresh air to the bottom of the lungs, as the inhalation increases, the diaphragm between the chest and the abdomen decreases, the abdominal internal organs move down, and the lower abdomen will slowly bulge like a balloon.

Step 3: When exhaling, the abdomen tightens inwards and towards the spine, and the diaphragm naturally rises, completely expelling the turbidity from the body.

Step 4: Repeat the steps above, inhale and exhale into groups.

4. Complete breathing

Complete breathing can only be practiced after proficiency in chest and abdominal breathing.

When breathing, the entire lungs participate in breathing exercises, the abdomen, chest and even the whole body can feel the ups and downs, complete complete breathing, can allow more fresh oxygen to supply blood, can relieve visceral pressure, regulate endocrine disorders.

Step 2: Place your right hand on your ribs and your left hand on your abdomen. When inhaling gently, first draw air into the base of the lungs to emblate the abdominal area.

Step 3: Continue inhaling and slowly filling the chest cavity with gas.

Step 4: Exhale, in reverse order, exhale the breath of the chest first, then let the breath of the abdomen exhale completely, try to exhale as much as possible, and then consciously tighten the abs inward.

Step 5: Repeat the steps above, one inhalation and one breath into one group.

5. Moon-style breathing method

It can promote parasympathetic nervous system, calm mood, ease emotions, eliminate tension, reduce metabolism, cure insomnia.

How to practice:

Step 2: Press the right nostril with your thumb, inhale with the left nostril, hold for 3 seconds, press the left nostril with your ring finger, exhale with the right nostril, at this time complete a set of breaths.

Step 3: People with depression, low blood pressure, and cold should not practice.

6. Solar breathing method

It can stimulate the energy of the right vein, promote metabolism and enhance digestion.

It helps patients with sinusitis and hypotension to regulate sputum and wet constitution.

Step 2: Press the left nostril with the ring finger of the right hand, inhale with the right nostril, hold it for 3 seconds, then press the right nostril with your thumb and exhale with the left nostril, at which point a set of breaths is completed.

Step 3: People with high blood pressure, heart disease, high tension, physiological period, pregnancy should not practice.

7. Alternating nostril breathing method left and right

It relieves discomfort caused by pain, migraines and stress.

Performing when you feel mentally exhausted and exhausted can effectively activate the brain and make people perform better.

Step 2: Press the right nostril with the thumb of your right hand and inhale deeply and slowly into the left nostril for three seconds.

Step 3: Press the left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand, then release the thumb pressed on the right nostril and exhale slowly with the right nostril.

Step 4: Continue pressing the left nostril with the ring finger of your right hand and inhale through the right nostril.

Step 5: Press the right nostril with the thumb of your right hand, then release the ring finger pressed on the left nostril and exhale slowly with the left nostril, at which point a set of breaths is completed.