Sluggish Breath

When we are children most of us have healthy breathing. We have a strong inhale and a quick, relaxed exhale. Watch children at play. They run around like crazy until they get tired. Then you'll see them cuddle up somewhere - resting you say. But let's look closer. Observe a wonderful strong inhale and the air just falling out of them with the exhale. No pauses, no straining; just strong inhale then a relaxation on the exhale; a nice continuous flow. Soon they are up and running again, fully recharged with the life-force energy that came in with the breath.

Relearning to breathe gets the body operating efficiently so your metabolism is stronger and you eliminate waste products easier. When functioning naturally, your body responds willingly when you want it to do something. During intense experiences, most of us tend to withdraw in some way. This means we regulate the flow of life-force energy to control the feeling of the situation. Sometimes we just shut the whole breathing mechanism down a notch to reduce the air flowing in with the breath. Other times we may restrict the flow into the heart area to cut ourselves from the hurt we feel there. In order to not experience our sensuality, we may decide to ze the breathing muscles and even the

This further serves us in making it easier to conform to the flat bellies society and fashion dictate. Most of us by the time we are in our late thirties, are using only the upper third of our lungs. Many disease processes are happening under the surface by then. The body is hardly able to maintain itself using so little of its capacity to breathe. We are breathing 4-10 times as fast as we should just to get enough air in to remain upright. The blood pressure is elevated. Extra adrenaline is pumped into the body. The heart rate increases. In short, the body remains in a state of readiness-for-action all the time. No wonder the majority of us suffer from adrenal and other stress. We could reduce by more than 50% the stress related dis-ease in our country, if we slowed

This is done through retraining the diaphragm and breathing muscles to naturally have a strong inhale and to totally relax on the exhale. A breathing coach is indispensible in the beginning of this process as you take care of the main impressions you have placed on your breath and paves the way for you to live joyfully, using the breath as your tool.

BLOOD PRESSURE & THE BREAT

"Thus, the relationship between breathing and blood pressure has been known and understood for a long time. It boils down to this: Elevated blood pressure accompanies those bodily states where rapid, shallow breathing prevails. By altering breathing to a slow diaphragmatic mode, blood pressure decreases.

Elevated blood pressure is a major American Health problem. According to the Census Bureau (1987), about 28 million persons in the United States have elevated blood pressure. Women comprise about two-thirds of that"

The Breath Connection, Robert Fried, Ph.D. pg 152

DISEASE AND THE BREATH

"Breathing, in short, is the key that unlocks the whole catalog of advanced biological function and development. Is it any wonder that it is so central to every aspect of health?

Breathing is the first place, not the last, one should look when fatigue, disease, or other evidence of disordered energy presents itself."