We all need to breath.
Breathing, something we all do. It happens subconsciously and by intention. We can use it to calm ourselves down, and we use it when we get fired up. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is or how we feel, we still breath. Breathing is part of our nature, a natural process going back millenia. And yet, we may not be breathing enough.
Your body’s rate of breathing is directly linked to the level of physical exertion you are experiencing. More exertion means more oxygen is needed in your muscles. Your heart begins to pound harder and faster, pushing blood throughout your body. Your breath becomes quicker and harder as you bring in extra oxygen and flush out carbon dioxide. Physically you expand your chest, allowing extra space for additional air.
When you are relaxed your breath is slower and deeper. Your stomach rises and falls as your heart rate decreases and blood pressure lowers. You no longer expand your chest and instead the work is done entirely by the diaphragm. Extending your stomach with each deep breath.
Your breathing is a response to your body’s current condition. You breath faster when exerting yourself and slower when relaxing. What we also know, is that the body reacts to our breathing. If you breath fast, your heart rate increases preparing for physical exertion. If you breath slow, your heart rate decreases while you body begins to relax. We can utilize our breath as a tool to decrease stress, increase focus, and become energized.
Deep breathing techniques have become a popular way to deal with our constantly connected always online world. With small stresses berating our attention throughout the day, being able to pause for a deep breath or two has been shown to have great benefits mentally and physically. The growing popularity of simple mindfulness techniques are centered around the ability to breath deeply. But how can something as simple and universal as breathing provide such benefits?
While you may not be able to live off of breathing alone, it is a core function of the human body. Breathing brings oxygen into our blood facilitating cellular respiration, the process by which our cells convert biochemical energy into usable energy called adenosine triphosphate (ATP from high school biology class). Breathing air allows our cells to utilize the nutrients we eat in order to create energy.
Our cells also create bi-products such as carbon dioxide. While our cells require oxygen to create energy, removing bi-products like carbon dioxide is more important. We breath out in order to clear our lungs of carbon dioxide rich air, preparing to replace it with more oxygen rich air. Our body triggers an increased breathing rate due to high levels of carbon dioxide, not because of low levels of oxygen.
In a sense, breathing is a constant filtering of compounds vital for human life. It is no wonder that many spiritual beliefs revolve around the breath. Breathing is a core function of every human and can be viewed as a universally connecting experience. We are after all, breathing the same air across cultures.
I will be following this post up with a list of actionable ways to use breathing to decrease tress, increase focus, and become energized.
