As I mentioned in my last post on practicing yoga for stress relief and insomnia, focus on the breath and breathing are an important part of the package. But you don’t have to do yoga to learn how to practice deep breathing or experience its health benefits.
With its focus on full, cleansing breaths, deep breathing is a simple yet powerful relaxation technique. It’s easy to learn, can be practiced almost anywhere, and provides a quick way to get your stress levels in check. Deep breathing is the cornerstone of many other relaxation practices, too, and can be combined with other relaxing elements such as aromatherapy and soothing music. All you really need is a few minutes and a place to stretch out.
Most of us are never taught to breath deeply so we tend to take shallow breaths using the top part of our lungs – often inhaling and exhaling from our mouths. This way of breathing puts a strain on your throat and voice when you speak or sing, and more importantly it deprives the brain from the oxygen it needs to perform optimally. So not only can it slow you down, it can cause you to feel fatigued or even winded.
The first step in developing a deep breathing practice or ritual is to bring awareness to your breath and notice how you breathe. Deep breathing starts in your belly. As you lay down in a comfortable spot, place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest. Inhale slowly through your nose and notice which hand is rising up – the one on your chest or the one on your stomach? It should be the one on your stomach and as you slowly exhale out of your mouth, the same hand should move down while the one on your chest hardly moves. This is the correct way to do it.
Moving into a relaxed state brings your body (and ultimately your mind) back into balance: deepening your breathing, reducing the flood of stress hormones, slowing down your heart rate and blood pressure, and relaxing your muscles. One of the best ways to reduce stress and learn how to quickly shift into a state of relaxation is by practicing yoga.
To summarize the past couple of week’s worth of blog posts on the subject of insomnia and why you might not be getting a good night’s rest, there are seven primary contributing factors that could be to blame. These include stress (the number one biggest contributor), chronic illness or pain (another biggie), poor nutrition and digestion (too much fat and sugar and not enough protein), over-consumption of stimulants like caffeine, sugar and alcohol (especially late at night), a poor sleep environment (too much light, noise, or heat in the room), poor sleep posture (sleeping on your stomach or on your back or side without the right type of pillow to support your spine) and a disruption to your natural circadian rhythm cycle (usually due to a time zone change or a major change in the hours you work).
