I remember like it was yesterday, even though it was 10 years ago. I realized I had this bad habit of holding my breath and I didn’t know how to break that unsettling pattern. It wasn’t intentional of course. It was a habit I had developed when I was a kid to hold my feelings in.
Then as an adult, I entered the corporate world and I was working my way up the corporate ladder. The stress of corporate life and my boss being mean to me didn’t help my breathing any. Again, I continued the ugly habit of holding my breath so I wouldn’t cry because he was being such a jerk to me. I finally got out of that job after a year of this and started my own business and moved.
But I was still holding my breath. It had become a habit for me without even being consciously aware of it. It was so automatic.
Now, if you saw my photo on the home page, I had major bloating issues – like looking 5 months pregnant bloating issues! You saw the photo. No fun! No doubt, holding my breath contributed to my stomach issues along with the stress. Once I was aware of my breathing pattern, I wanted to change it. And I implemented 2 simple, effective strategies to get normal breathing habits back again.
Your Emotional State
Your emotional state absolutely affects your breathing patterns, which ultimately affects your health. I know I’m not the only one with abnormal breathing patterns because of stress and other things happening in life. I will uncover what I did to turn around my breathing patterns. But first, let’s look at why breathing properly is so important for you:
- It provides oxygen to the cells which gives you energy and provides better health
- It reduces stress by relaxing your body
- Your metabolism increases when you are relaxed because your digestion works efficiently
So, to have a higher metabolism and burn those calories effectively, whether you want to…
- lose weight
- increase your metabolism
- have an efficient digestion so you can maximum absorption of your nutrients
…then you have to get oxygen into your cells by breathing properly. It will make a shift in your digestion from sluggish to full power. And that can also help with a whole host of other digestive issues.
Now I want you to observe your breathing patterns. Take a deep breath in. As you do that, notice which part of your body is moving?
- Do your shoulders go up and down?
- Does your chest go out and in?
- Or does your stomach go out and in?
It should be just your stomach that moves (that’s called belly breathing). If it is anything other than your stomach going out and in, then you are stress breathing and you’re not getting the proper oxygen to your body. Your breathing is too shallow if your shoulders or chest moves when you breathe. This isn’t healthy for you and it will slow your metabolism down and you will gain weight and have a hard time losing weight.
So, start BELLY BREATHING right now!
