On Breath

Have you ever wondered in stressful situations why you suddenly feel short of breath? Perhaps your cortisol levels are up or you are under severe psychological duress. Either way, the way you feel is related to the way you think. Both thinking and feeling are related to your breath. If you pay enough attention, you’ll notice that when you are calm or feeling happy your breath functions one way and when you are angry another way, and when you are sad another way, and so forth.

Either way, the best way to take charge of a stressful situation (when your body is in fight, flight, or freeze) is to consciously take charge of your breath. Did you know that a large number of people breathe unconsciously? Like we all know that our breath is regulated for us, but we can actually take control of our breath by extending our inhalation, exhalation, and/or holding our breath for a few seconds or much longer and so forth.

Most people don’t use the full capacity of their lungs. There are 3 main parts to the lungs and most often the lowest part of the lungs are neglected. By improving your breathing and practicing deep breathing as well as various breathing exercises – you can dramatically increase your ability to handle stressful situations as well as improve oxygen flow to the lungs and even your lung capacity to some extent.

Yogis have known for a long time that, breath is connected to consciousness, and focusing on your breath is one of the easiest ways to control your mind albeit in stressful situations.

Click here to find out more about various breathing techniques.