Breathe To Save Your Life

When was the last time you just sat and really relaxed? And no, I don’t mean watching television or scrolling through social media. When was the last time you just sat and took a breath? I’m willing to bet you can’t really remember. With all of the constant stimulus we have now, phones, music, constant lights, and sounds, and the daily regiment of drugs that we constantly pour into our bodies… Caffeine, alcohol, 15 different “supplements”, and a whole host of other things. Our bodies never get the chance to “rest and digest”.

Our sympathetic nervous system is constantly “switched on”. Our bodies and minds are in a perpetual mode of “fight or flight” and we don’t even realize it. During periods of sympathetic overdrive, breathing becomes shallow, heart rate is elevated, heart rate variability (the time between heartbeats) decreases, blood flow constricts, cortisol is released, digestion slows to an almost full stop, and the body is prepared to either fight or flee. Doesn’t sound like a situation you want your body in all the time, does it? Well, over 90% of us are constantly living in sympathetic overdrive. The number one culprit of this for most people is the constant need for a screen. When you stop at a stoplight, how many of you immediately pick up your phone? My personal vendetta against screens aside, when was the last time you were conscious about your breathing? Breath is one of the most powerful, useful, and overlooked superpowers we have. All of these systems that are constantly switched on and stealing your vitality, can be easily turned off and regulated if you just sit, and BREATHE.

Simple? Yes. Effective? Yes. FREE? Yes. So why is this not something our doctors are telling us to do? Why is breathing, something we HAVE to do to live, not looked at for what it really is? A literal superpower. There are 1000s of different ways that all the “gurus” tell you on the internet. But the thing they all have in common is they are trying to sell you something. Breathing is free. And we all inherently know how to do it. If you just find a place to sit, close your eyes and breathe deep. Long, even inhales, and long even exhales. That’s it. You don’t have to “meditate”. You don’t have to pay to go to a yoga class, you don’t have to do anything. Sit. Breathe. Repeat. Once you have remastered deep abdominal breathing, then you can branch out and try other ways like meditation and that sort of thing.

Sympathetic overdrive shows itself in many ways. Here are a few;

• Acid reflux
• Anxiety
• Constipation
• Insomnia
• Frequent urination
• Low libido
• Hypochlorhyrdia
• Heart palpitations
• Hypotension/Hypertension
• Adrenal fatigue
• Headaches
• Poor digestion
• Compromised immunity
• Hypoglycemia

And that is just a short list.

Sympathetic overdrive compromises your ability to rest, digest, fight off illness, heal, and it robs us of our vitality.

Here is a quick and simple breathing method you can do anywhere that I found to be massively beneficial for me

• Inhale into your belly and abdomen for 4 seconds through your nose. Expand your ribcage in all directions and try to fill your entire body with air.
• Hold this breath for 7 seconds. Be concious of what you are feeling during this time. Hear your heart beat. Feel your whole body from your toes to the top of your head.
• Now exhale for 8 seconds out of your mouth.
• Repeat for 5 minutes
• Take notes on how you feel when you are done

You might notice your body feels a little lighter, your muscles will feel a bit more relaxed, your mind will be clearer and you might just start to realize just how important breathing really is, not just for keeping us alive, but for truly LIVING.

Breathe deep my friends

-Adam