What is one thing you do everyday and hardly ever notice? You can’t live without it and it tells you about your current emotional state?

Did you guess your stomach? Well, yes, all the above apply to our stomachs. Your brain. True again. But our breath is our source of life. And it lets us know what is going on emotionally and physically.

What are your patterns for stress? Do you hold your breath? Your patterns for fear, nervousness, anger? What happens to your breath with each of these emotions?

AND, what happens to your breath when you are relaxed, calm, accepting?

Our breath gives us vital clues to how we are feeling.

The miracle of the turn-around

Now here is a turn-around. I bet you are thinking that your breath changes dependent upon your emotions. But, what if it goes both ways? You can change your emotions by managing how you breathe?

By being able to control your breathing, by being able to control this incredibly powerful life force, you can control the way you feel. You can find calm in moments of stress. You can easily cope with almost any pressure.

Take up power breathing

Most of us are in the habit of shallow, upper chest breathing. Try something new. The following technique is a synergy from Paul Wilson’s Power Breath (author of Instant Calm)  and classic yogic breath.

Power Breath for any occasion:

1.  
   1. Take in a deep breath through your nostrils. Do this without exertion – neither raising your shoulders nor puffing out your chest.
   2. Hold it for a second. Imagine sending the oxygen into the extremities of your body – your hands, feet and skull.
   3. Slowly breathe out through your nose while contracting the back of your throat slightly. This will create a slight “wind-tunnel” sound.
   4. Repeat a few times gradually soothing out the inhalation and exhalation so they become of equal length and the inflow and outflow is seamless.
   5. As you breathe out allow the breath to wash away tension and unnecessary thoughts as if it were a cleansing shower of spring rain. Let all negativity wash down and away from you. With each in breath, sense the pure oxygen flooding your body, bringing life to each cell.

Power Breath for even faster Instant Calm:

1.  
   1. Use the power in-breath while raising your arms above your head in a circular movement, letting them cross the mid-line and each other at the top.
   2. On your out-breath, bring your  arms come back down following the same line of movement.
   3. Allow you knees and thighs and buttocks to unlock and release their tension.
   4. After 3 rounds let your arms hang loosely at your sides and shake out your hands as if you are shaking of water. Roll your shoulders backwards a couple of times in time with your breath. Then roll your shoulders forwards. Raise your shoulders towards your ears and then let them drop allowing gravity take them take towards the earth.
   5. Repeat if you need to…

Freeing the Diaphragm

This takes about a minute and instantly moves oxygen around the body.

1.  
   1. Firmly place your left hand under the centre of your rib cage and place your right and on top  of it. With your hands flat , pull your elbows close to your body so you are hugging your midsection.
   2. Inhale deeply an push your body toward your hands while your hands push back against your body. Hold you breath and push hard. Although there is not set amount of time, the longer you hold your breath and push, the better.
   3. Release your breath naturally, along with your hands, Relax. Repeat about 3 times.
   4. On an in-breath, reach your right hand around the left side of your waist with your fingers spread, on the out-breath, pull your fingers to your navel with pressure. Repeat several times.
   5. Repeat several more times with your left hand crossing your right side.

This exercise is from Donna Eden’s, book Energy Medicine.

So…let’s remember our basics. I know that after I have paid attention to my breath the whole world seems different. I feel stronger, more centred, calm and energised. What a blast to be able to take of myself so easily.