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Breathing, Exercise and Eating

By: Chuck Groot

If I had not gone through several diet and exercise programs, I would not believe the connection that the elements of breathing, exercise and eating share. Since I have however, received quite an education in these three areas, I can vouch for the certain fact that they are all interrelated and do affect the body individually and jointly.

Now, the eating and exercise you may have already figured out, but are you aware of the role our breathing plays in providing the body with the oxygen needed for maximum metabolism?  No, most people aren't.

This is how the process works.  In order to metabolize food, the body needs certain elements to come together and create the right conditions for food breakdown.  Oxygen is one of the elements.  The more oxygen we add to the process, the better our metabolic process can work to properly utilize the energy from the food we have consumed.

It is here that our breathing plays a key role in the metabolic process.  The deeper, and more efficiently we breathe, the more oxygen we consume.  The more oxygen we consume, the more we provide to the metabolic process.  Makes sense doesn't it?

What role does exercise play in this process?  Well, exercise conditions our body to keep it in optimal shape.  To keep muscles functioning correctly and build muscle mass.  The more muscle we have, the more calories we burn; the more calories we burn, the better our metabolism is at using up the calories we take in through food consumption.

Can you begin to see how our body is really a well-functioning machine?  It's a continual circle of events, one feeding off the other.  When all the events are coming together properly, we are healthy, happy individuals.  It's only when abuse of the system begins to occur, that we put our bodies in jeopardy. Perhaps is we educated our children, while they are young, about the dangers of abusing their body, we would have better equipped young adults.  We educate them about the dangers of household appliances that are incorrectly operated, about the danger of driving recklessly, and improper operation of the car they're driving; we just don't take the time to educate them about the most important piece of equipment they will ever operate, their own body.

Exercise, breathing properly and healthy eating are the ingredients vital to the proper operation of the body.  Of all the things we ever learn, of all the thoughts we ever entertain, or the abilities we acquire as we grow, our health and the means to maintain it, are the most important.  Nothing else works unless our mind and body have been kept in working condition.  Have you ever noticed someone who is paralyzed?   So many of the choices they could make about how to spend their time, playing sports, skiing, or swimming, have been taken away.  The same is true for someone who has abused their body to the point of being an invalid; so many of the choices that could have been made to enrich their lives, have been taken away.

Though we usually take it for granted, we use the breath in lots of different ways every day: gasping when we cry, hyperventilating when we're panicked and breathing deeply when we laugh. But most of us still live day-to-day taking shallow, unconscious breaths 'and that's not good for us. 'A lot of people don't realize they aren't breathing properly,' says Adam Prinsen, a naturopathic doctor based in Peterborough, Ont. 'They are breathing in a way that reflects stress and by breathing that way, they're actually sending a message to their nervous system that they are stressed. It's a vicious circle.'

Oxygen plays a vital role in the circulatory and respiratory systems. As we breathe, oxygen that is inhaled purifies our blood by removing poisonous waste products circulating throughout our blood systems. Irregular breathing will hamper this purification process and cause waste products to remain in circulation. Digestion will then become irregular, leaving tissues and organs undernourished. Improper oxygen consumption will thus ultimately lead to fatigue and heightened anxiety states. The irregular breathing elicited during stressful situations not only make them hard to cope with but also contribute to a general deterioration of health. By the careful control of our breathing pattern, we may not only rejuvenate our systems but counter the unhealthy effects of stress.

For an example of proper breathing, Prinsen suggests watching an animal or newborn baby while they're sleeping they breathe steadily and effortlessly from their bellies. The first step toward using your breath more effectively is to pay attention to it. 'Notice what your breath is doing when you're stressed, when you're happy, during sex, and while doing exercise,' says Seth Daley, a Halifax-based yoga teacher, explaining that once you understand the way you breathe, you can start to modify it.

The key to good technique is learning how to breathe with your diaphragm. That's the muscle beneath your rib cage, the same one you use for singing or laughing. 'If you're breathing properly, you can feel your diaphragm pushing down into your belly,' says Prinsen, who points out that though it isn't crucial for the abdomen to go in and out while you're breathing, it can be a good technique. If you're guilty of holding in your stomach so that it looks flatter and many women are then you definitely aren't using your diaphragm properly. And utilizing the diaphragm is the key to letting go of stress. 'It sends a message to the nervous system that you're relaxed,' says Prinsen.

Daley says learning to control the breath is as simple as taking long, deliberate inhales at designated times throughout the day. He recommends counting to three as you breathe in, and then again as you exhale, making each inhale and exhale the same length, without pausing. 'Not only does it make you aware of your breathing patterns, but it forces you to calm down and it draws your focus inward, like meditation does,' says Daley. He also suggests lying down with a pillow under your upper back as an even easier method to practice calm breathing. Once you get good at it, you can practice calm breathing while you're walking, doing dishes or sitting in your car at a stoplight.

Breathe with the diaphragm

The air you breath in through your nose should go all the way down to your belly. Your breathing muscles consist of the diaphragm and muscles in the abdomen, chest, neck and shoulders.

70-80% of the inhaling should be done by the diaphragm so that your breathing is nice and deep. This has a couple of advantages:

.     It helps your lungs with the gas exchange which is much more effective way down in the lungs.

.     The diaphragm massages your liver, stomach and intestines and gives these organs a rhythmical balance.

.     The lymphatic system, which is important for our immune system, gets the help it needs to get rid of the waste products from the bowels.

.     The pressure in the chest and belly is decreased so that the heart won't have to work as hard.

.     More effective muscle work as the wrong breathing muscles won't have to do unnecessary work.

.     As the chest gets more relaxed so does the neck and shoulders and a s a result the likelihood of pain in these areas go down.

Breathe relaxed

Live, Love, and Breathe



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