What is Whole-Body Breathing™?
The lungs can hold up to 2 gallons of air and most people regularly settle for only 2 or 3 pints.
Whole-Body Breathing™ is different than typical class forms of yoga breathing, Pilates breathing, fire breath, rebirthing and the varied styles of breathing that are being taught.
Whole Body Breathing
By learning Whole-Body Breathing™ you actually retrain the muscles surrounding the entire respiratory system thus increasing your VO2 max, maximal oxygen uptake even when you are not exercising. In this practice you focus on what you feel physically with each inhale and exhale. You identify what is moving and how to expand beyond a normal shallow breath. This can lead to profound awareness, altered states of consciousness, ecstasy and peace. In this stress-free state your body releases chemicals, fires neurons in the brain and makes new associations to life.
Breathing Deeply
When the mind understands and you feel that deep breath moving within the lower abdomen, hips and lower back you can breathe deeply anytime anywhere because your body will know what to do. You can experience the movement of breath spanning from the tailbone area all the way through the sinuses. This in turn leads to an ultimate relationship with breath and vital life energy as it travels throughout every part of you.
Breathing and the Brain
As you practice breath even for a few minutes you are accessing the two hemispheres of the brain bringing them into synchronization. This is due to the fact that you are changing your brain waves from Beta to Alpha, Theta and if you are willing to practice more you will create Delta waves. Each of these waveforms stimulates different effects your whole body. We use these waves such as Beta while alert, alpha while relaxed with our eyes closed and the mind is moderately active. The Theta state is when you are healing, repairing and perhaps even asleep. The Delta state is where you want to travel, as this is the brain wave activity that brings you the feelings of being aware that you are connected to all things and have a complete oneness with life itself. Pure joy and bliss are felt in this state and you can even explore the subconscious and super-conscious within this realm. It is similar to lucid dreaming only you are aware you that are not asleep.
Asking questions or holding an intention while you focus your breathing lets the mental chatter end and congruency within the entire mind body system occurs. The inquiries and desired responses you hold are what you attract when you are in these deep relaxed states.
Breathing Fully
When the breath gently expands into areas that are normally constricted the feeling of breathing fully becomes something the body constantly desires. As this happens, the original emotional response of tension can be released and a new pattern is formed. Our body can easily resolve stored anger, fear and stress just by breathing. When you have learned that deep relaxed breathing equals balanced emotions and alignment in your physical structure you easily maintain this connected sense of self.
When you are breathing correctly there is a constant massage of your internal organs. Digestion, elimination and detoxification improve and the body's organs function optimally. The body language within is being rewritten and your organic ability to enhance through increased oxygen levels brings you to a new level of health and vitality. It is important to slow the breath down inhaling and exhaling with a soft comforting rhythm. This is how you use breath for a relaxation effect.
As you breathe during the day you are typically not aware of what is really going on internally. Whole body breathing stimulates psycho-spiritual awareness, releases tension and allows you to be more in control of your physical and emotional responses to life's situations. Each time to choose to take a whole body breath, you are actually tuning in and feeling the sensations of movement i.e. expansion and deflation of not only the respiratory areas but are also aware of your legs, arms, bones, muscles and organs. You are aware that the breath you take is likened to food for the whole body.
It is easy to retrain the body to breathe correctly. Whole-Body Breathing™ is a practice whether it is as a concentrated time you set aside or just taking some full breaths throughout your day, it's effectiveness is astounding. The more you put into it the more you get out of it.
The respiratory muscles can be easily trained and as your body attains a state of peacefulness and deep relaxation you no longer have to think about it, you will breathe correctly all the time every day.
The benefits of breathing healthfully are endless.