Are You Breathing?

Of course you are, or you wouldn't be reading today's blog. But...just going through the motions of breathing isn't quite as beneficial as really BREATHING. Granted, it does keep us alive, but just as we've become a country of malnourished over-weight folks, we're also becoming malnourished with our "junk" breathing.

Every cell in the body needs oxygen to survive. In addition, our lungs need exercise to keep them rose-pink and pliable. Too often, with our sedentary lifestyles, we tend to "chest breathe"--we breathe very shallowly and our body doesn't benefit as it should from inhaling and exhaling.

 "Belly breathing" is a great exercise in which be breathe in deeply enough that our bellies expand with each inhale and contract with each exhale. Interestingly, doing this type of conscious breathing at times throughout the day gives you just the benefit you need at the time: stresses release; energy returns when in a mid-morning or mid-afternoon lull; and, at day's end, relaxation comes more smoothly.

So, as the song says, "Just Breathe"--but do it with a little more emphasis a few times during the day.