Breathing in relaxation
Breathing, as it is fortunately increasingly known, is a fundamental act of our existence. But what we may not know is why it is so important in the development of our lives. Let's take a look at the subject and perhaps this will encourage us to work our breathing actively and decisively in the same way that we already have assumed how important it is to work the muscles and joints of our body or take care of it. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
- Breathing is an unconscious, involuntary, instinctive process that can be controlled.
- Long and wide breathing provides us with regular and sufficient oxygen.
- Too much oxygen causes hyperventilation, dizziness, anxiety, nervousness ...
The first thing to understand is what differentiates the act of breathing from, for example, the heartbeat, the filter of the kidneys, the purification of the liver ... And the difference is that, even though most of the time it is a process unconscious, involuntary, instinctive, breathing can be controlled, that is, it can pass to the conscious plane. Thus, all the organism's systems are very important, but none lends itself as much to work as the respiratory system. To work the other systems, we will have to rely on eating well, living quietly, doing sports or practicing yoga style, because we will not be able to act on them directly, while on breathing we can.
With that said, we can start talking about the act of breathing itself. What is the most significant thing that breathing gives us? As you well know, oxygen. And why is oxygen so important? Well, because it is in charge of activating and properly using the body's energy reserves. Without oxygen, energy reserves are used very inefficiently and death soon follows. Food provides energy, respiration its correct use.
Thus, respiration must ensure a regular and sufficient supply of oxygen, and this is achieved by long and wide breathing, since it allows enough time for the blood to pick up oxygen from the air entering the lungs. Although it is not the objective of this article to teach you to breathe, but to encourage you to learn it in centers, let me tell you that breathing begins to lengthen with expiration, that is, if we want to breathe long and wide we must begin by emptying the lungs well, since then They will already know how to fill up, because even if they can work their breath directly, they must know how to take advantage of the instinctual forces of the body, maximize their effectiveness. Many times we generate stress, nervousness, anxiety to the body because we think that if we want to breathe a lot we must take a lot, but I have just explained how things should really be.
But breathing not only provides us with things, especially oxygen, but is also essential in the expulsion of waste and substances that the body no longer needs. It should be noted elCO2, or carbon dioxide, which comes not only from oxygen metabolism but also from food. If our expiration is not long enough, there will always be more carbon dioxide in the body than it would like because the blood will not have had time to pour it into the air in the lungs. And just as the supply of oxygen must be regular and sufficient, the expulsion of carbon dioxide, along with the other residues, must also be regular and sufficient.
Summarizing these two ideas: if we provide enough oxygen to the body and eliminate enough waste, we will not only be building good health in the long term, but we will also be achieving peace and tranquility in the present. And be careful, because as with food, we can overdo it: too much oxygen causes hyperventilation, dizziness, nervousness, anxiety ... bad breathing is not just breathing too little! All those people who, unfortunately, suffer will understand better than anyone how to experience the fact of feeling short of breath and, at the same time, being full of it. But there is good news: just as food cravings are cured, oxygen cravings are cured.
There are more reasons to breathe deeply and deeply, at least a few times a day. All those parts of the body that are not used are atrophying, aging, dying ... Thus, breathing full lungs gives vitality to all corners of the lungs, keeping them active, capable, alive, and ultimately healthy. This is one of the reasons why cardiovascular exercise is so important, since it stimulates the use of the lungs to their full capacity, and it does it without having to worry about anything, since the body takes what it needs.
But there are still more things that make breathing very important and its specific development very interesting. The lungs, due to their location in the body, permanently massage the internal organs and the important arteries and veins with the incessant movement of inspiration and expiration, that is, filling and emptying. If this massage is calm and deep, all the organs are massaged, and therefore vitalized, without stressing, while if it is very fast the body is stressed and if it is very poor the massage effect does not reach the entire interior of the abdomen and thorax . But, although it seems contradictory, it is also important sometimes to give a powerful but short stimulus, such as that provided by sport. The tranquility for most of the day, the vigor for the moments of physical exercise. This balance keeps us healthy, active, happy.
Of course this has been a very brief explanation of the functioning and importance of breathing that aims to encourage you to continue learning, but above all to start practicing, either through physical exercise or through the specific breathing workshops that more and more centers offer. health in our country. At least, I encourage you to have a first experience and, from there, let it be what it has to be.
«Informative note: the contents included in this section offer information related to existing therapies explained by specialists with experience in the field with an informative objective. MAPFRE does not intend under any circumstances to position itself on its suitability or expressly promote its use. "
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)