The Basics: The key thoughts of this blog are –

Breathing, when done correctly, reduces stress, improves your health and can help you lose weight.

Google and YouTube are two great resources to learn and see how prayanamas (breathing exercises) are done.

Master one or two specific types of breathing exercises and your health will improve.  People who know how to breathe correctly are never sick a day in their lives.  Most people do not know how to breathe correctly.

The Details:  Continue reading to learn more about breathing correctly to improve your health, reduce your stress, improve your brain function and clarity and to lose weight.

Learning how to breathe properly can improve your health and possibly help you lose weight.  A couple of years ago I became aware of pranayamas – forms of breathing exercises that have been developed over the centuries by many Eastern cultures.  Take a brief moment and think about your posture and the quality of your breathing.  When you breathe, is it a full breath, or are your shallow breathing?  Most people generally slump over in their chair in front of a computer and their breathing is shallow.  The same can be said for your driving posture.  When you watch television, your posture typically leads to shallow breathing.  When you stand, you probably don’t take really deep breaths – or expel the air from your lungs fully.  The lower part of your lungs never gets fully exercised.  You never get a chance to fully mix the air in your lungs and expel it.

Breathing Test for Efficiency and Effectiveness

I discovered a short 30-second qualitative test to evaluate your overall health.  It involves your breathing capacity and effectiveness.  It is simple – take a large breath and begin counting out loud each number, in a whisper, as fast as you can, for as long as you can, on that one breath.  The number you arrive at after the test is an indicator of your breathing efficiency or effectiveness.  People achieving a count in excess of 150 generally are never ill or sick a day in their lives – no matter how many sick people are around them.  They inhale enough oxygen that their blood system can kill fungi, viruses, and bacteria on contact.  It also provides more oxygen to your brain so that you can think more clearly.  Don’t feel badly if you don’t achieve much over 75 on your first attempt.  Most people average 50 or less.  Breathing exercises can improve your number and your health.

Breathing Research Tool

I find that Google and YouTube are excellent complimentary research tools.  I prefer to read first and then observe a video.  I can watch exactly how something is done – or follow the process a bit better.  As I observe the different pranayamas being performed by different experts, I can see the correct way to perform the exercises and the subtle differences from one guru to another.

Prayanama Breathing Exercises

Allow me to provide an example of one type of pranayama.  Bharamari pranayama is also called the Humming Bee Breath.  That is because you make the sound of a humming bee while performing this pranayama.  The process is simple.  I know that the vast majority of my audience cannot assume the normal yoga pose – sitting with their legs folded in front of them.  I can’t either.  It’s not that important in the big scheme of things at this level of performance.

Sit comfortably in a chair with no arms rests.  Sit with your back straight and shoulders relaxed.  When you are comfortable – take nice slow comfortable breaths and release them without holding your breath.  Close your eyes and relax and breathe only through your nose.  After four or five comfortable breaths, continue breathing only through your nose and start humming with your exhale – HMMMM.  When you are out of breath, stop and take another breath.  Take a normal breath, not a deep one.  Exhale without forcing the air out of your lungs – just let it flow naturally.  Do this a half-dozen times – gentle breathing each time.  That’s it.  That is the Bharamari pranayama.  If you feel dizzy, for whatever reason, stop immediately.

Breathing for Stress Relief

You might ask, what does this do?  Obviously it is important; otherwise I would not have shared it.  This type of breathing exercise allows your body to calm down – to reduce the stress, worry and anxiety of your daily life.  It calms your entire nervous system.  It is one of the best stress management tools that I have found.  You have heard the old adage – take a deep breath, hold it, and then slowly let it out.  That is also a pranayama – and it works to reduce stress also.

Using a Mudra to Help Breathing Exercises

If you watch the videos on YouTube, you will see various hand positions used with different pranayamas.  They are called mudras.  With the Bharamari pranayama, I use a mudra in which I place my left hand in my lap with my left thumb pointing away from me.  I then place my right hand on top of my left so that the finger tips of my right hand are at the base of my left hand – the knuckles of each hand are slightly overlapped.  I have seen other mudras with the hands on each knee and the thumb and first finger touching (typical yoga pose), and others with your fingers gently inserted into your ears, covering your eyes, nose and mouth.  Each type of mudra has significance while performing this pranayama.  I prefer the simply right hand over the left hand mudra.

Breathing Exercises and Blood Pressure

The vibrations of your breathing actually interact with the organs and glands in your body and produce positive and harmonious results.  One of the positive results I find using this technique – other than a profound calm – is that it lowers my blood pressure – by a measurable amount.  Historically my blood pressure goes up whenever I gain weight or stop exercising.  If I lose weight – or exercise consistently – my blood pressure returns to normal.  I find that I can obtain normal readings – from a previously elevated blood pressure reading – by doing this pranayama.  I spend a lot of my waking hours focusing on the positive aspects of life and not allowing stress and negativity into my thought processes.  Regardless of how hard I try, a small amount creeps in.  This type of breathing exercise eliminates those stressors that creep into your life through out the day.  Additionally, it improves the oxygen levels in your bloodstream and helps your immune system and brain function.

If you are apprehensive about some future event, or if you just want to reduce the stress in your life, you should consider this as an additional tool in your health tool box.  Pranayamas might help you to lose weight if your weight gain is stress related.

Red O’Laughlin  aka The Prosperity Professor