Without breath we cease to live… Without conscious deep breaths especially in times of stress we cease to live with our bodies in balance.

Breathing is a key element to eliminating stress and restoring balance and lightness to our beings. My mother’s hospice nurse would always say remember to breathe… It was a simple suggestion with profound results.

When life is going well it is important to pause, breathe in the fresh air and the aroma of happiness and contentment. When life is rough and uncomfortable, our breathing is a very useful tool to restoring balance. It is a simple way to quiet the mind and meet the challenges that are facing us.

If you change your perception you change your experience. When we are harried, wrapped in negative thoughts and the stresses of life it is important to STOP.

Take some time to breathe and change your perception, view things from a new prospective. Open to what you are being shown. Don’t judge things to be good or bad just look at what is occurring.

Practice a moment of detachment and breathe. You may not like what is occurring but if you change your perspective you will change your reaction and gain valuable insight into things that are happening in your life.

When we tense we limit our breathing and our body’s ability to deal with the physiological reactions that are brought on by negative thoughts. Head aches, increased heart rate, stiffness and tightening of our muscles, adrenaline and other chemicals being released into our body, variations in skin temperature with cold sweaty hands, or flushed faces.

With awareness we can increase our control of our Breathing, using it as a tool to help us in stressful situations.

Here are three breathing techniques that I have found very useful.

Cleansing Breathes
Sit with your feet flat on the floor with your shoulders down or stand with your back straight and your shoulders relaxed. Take in as much air as you can through your nose. As soon as you have inhaled breathe all the air out through your nose. Don’t pause in-between breathes. Keep your breathing smooth, centered, and gentle. Let the air flow out of your body don’t force it. Continue this exercise for 20 breathes.

Deep Breathing
This breathing exercise is very helpful to calm and center you before making important decisions, facing emotional times, or entering meetings that make you feel uncomfortable. Sit with your back straight, shoulders down and relaxed, and your feet flat on the floor. Breathe in as much air as possible through your nose in a slow deep breath. Slowly exhale through your nose. Count slowly to three and repeat the exercise six more times. You will breathe in for a count of 4, hold your breathe for a count of 16, and breathe out for a count of 8.

Centered Breathing
Sit with your back straight and your shoulders relaxed. First take 5-6 deep breathes in through your nose and out through your mouth. These should be deep belly breathes using your diaphragm. Cover your right nostril with your finger and slowly breathe in through your left nostril for a count of four. Hold for a count of 2 and switch your finger to the other nostril. Slowly exhaling through the right nostril. Repeat this 5 times then repeat the deep breathing and then this exercise once more.

Breathing is fundamental to our existence. Breathing balances and fills us up with life force energy. Breathing helps our hearts minds and spirits to expand and jump in playfully into the life we choose to create.