Benefits of Diaphragm Breathing

Hello Everyone,

Breathing in special ways, such as diaphragm breathing, has three important benefits:

1. It relaxes all the muscles of the chest and abdomen. During times of high stress or pain, these muscles will tighten up and restrict normal body function. Diaphragm breathing can keep these chest and abdominal muscles from tightening and cramping and allow them to relax and loosen.

2. Diaphragm breathing will increase the amount of oxygen that taken into the body. During stress or pain, an individual's breathing will “automatically” become more rapid and shallow. This disruption in the normal breathing pattern often lowers the amount of oxygen you take in, making your feel light-headed and sometimes nauseous. Diaphragm breathing counters this process and actually allows you to increase your oxygen intake.

3. Focusing on breathing does not allow you to focus on noxious events. Human beings can only think of one thing at a time. When you are in pain or under a great deal of stress and tension, you can do two things:

a. Concentrate on how bad you feel or how anxious you are or how bad off things are which make the situation worse, or

b. You can short circuit this vicious cycle and concentrate on something that is physically good for you and that competes with focusing on the painful situation. This is what diaphragm breathing is all about.

Therefore, anyone can learn to get a tremendous amount of control over his or her body’s natural stress response just by breathing correctly. In addition, diaphragm breathing can be done anywhere, at any time. You can be driving, in bed, while at work and no one knows you are doing it.

There are actually common illnesses that are correlated with unbalanced, under-developed, dysfunctional breathing. Breathing affects the following:

-respiratory system
-nervous system
-circulatory system
-digestive system
-endocrine system
-urinary system
-movement
-skin
-and most importantly...mind, body and spirit

Oxygen enhances the body's ability to rebuild itself, detoxify blood, and strengthen the immune system. Oxygen will heighten your concentration, memory and alertness. It is so easy to forget the simple things we can do to help ourselves.

Click on this link to view how to breathe properly: Diaphragmatic Breathing

I hope and pray this session on breathing helps you alleviate fatigue and pain.