All the people in the know tell you that breathing is really important. I so want to say “No sh**t Sherlock” but I resist because I would a. appear uncool and b. I would be being churlish. The breathing they are talking about is the stuff we do to remain alive, although it does relate obs. The breathing in today’s ramblings is the breathing practices that we should do it improve our breathing, our physical and mental health.
People have been doing these exercises since time began and there is definitely something in it. A little like the meditation/mindfulness, it does take dedicated practice before you can really get the benefits. Well at least that has been my experience.
Why would I want to talk about breathing?How does it relate to writing or learning? Simple, unless you are in the right frame of mind, reading writing or learning are much more difficult or even impossible, particularly if you want to have any level of creativity about you.
I have been doing some kind of breathing exercises for many years, I mean since I was a child and I learned to swim properly. I have said for a long while I love swimming because it allows me time to be alone and think. I only realised recently though, that swimming, if undertook properly it makes you breath in a rhythmic way and it makes you hold your breath. For all these years, I have been not only been exercising but also undertaking breathing practices like the ancient Tibetan Monks. Well get me!
For the record, if anyone is worried about any ‘records’, I use the Wim Hof Method (WHM). Although Wim, a larger than life Dutchman, markets this technique, he pretty much learned it from a number of religions in the far east. However, he has made it into a workable technique which can be used by people who do not have a full day to sit and practice breathing and meditation. Wim is currently taking a group of celebrities through his techniques on prime-time TV (the BBC) in the UK called ‘Freeze the Fear’. I want to mock this programme because it is a bit ‘Big Brother’ or I’m a celebrity’ but it is a guilty pleasure of mine and worth a look if you have never encountered Wim before.
This is by no means the only breathing technique and an inhale (get it?) into the book by James Nestor called Breathe, soon gives you lots of different exercises for different results. James is a scientific journalist who has studied lots of issues around breathing and has written 80,000 words on the subject, so I am not going to be able to steal his thunder, even if I wanted to. If you are breathing through your mouth now, please stop and go to nose breathing. If you want to know why, head on over to James Nestor’s book and you will soon be taping your mouth up at night! Just for the record, I haven’t managed to persuade myself to do this yet but maybe I will give it a go sometime.
How has this WHM breathing practice helped me then. Well, mainly it is through allowing me to practice mindfulness, I think. However, I can now lower my heart rate thought this technique, something which has been very useful when I have been having medical procedures or I have allowed someone to drive me to a high state of anxiety (sadly something which happens quite regularly). It has also reminded me how to use my lungs and diaphragm more effectively when I am breathing, especially when I am exercising.
I think I need to return to my studies on breathing as there is some stuff around slow breathing which I think would help me. I think everyone can benefit from being more aware of breathing techniques, it is something fundamental to life. You will not regret it and if you don’t have some tricks to help you out when someone or something takes your breath away!
