We all know how to breathe, but did you know that how you breathe can affect your total body wellness? There are many functions of your body some are voluntary and others are automatic. Breathing is both. By learning to control your breathing, you can begin to control other parts of your body and well-being that before seemed untouchable.
Why Is Proper Breathing Important?
Since you can control your breathing, it is something that you can use to help you relax and reduce stress. There’s more to it than that, however. Breathing not only delivers vital oxygen to your body, it also rids your body of waste and toxins.
What’s Wrong with Our Breathing?
Even though breathing is automatic, our lifestyle often compromises the integrity of our breathing style:
• Emotional stress causes a raise in our heart rates and a tensing of our muscles.
• Many people also tend to slouch when relaxing or lean forward when concentrating.
• Because we live in a society that values rushing and fitting as much as possible into each and every day, our bodies have come to mimic this lifestyle – including our breathing.
All of these lifestyle characteristics lead us to breathe less deeply and more quickly to the point where we only use a fraction of our lung capacity.
What Are the Benefits of Practicing Breathing Exercises?
When we don’t breathe correctly, the brain doesn’t get as much oxygen as it should. The result is mental sluggishness, depression and eventually the decline of other internal organs.
Numerous studies have shown that proper breathing increases a body’s vitality and decreases disease because the increased oxygen helps keep our cells healthy.
How Can Martial Arts Help?
Martial arts don’t just teach kicks and punches. Martial artists also spend a good deal of time teaching breathing techniques – often times it’s a slow breathing technique that martial artists have been practicing for centuries. Martial arts use breathing techniques for both physical and mental health and to create the body and mind connection. This connection can help you control not only how well your body receives oxygen and it also helps you reduce your stress and increase your self-awareness. Once you get your mind and body in tune with one another, you’ll be able to better control your breathing. It all comes full circle.
Give it a try today. Learn how to break the bad breathing habits and, in turn, decrease your stress and increase your health
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For more information on this article or others go to Articles on Martial Arts Robert Jones runs three successful martial arts schools located in Bellevue, Lynnwood, and Kent Washington. He has been helping families make positive changes in their lives through martial arts for over 20 years. He has also written A Guide on How to Pick a Martial Arts School He can be reached at the Academy of Kempo Martial Arts. 800-508-6141. His schools can be found on the web at Bellevue Martial Arts and Kung Fu
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