Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE

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Free up your breathing

Wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to breathe? We could eliminate numerous health problems if we were able to function without air. But sadly this is not the case and we need to be continuously breathing efficiently in order to maintain good health, calmness and well being. Breathing is a two way process that involves taking in fresh air including oxygen and nitrogen, but also expelling toxins such as carbon dioxide and lactic acid. The precise balance of each gas is monitored and maintained for us by the respiratory centre in the brain and under normal healthy circumstances, we need not bother about it at all.

Sadly it is the case that we tend to 'interfere' with our breathing, often as a consequence of habit and also stress. We can tend to hold our breath, then at other times we may over-breathe. Maintaining a healthy balance of chemicals in the body is a highly sophisticated process and anything we may do to 'control' our breathing is more than likely to interfere with this and upset it. Ideally we should just let the breathing happen. But for the breathing to 'happen' well by itself (controlled by the respiratory centre), the movement of our ribs and diaphragm need to be unimpeded so they are free to move easily. The Alexander Technique is a means of eliminating postural habits that interfere with our physical functioning and this is why it is so helpful in restoring good breathing.

I would encourage you to have the attitude of ‘letting the breathing happen’. It shouldn’t need any effort and will work beautifully well if you allow it. Indeed the more you loosen, the better your breathing is likely to become. You can help free up your breathing by performing this simple exercise. Take your time and give a lot of consideration to the preparation.

Exercise – Counting
This simple procedure will help you to breathe more freely.
Preparation:
Stand up and bring yourself upright, but endeavour to do so without stiffening.
Free your neck of unnecessary tension by allowing your nose to drop a little and let your head balance freely at a height of between your ears.

1. Don’t take a special breath for this procedure. Use the air you have in your lungs.
2. Count out loud to five using only one breath. Speak slowly. The words should flow one after the other without a break. If you run out of air, don’t force it. Just go up to three or four.

3. When you’ve finished allow the air to come into your lungs without sucking or gasping.

4. With the new air you have, count up to the next higher number i.e. six, out loud at the same speed as before.

5. When you’ve finished, again allow the air to come in without sucking. Let it come in quietly and naturally.

6. Count up to seven this time. Again use only one breath.

7. Continue this procedure up to twelve or as high as is comfortable.

After you have completed this procedure, return to normal breathing. You may find that you are able to reach higher numbers than you might first have expected and that you are breathing more freely and deeply than before.

Ahh, it's good to breathe! :-)

[Extract from 'Perfect Poise, Perfect Life' by Noel Kingsley]

Posted by Noël on May 9, 2007 6:51 AM | Permalink