Breathing
Exercise
by Catherine
Sutton
Breathing
Most meditation practices, yoga,
and the martial arts encourage breathing from the lower abdomen, or hara.
Focusing attention on this area harmonizes the body, mind, emotions, and spirit,
helping us to feel more grounded. Breathing is synonymous with being alive. If
we stop breathing we stop living, and if we breathe well we can increase our
vitality and stability.
Correct breathing leads
to:
• good exchange of oxygen and
carbon dioxide in all the cells
• better management of stress
• better
lymph drainage
• improved circulation
• feeling connected and a sense of
well-being
• feeling grounded or centered
• feeling
relaxed
Breathing
Exercise
Close your eyes and observe how
you breathe. Is your breath caught up in your chest or does it go deep down into
your abdomen?
Practice
Exercise
1. Lie on the ground or sit in a
position where your spine is straight.
2. Tense all the muscles in your
body completely as you inhale. Concentrate on the tension and hold tight for
eight to ten seconds. Gradually let the muscles go as you exhale and feel the
contrast. Try to let go and relax totally. Repeat two to three times.
3. Exhale completely.
4. To check whether you are
breathing into your lower abdomen, place one hand on your chest and the other on
the abdomen below the navel.
5. Inhale and see which hand
moves the most. If your breathing is efficient, the lower hand should move the
most.
To ensure that you have understood
lower abdominal breathing:
6. Inhale very, very slowly,
allowing the breath to enter effortlessly through your nose. At the same time,
push out your abdomen as though you were blowing up a balloon in your belly.
Move your chest as little as possible.
7. After your abdomen is
stretched, expand your chest with air. This fills up the middle part of your
lungs. Hold the breath for about five seconds and then slowly begin to exhale.
As you do so, let your abdomen fall and relax. Repeat this for twenty breaths.
Focus your attention on the movement of your abdomen as you inhale and
exhale.
As you continue to do this
regularly, you will have to put less effort into expanding your abdomen — your
breath will do that for you. After a while, lower abdominal breathing will
become second nature. If you practice it each day while lying down, it will
become easier to do it even when going about routine tasks in the house, at
work, or in the street.
Become aware of when your breath gets caught up in your
chest. When this happens, consciously drop your shoulders and place a hand on
your lower abdomen, and breathe into this area, allowing your abdomen to expand.
Then exhale, with a feeling of letting go.
This article was excerpted with permission from:
 Discover Shiatsu
by Catherine Sutton
Reprinted with the permission of the publisher, Ulysses Press. Ulysses Press/Seastone
Books are available at bookstores throughout the US, Canada, and the UK, or can
be ordered directly from Ulysses Press by calling 800-377-2542, faxing
510-601-8307, or writing to Ulysses Press, PO Box 3440, Berkeley, CA 94703,
email
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Their website is http://www.ulyssespress.com
Info/Order
this book
About The
Author
Catherine Sutton runs a private shiatsu
clinic in Dublin, Ireland. This article was excerpted with permission from
"Discover Shiatsu" published by Ulysses Press. Ulysses Press/Seastone
Books are available at bookstores throughout the US, Canada, and the UK, or can
be ordered directly from Ulysses Press by calling 800-377-2542, faxing
510-601-8307, or writing to Ulysses Press, PO Box 3440, Berkeley, CA 94703,
email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Their website is http://www.ulyssespress.com
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