The breath is constantly adapting to accommodate the needs of the situation at
hand. When people eat heavy meals or exercise rapidly, when their noses are con-
gested or dry, or when their environment is filled with pleasant or unpleasant smells,
breathing changes. Every change in posture has an effect on the combination of
muscles used to breathe. Breath does not feel the same standing or sitting as when
one is lying down. Breathing also changes under stress. For example, anxious people
take shallow “chest” breaths, using only their chest muscles to inhale rather than
their diaphragms. As a result, only the top part of their lungs fills with air, depriving
the body of the optimal amount of oxygen.
Many people, even when feeling relaxed, breathe shallowly, which keeps them in a
constant state of underoxygenation, which contributes to a decreased level of energy
and increased vulnerability to illness. The typical shallow chest breath moves about
half a pint of air, while a full abdominal breath can move eight to 10 times that
amount. Forming healthy breathing habits can produce dramatic results. Probably
no other single step that people can take will so profoundly and positively affect
body, mind, and spirit. Deep breathing can counter stress. Just three deep, full belly
breaths can move individuals from panic to calmness by increasing their oxygen
intake. Much of perceived stress is worrying about the future or the past, and deep
breathing is a great way to return people to the present. Twenty minutes of deep
breathing exercises a day can lower blood pressure by increasing oxygen intake,
which decreases the workload on your cardiovascular system.30 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TOALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
TRY IT YOURSELF... FOCUSED BREATHINGBREATHING CLOUDS
Gently close your eyes and focus all your attention on the flow of air as you breathe in and
exhale. After three to five breaths, visualize the air that you breathe into your lungs as a
cloud of clean, pure, energized air. Tell yourself that the clean, fresh air that you breathe in
through your nose has the power to clear your mind of distracting thoughts, as well as to
cleanse and heal your body. As you slowly inhale this clean, pure air, feel the air enter your
nose and travel up through the sinus cavity toward the top of your head. Visualize the air
traveling down your spinal column and circulating throughout your abdominal area.
Now, as you exhale slowly and deeply, visualize that the air leaving your body is a dark,
dirty cloud. This dark cloud of exhaled air symbolizes all your stressors, frustrations, and
toxins. With each breath you take, allow the clean fresh air to enter and circulate and reju-
venate your body, while the exhalation of dark cloudy air helps to rid your body of its stress
and tension. Repeat this breathing cycle for 5 to 10 minutes. As you continue this cycle of
breathing clouds, visualize that as the body becomes more relaxed through the release of