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Jul 2010  |  By Nancy Perlson  |  Comments (0)

Take a Deep Breath

TAGS: August 2010 magazine, deep breathing, 20-minute timeout

It sounds silly, but most of us don’t know how to breathe. We rush through our days sipping shallow breaths, leaving our bodies and brains starved for oxygen.

Chest breathing leaves us feeling anxious, less mentally alert and sometimes a bit out of control. Slowing down and bringing awareness to your breath can provide calm and clarity, mending the mind-body connection so often fragmented in our busy lives.

Take back control with this simple technique, which can be done just about anywhere.

• Begin by bringing your awareness to your natural breath, noticing your inhalations and exhalations, and closing your eyes if you can.
• As the awareness of your natural breath increases, begin to deepen your inhalations, feeling your upper chest, rib cage, and belly expand.
• Pausing briefly at the top of the inhalation, slowly release your exhalation, feeling your belly and chest drop as you exhale to empty.
• Continue breathing in this way for several rounds. When comfortable, experiment with lengthening the exhalation.
• INHALE 1-2
• EXHALE 1-2-3-4
• Continue in this way, noticing that your heart rate has slowed, as a new calm washes over your body and mind.

CAUTION: Breathing with awareness can be addictive!

About Nancy Perlson, Deerfield: Nancy is a licensed social worker and certified yoga instructor involved with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). Nancy runs a Yoga Bereavement Program at Healing Power Yoga in Highland Park, and classes start again this fall. For more information, contact Nancy Perlson at nbperl@aol.com or visit healingpoweryoga.com.