..........slow down.......take a breath.......be in the moment.......hold your thoughts & feelings as gently as you would a baby bird.......let them go.......just be..........

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Mindfulness and Breathing


Some of you who practice Mindfulness might wonder why I did not say "Take a deep, cleansing breath" instead of simply "Take a Breath."  The reason is that I have a tendency to hyperventilate.  When one hyperventilates they do not expel enough carbon dioxide.

It used to go somewhat like this for me when I am experiencing a panic attack.  This is an example of my mind talking.  "Take a deep breath. No. I am feeling like that was not deep enough.  I feel like I am not getting enough air.  Take another one.  Try to make it deeper this time.  That's it, just keep taking deep, deep breaths.  Uh oh.  I am starting to feel tingly all over.  I feel light headed, like I might pass out.  Take more deep breaths.  This is not helping!"

So, I suppose I could have said "Take a deep breath.  Just one, and make sure you exhale."  But, I decided to just make it simple.  Just breathe normally.  Pay attention to your breath, but do not hyperventilate.

A few years ago I ran across an article about breathing in yoga.  I cannot remember the numbers to count to while breathing, but it said that you need to actually exhale for a longer count than you inhale.  I wonder how many of us actually hyperventilate a bit on a daily basis without even knowing it.

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