My favorite time of year in Lake County is the autumn. The reason is because of the clean air. I was once told Lake County has the cleanest air in all of California. The way the wind blows over the lake removes pollutants. Now that the fires are extinguished, we can all become mindful for the gift of clean air.
The focus of mindfulness this week is the power of breathing. I have waited to discuss this until after the smoke had resolved and the air of Lake County can live up to its reputation. Focusing attention on your breath can reduce blood pressure, lower heart rate, improve digestion and reduce stress and anxiety.
Breathing is the only function of the human body that is both under conscious and unconscious control. If you do not pay attention, breathing will happen unconsciously. However, if you focus on your breath and pay attention to it, you can consciously change it.
As noted earlier, there are a variety of health benefits associated with conscious awareness of breathing. By consciously altering your breath, you can bring your nervous system into therapeutic balance. Breathing is a branch of the human nervous system called the autonomic nervous system.
There are two divisions of the autonomic nervous system. The medical terms are the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. In short, the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for excited states, and the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for relaxed states.
By bringing focused attention and concentration to your breathing, you can calm down the sympathetic or excited branch of your nervous system, and at the same time improve the parasympathetic mechanism which results in relaxation.
By improving the tone of the parasympathetic nervous system you will initiate what is known as the “relaxation response.” The relaxation response is a physiological result of paying attention to your breath. The relaxation response is a scientifically proven way of improving your health.
We call this healing process, “breath work.” This type of mindfulness is thousands of years old. The origins trace back to ancient India. The word for breath in that culture is Prana, which means spirit. Traditionally, the breath is considered the connection between mind body and spirit. Consider the word we use for breathing, inspiration. If we dissect the word, we see it means “in-spirit.”
I like to keep things simple. There is nothing simpler than your own breath. Consider this, breath work has no cost. It is without question the least expensive way to improve your health. It takes little time. 15 to 30 minutes a day can change your life forever. Lastly, it is always available. In fact, it is right under your nose available at every moment.
So let us begin. First, sit upright in a chair, relax your shoulders and let your arms hang freely. Next, place your right hand under your navel. Imagine your belly is a balloon you were going to inflate. Take a deep breath in through your nose with your mouth closed. Breathing the air below your chest and expand your belly.
Pay attention to your hand moving in and out on the belly with the inhale and the exhale. Close your eyes and use your imagination to picture your abdomen as an inflating and deflating balloon. Try this exercise every day for 15 minutes and you will have begun the process of improving your life, your health and your happiness.
Matthew McQuaid, DPM is a board certified foot surgeon practicing in Lakeport. He has a particular interest in Mind/Body medicine and its impact on healing. He is an award winning author and teacher. For more information please call( 707) 263-3727 and visit www.drmcquaid.com.
