Are You Breathing the Right Way?

How can you check?

Sit in a comfortable position. Keep your right hand on your stomach. Take a deep breath in and exhale slowly. Notice your hand and stomach. Is your stomach contracting while breathing in? And stomach expanding while exhaling???

You are doing it wrong.

Lets learn the right way of breathing

Before that Lets count our respiratory rate per minute.

Relax and close your eyes. Concentrate on your normal breath. Relax any effort and once again watch the spontaneous breathing pattern.

Once you are ready- keep the timer for a minute. And start counting every inhale.

What’s your count after 1 min??

Respiratory rate is a vital sign of normal functioning of a body or any critical condition such as cardiac arrest or any other respiratory problems. At rest, the respiratory rate is 12–16 breaths per minute for adults. If your count is above 20, its time to introspect the causes and learn how to correct the breath.

Pranayamas and meditations help in correcting this respiratory rate.

Natural breathing

Sit in a comfortable meditation posture or lie in Shavasana and relax the whole body. Observe the natural and spontaneous breathing process. Develop total awareness of the rhythmic flow of the breath. Feel the breath flowing in and out of the nose.

Do not control the breath in any way. Notice that the breath is cool as it enters the nostrils and warm as it flows out. Observe this with the attitude of a detached witness. Feel the breath flowing in and out at the back of the mouth above the throat. Bring the awareness down to the region of the throat and feel the breath flowing in the throat. Bring the awareness down to the region of the chest and feel the breath flowing in the trachea and bronchial tubes.

Next, feel the breath flowing in the lungs. Be aware of the lungs expanding and relaxing.

Shift the attention to the rib cage and observe the expansion and relaxation of this area.

Bring the awareness down to the abdomen. Feel the abdomen move upward on inhalation and downward on exhalation. Finally, become aware of the whole breathing process from the nostrils to the abdomen and continue observing it for some time.

Bring the awareness back to observing the physical body as one unit and open the eyes.

This is a simple technique which introduces practitioners to their own respiratory system and breathing patterns. It is very relaxing and may be practised at any time. Awareness of the breathing process is itself sufficient to slow down the respiratory rate and establish a more relaxed rhythm.