How you breathe says more about you than you think. As a practicing yogi, it is so interesting to observe people in all kinds of situations.
I can basically tell who is having a great day or crappy one, just my observing how people breathe.
Are you engaging in upper chest breathing which is giving me clues as to your level of agitation, stress?
Are you breathing rapidly which is giving me clues as to your level of anger or tension?
Are you breathing from the diaphragm and taking long breaths giving me clues as to your cool and calm nature?
What’s most interesting these days, is that yes – while we all are breathing – most are leveraging incorrect breathing techniques.
We are sitting improperly rounding our shoulders and compressing our upper chest limiting oxygen from coming in adding to all ready existing stresses and pressure.
We lean to far in compressing our lower abdomen limiting the vacuum necessary to draw fresh oxygen in and replenish the blood stream.
As breath gets tense, the muscles get tense, and then the mind gets tense.
If we are doing so much work breathing with limited capacity the mind takes a huge hit. We get moody and angry. It’s a feeling of claustrophobia in a tightly packed elevator. We are seeking freedom, but unable to move and find it.
To be free, you have to pound the chest open like a superhero and naturally draw air in, keeping the shoulders relaxed and slightly back.
This one move, can help you immensely. Proper sitting or standing and walking with the chest open will help you in drastic ways.
Try it and the world will open up for you.