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| Category: Energy Healing |
Date published: October 17, 2003 |
Many diseases are caused by prolonged stress and most diseases are maintained by stress, healing is impaired by stress and pain is increased with stress. Breathing deeply reduces stress, but more importantly it prevents stress from building and adding to itself. An already stressed person will become further stressed very quickly and without any real provocation. We all know people who ?fly off the handle? at the most insignificant things and in an irrational way. Not because of any immediate danger or fear but simply because they are on stress overload.
Regular deep breathing keeps stress minimalized and long term you will find that the more relaxed you are the less likely little things will irritate you.
Deep breathing relaxes muscular tension. A lot of back, neck and stomach pain is actually muscles squeezed so tightly that over time the area becomes painful. In some cases the body permanently takes on the shape of the tension, hunched shoulders and facial wrinkles are examples of this. Stomach and bowel problems are often the result of habitually squeezing or tensing muscles in this area.
The immune system needs oxygen to function effectively. The immune system is a huge chemical factory. All the doctors, scientists and pharmacists in the world do not have the capabilities of the immune system When it comes to your body this is the army of all armies. Your immune system must have your assistance to reach every cell within your body. It will capture, kill and destroy any invader; bacteria, virus, allergens, parasites and yeast infections hate oxygen. Cells are more likely to become cancerous or mutate when deprived of oxygen.
Oxygen protects cell membranes from free radical damage. This in turn prevents premature aging and degenerative disease. The best beauty treatment available is breathing. Just look at your skin and eyes after an aerobic exercise.
Deep breathing reduces pain; anyone who has experienced childbirth can vouch for that. Thank goodness most birthing institutions now practice breath therapy. With that knowledge you wonder why they do not encourage these breathing techniques in all pain related treatments.
Most people believe we get most of our energy from food. Not so, it is estimated that as much as 75% of our physical and mental energy is provided by oxygen. Quite often people take great care with their nutritional needs and usually add vitamins and minerals and allsorts of health promoting products. Without effective breathing your digestive system cannot fully metabolise much of this and a great percentage is not absorbed or transported throughout your body. It is also assumed that toxins and waste products are mostly eliminated via our skin bowels and bladder. Not true most of our elimination is via the exhalation of your breath.
Deep breathing greatly influences emotions and well-being. In the short term we can calm ourselves when in a state of anxiety or fear. To the other extreme we have experienced or at least know of ?Runner high?. Runners high is a term for a phenomenon where a person experiences a state of bliss and a huge surge of physical energy. Runners high does not come from running, Runners high comes from maximum oxygen input and carbon dioxide output.
Many religious and philosophical practises use breath therapy to bring a richer or more enlightened state of mind. In recent years the western world has adopted many of these principles. Breathing techniques calm the mind and bring attention into the greater wisdom of your own body and mind. Your instincts become stronger and you thinking becomes clearer. Most people experience a deeper sense of mind body and spiritual well being.
Taken from the pages of Reinventing Myself. By Sonya Green
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