Becoming present in your body- Breath

It's difficult to do something you haven't done before. Especially, when learning to do it for the first time.

Unless you've learned how to do things at an early age, in the correct way, you might need to take classes in order to get the hang of it. For example, swimming, running , singing or even learning a dance, it takes time before you start to see improvement.

When you were first attempting to walk as a baby...... time and effort needed to take place before you built up the strength to be able to walk naturally. What if I were to tell you it's the same exact thing when learning how to become present in your body?

You'd think that as a human being that this crap should come naturally for everyone.......well unfortunately it doesn't. Everyone and I mean everyone is different. Whether it be breathing, distinguishing your emotions, thoughts and even correct posture.

Not knowing how to do these things correctly for yourself is actually pretty common.

The question that needs to be asked is how can you tell, if you've never experienced it in the proper way? This is the dilemma we face, if it's something you've never experienced outside of yourself, then how would you know?

We can start here, with the basics to becoming present in your body.

1. Breathing.

How can you tell if you are breathing improperly?

Here are a few examples that'll help you realize if your body needs more breath:

   •    Neck and shoulder tension (from overusing accessory muscles instead of the diaphragm).

    •    Headaches or lightheadedness (from over breathing and dropping CO₂ too low).

    •    Cold hands and feet (poor circulation from blood vessel constriction).

    •   Shortness of breath even when not exerting yourself.

    •    Digestive discomfort (diaphragm not massaging organs properly).

    •   Difficulty concentrating / brain fog (poor oxygen balance in the brain).

    •    Feeling easily overwhelmed or fatigued.

   •  Slouched or rounded posture (shallow breathing often pairs with collapsed chest).

    •    Rib flare or tight upper chest.

    •    Overuse of neck and upper back muscles.

    •    Chest tightness or heaviness instead of the belly expanding naturally.

    •    Sleep issues like snoring, sleep apnea, or waking up unrefreshed.

2. Now, lets make you aware of how your'e breathing.

Breathe naturally, do you breathe in and out through your nose or your mouth?

You should absolutely ALWAYS be breathing in and out through your nose! Mouth breathing should only be used during things like intense exercise, if you are experiencing allergies, or during breathing practices like yoga.

If you mouth breathe naturally, the structure of your face becomes compromised. whether it be a caved in jaw or lower half of your face and nasal passage becomes weak.

When breathing through your nose, do you inhale upwards through your nasal passage causing the top half of your body to expand(upper back, shoulders, tightness in your chest) or do you inhale inward between your nasal passage/ the upper part of your mouth and down your throat (the oxygen that your'e inhaling should be hitting these areas)? Think of it as a straw that your holding straight back between the bottom of your nose and upper lip, in the cupids bow area.

Inward breath through your nose and down toward the bottom of you lungs (diaphragm) is much easier on your body and helps to avoid the habit of breathing into your upper back/ shoulders AKA(also known as) shallow breathing.

Shallow breathing is linked to high stress, anxiety and triggers fight-or- flight, and when having a panic attack, shallow breathing is usually involved.

In order to get through a panic attack, you need to have deep belly breaths.

Please see the demonstration below:

3. Lets try again, breath naturally

Notice the changes, now make sure your back is straight, your chest is pushed out and upward and your shoulders are rounded back. Breathing correctly does become harder to do, because now, you are in the proper position and are breathing properly for the first time or in a long time, Please note that it might feel as if you are straining to breathe because these muscles haven't been used.

This will be very difficult at first, so please don't become discouraged, you will most likely experience tremors, shaking, expansion of upper chest and lower gut area and/ or heavy intense restriction because now you are breathing in a new way.

4. Now that breath and posture are taken care of, let make sure your feet are fully immersed on the floor when standing, sitting, squatting.

When sitting down, do you naturally place both feet flat on to the floor? After a period of time, do you cross your legs or ankles? Do you pull one leg up and sit on one foot to get comfortable? If so, pay attention because over time the lower half of your body will start to have very poor circulation.

Lets do a quick exercise, sit down on a chair and place both feet flat on to the ground. Sit up in the correct posture that we just learned and take a very deep breath in through your nose, expand that breath towards the lower half of your body and hold it for about 5-10 seconds, please go at your own pace!, if you can't hold it for that long, then, start with 3 seconds. Now can you feel the air in your stomach? Maybe your hips? How fall down in the lower part of your body can you feel this breath travel? If not at all/ if it doesn't pass your upper half, then you my friend have poor circulation in the lower half of your body.

Poor circulation in the lower parts of your body prevent you from being grounded because lack of breath and circulation moving throughout your body, preventing you from noticing/ feeling some issues in your lower half until your'e in full out pain.

Practicing breathing exercises can help improve and expand the breath moving throughout these parts of your body. Practicing can also definitely help and usually is the first step to being more conscious of your body. Conscious mind creating conscious breath equals consciousness throughout the body. Remember practicing is the way to building this muscle. SO my friends are you going to start the journey to becoming more present! Lets get out of your mind and into your body!

If your looking for anymore recommendations on how to improve your breathe and circulation throughout the body, then please email me and we can go over ways in which you can start becoming more connected!

Disclaimer:

The content shared on this blog is for informational and entertainment purposes only. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, life coach, or medical professional. The opinions expressed here are my own personal views and experiences and are not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the guidance of a qualified professional with any questions you may have regarding your mental, emotional, or physical well-being. Reliance on any information provided on this site is solely at your own risk.