More Oxygen Gives you More Energy

Without oxygen we die in a few minutes. It is the most essential vital nutrient for our body. It is like good food. Oxygen aids digestion, skin function, brain function, lightens the workload for the heart, helps the immune system work better and is critical in the production of ATP, the basic energy production for cells.

If it is one of the main needs in producing energy, guess what you'll have more of when you get more oxygen into your body? Something that really helps us have days of productivity and positive outlooks - ENERGY. People just don't seem to have enough of it these days, and things like energy drinks have become a hot commodity. These energy drinks have negative effects and can really jack up your system though, loading the blood with caffeine and sugar. This has been shown to increase the heart rate and blood pressure, causing insomnia, dehydration, over-stimulation of the nervous system, and a big crash afterwards while your blood sugar tries to catch up.

Learning how to breathe deeply, and get more oxygen to your system gives your body more building blocks of energy while soothing the nervous system, lowering heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and helping you sleep. It is a wonderful tool to use if you are starting to feel sluggish, irritable, sleepy or nervous, to give your whole system a toning boost.

Getting more oxygen is as simple as deciding to learn how to breathe more fully and regularly throughout the day, and writing down a time to do it. In my weekly class on BREATH: A Class to Relieve Stress and Relax on Tuesday evenings in Santa Rosa, starting Jan. 27th at 5:30pm, (www.squidoo.com/breathingtips) we will practice breathing techniques for energy and stress management and also design a plan to fit your breath work into your life in a way that will work for you.

Here is a simple exercise to start your new habit:

Sit on the edge of a chair or couch with a straight, relaxed back. Slowly breathe in through the nose, allowing at least 3 seconds for your in-breath. Breath out through the nose or mouth, whichever feels better for you, allowing at least 4 seconds for the out-breath. The longer you sit and focus on your breathing in a session, the longer the inhale and exhale will become. Allow them to naturally expand to longer and longer periods. No need to force it, your body will find its rhythm and its comfort zone. Notice the lengths of the inhale and exhale and realize that it is just right for that moment, whether your breaths seem short, medium or long. The exhale will naturally be a little bit longer than the inhale.

Bring your attention to the belly, and place your hands on it for a moment. Breathe in, and with softness and little effort, allow the belly to puff out with the air coming in. As you breathe out, allow the belly to naturally fall back into place. Feeling this movement with your hands helps to bring awareness to this process.

Breathing from the belly like this allows the diaphragm to do its work, creating space by pushing down into the abdomen to make room for the lungs to expand. (more on the diaphragm later!)

As you breathe in, say to yourself, "in". As you breathe out, say to yourself "out". It is a slow, gentle rhythm you will start to feel. It is like rocking in a boat. You can give into it, let it take you to a place of rest. You give your mind a break, all it has to do is think "in" and "out". Of coarse other thoughts come in too, but you are giving it an easy job, you are allowing it to do less.

The more minutes you can give to this practice, the greater the benefits will be of oxygen in the blood and the relaxation of your body. The more often you practice, the easier it will be for your body to remember this new way of breathing and being.

Good job! Devoting one minute to this will still be a gift to your body. Enjoy this simple way to give yourself more energy and more peace!