Breathwork is the second most popular type of complementary medicine used in the U.S., according to the National Health Interview Survey

Energy MedicineIntegrative MedicineIntegrative PediatricsLife EssenceMind Body SpiritMindfulness & Medi...

Oct 16

Written By Dijamco

Breathwork is the second most popular type of complementary medicine used in the U.S., according to the National Health Interview Survey. (Natural products takes first place, while yoga/tai chi/qi gong are in third.)
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Over 10% of all adults use some kind of breathing meditation to improve their health. .
With good reason!
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Breathing is automatically regulated by the nervous system.
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But you can also control your breathing intentionally.
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👉 By consciously shifting your breath, you can influence your autonomic nervous system.
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That’s huge! Why? Because the autonomic nervous system also controls your heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, sweating, sexual function, urination, sleep, and stress response.
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Yogis have know this for years.
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🤓Now, research is catching up! There are a growing number of studies showing how breathwork can help with anxiety, insomnia, focus, blood pressure, and more.
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🙌 Wouldn’t it be great if more physicians knew about it?
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Unfortunately, it’s not something routinely taught in medical school.
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Fortunately, it’s something that you can learn. 👉 One of my favorite easy breathing exercises is this: Count your exhales.
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By counting your exhalations, you’ll naturally draw attention to the exhale and prolong it.
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💕A longer exhale helps to draw out the calming response in the body, which most of us need more of. .
You can do this anytime, anywhere.
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I love to do this just before going to sleep to help relax the body and mind.
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I also like to do this periodically during the day to ease out any tension or stress or break any mental looping.
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You could do it sitting, standing, or on the move.
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🌟Small things done consistently can work wonders.
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Do you use any breathing mediations? How have they helped you?