Breathing Techniques for Relaxation

One of the best ways of relaxing your body is to learn some breathing techniques. As you experiment with the many different techniques, you will likely find one that works best for you and one that you will use over and over.

Many people look for all kinds of ways of relaxing, such as having a massage or soaking in a hot tub, which are great, but the key to total relaxation is in your breathing. Breathing slowly and deeply is the way in which you can achieve this.

All breathing techniques involve breathing through your nose rather than your mouth. This is because of the cilia that line the inside of your nostrils. Their purpose is to remove the impurities from the air that you inhale. The mucous membranes also help to warm the air and add moisture to it thus keeping your airways from drying out.

Concentrate on your breathing technique so that you can focus on the air as it enters your nose and travels down your trachea and into your lungs. The lungs are filled with millions of tint sacs called alveoli and all of these need oxygen.

In normal shallow breathing, the air does not reach all of these alveoli and therefore there are sections of your lungs that are deprived of oxygen on an ongoing basis. When you take deep breaths you fill all these sacs with the oxygen they need to expel the carbon dioxide in the stale air that has been built up in them.

You can do a little test top find out how deeply you breathe. Lie down and place your hands together at the point where your ribs meet just below the middle of your chest. The tips of your middle fingers should be lightly touching. Inhale through your nose and feel your lungs moving downward in your chest.

Take notice of whether your fingers move apart. If you are breathing deeply, they will move apart. If they do not move apart, then you should start engaging in breathing techniques so that you can give your lungs the oxygen they need.

You do need to practice breathing techniques on a daily basis. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to set aside a portion of your day to this exercise because a five or ten minute period is sufficient. One of these techniques involves engaging in deep breathing while you are sitting down.

You take in three breaths through your nose without exhaling between the breaths. Start with your arms hanging loosely by your sides. Inhale through your nose and as you do bring your arms out in front of you at shoulder height.

When you inhale the second time, spread your arms apart and when you inhale the third time raise them above your head. As you exhale, bring your arms back to your sides.

Another of the breathing techniques also involves moving your arms, but in this technique you do exhale. You hold each breath for the count of four before you exhale. The movement of your arms aids your diaphragm in its work.

Whichever of the breathing techniques you choose you will have to practice the technique on a daily basis. The more you practice, the better you will become at it thus experiencing a deeper feeling of relaxation in your muscles. Deep breathing is also good for your heart because it does slow down your heart rate.

Concentrate on your breathing technique so that you can focus on the air as it enters your nose and travels down your trachea and into your lungs. The lungs are filled with millions of tint sacs called alveoli and all of these need oxygen.