Lifestyle Choices

1. When you breathe, breathe with your whole chest and abdomen too. Most of us breathe only with the top part of our body, which means we are not fully lowering the diaphragm and expanding the lungs and so are not making use of their full capacity. This kind of restricted breathing stifles emotional expression and is often linked with anxiety, depression, and worry. To check for abdominal breathing, put your hands on your tummy. Does it swell when you breathe in and sink when you breathe out? It should. Lying flat on a firm surface, practice breathing fully and gently until you get the feel of it.
2. Make sure that with each out breath you let out all the air you take in. By exhaling more of the carbon dioxide, you will get rid of more of the cells’ waste products and you will be able to make full use of each new breath of air as it is taken down into your lungs.
3. Take up some kind of aerobic exercise—such as running, bicycling, or dancing—that demands full use of your lungs every day.
4. Use the following exercise for five minutes twice a day to increase your lung capacity, slim your middle, purify your blood, and help you learn the art of fuller breathing. You can also use it whenever you feel tense or need to clear your head:

Resting your hands on your rib cage at the sides, just above the waist, breathe out completely. Now inhale gently through the nose, letting your abdomen swell as much as it will to a slow count of five. Continue to breathe in through the nose to another count of five, this time letting your ribs expand under your hands and finally your chest too (but don’t raise your shoulders in the process). Hold your breath for a count of five, now slowly let it out through your mouth as you count slowly to ten, noticing how your rib cage shrinks beneath your hands and pulling in with your abdomen until you have released all the air. Repeat four times.

Here are a few special breathing techniques for specific ends.

Sensuous Breathing

This technique, taught to me by one of Britain’s top bioenergetic therapists, is a wonderful way of rediscovering the feel of your body. The therapist uses it to encourage the unblocking of any repressed emotional or physical tensions. She also claims that it increases one’s ability to experience heightened sexual pleasure all over the body.

Lie on the floor on your back and relax as much as you can, letting your arms and legs flop. Close your eyes and feel your body against the floor; do you notice any tension in any part of it? Shoulders? Back? Legs? Now focus inside your body and ask yourself where you feel any movement in your muscles because of your breathing. Anywhere you feel tense, imagine you’re breathing into that spot, imagine you can exhale through that part of your body and as you do, experience the breath relaxing your sore muscles as it filters through them. Then, when you are relaxed, experiment with the movements which are part of natural free breathing. They are beautiful movements.

When you breathe in, feel your pelvis tip back gently so there is a slight arch to your back while your abdomen and chest rise, ribs and back expand, and chin tilts forward just barely. Then, when you exhale, your pelvis moves down again so your spine almost touches the floor, your back contracts, and your chin and head move back again exposing the front of your neck a bit more. This natural movement is a wavelike motion that flows without hesitation from each in breath to its following out breath and so on. Practice it, exaggerating the tiny movements at first until you get the feel of it and then it will flow naturally.

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