Breathe (095)

Focus for the week

The breath. One thing that you will always have with you is your breath. Yet, mastering your breathing is something that few people have done, let alone realized is possible.

Take a deep breath. What rises more: your chest or your belly? If you are like most, your chest rose significantly while your belly stayed flat. This is inefficient. The focus when you breathe should be pulling air deep into your belly using your diaphragm. Only after your belly is completely full should your chest expand. With time and practice, you can improve your breathing by strengthening your diaphragm muscles. Try the following techniques:

Quick breaths: Sit up straight and inhale through your nose, focusing on expanding your stomach and using your diaphragm. Exhale through your nose and focus on feeling your stomach contract and empty. Do this in an increasing cadence. For one minute, inhale for 1 second, then exhale for 1 second (1 full breath every 2 seconds). For the next minute, practice doing 1 inhale and 1 exhale per second (1 full breath/ second). If you are feeling capable, increase your cadence to 2 breaths per second or even faster! Just remember to focus on expanding and contracting the stomach and keeping the chest stationary.

Slow exhales: Take a deep breath through your nose to fill your stomach first and your lungs second. Hold for a brief moment and then slowly exhale through your mouth. Exhale as slowly as possible. You do not want it to be audible, or to be able to feel air moving out of your mouth if you held a finger up to your lips. Just a few breaths like this can transform your mood. This will bring you into the present moment and slow your heart rate.

Diaphragm massage: This is a very advanced movement but if you can, exhale completely and then suck your stomach up into your rib cage (also known as a stomach vacuum). Then use your diaphragm muscles to make your stomach dance. See this video as a reference. Skip ahead to 40 seconds to see the breathing.

What I’m Reading

Last week I tried to read Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall, but I just could not get into it. This week I will be reading The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Baltasar Gracián.

Have a great week :)

Lucas