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Can breathing exercises help you live a more fulfilling life?

Old couple riding bikes together

Can breathing exercises help you live a more fulfilling life?

Dr. Anthony Warren
| 2017-02-14 | 3 min read

When we look to improving ourselves, one of the things that rarely comes up, oddly, is breathing. Yet, breathing is a core of our existence: if we stop breathing, we don't live too long. That said, the benefits of breathing exercises remain somewhat neglected when it comes to exercise and wellness. So if you want to improve your life, maybe it's time to consider improving your breathing using deep breathing exercises-- after all, the number of things better breathing can improve would surprise you. After looking at the various ways that breathing correctly affects your body, it will be clear that not improving your breathing is doing yourself a disservice.

Breathing right cleanses your system

Breathing correctly speeds the flow of blood through the body, relaxing the circulatory system and getting wastes and toxins such as pollutants out of your blood more quickly. Increased circulation sends blood through the detoxification process, meaning it can operate more effectively-- and you feel better. The effect is somewhat similar to the experience of detoxification that takes place during sleep, which is in fact when most people actually breathe most effectively.

Breathing exercises may actually improve your mood

Have you ever noticed that when you take a deep breath in the morning (or for night people, night) air, you suddenly feel more awake and happier? That's not a coincidence or a feeling that just comes from "being alive"-- that's actually your brain realizing that a rush of fresh oxygen has come in and so it floods dopamine receptors with dopamine, giving you a rush. So deep breathing exercises may actually improve your mood when you need it, because when you treat your brain right, it wants you to feel the same way.

Deep breathing exercises improve posture and stress levels

If you've ever been hunched over a desk working for hours on a project and you just have to stand up, you might have noticed your first instinct is to take a deep breath and stretch. Why? Simple. Poor posture (such as being hunched over a desk) actually limits your ability to breathe properly, and eventually that will begin to send increasingly loud signals to your pain receptors, until finally you feel uncomfortable. By keeping proper posture whether standing or sitting, you'll find it easier to get work done, lower your stress, and keep yourself feeling in top shape no matter where you are. And deep breathing helps you retain your posture. Better posture improves your breathing. It all works together. Breathing Right Improves Digestion and Eases Blood Flow

While we mentioned blood flow early on when it comes to deep breathing, did you know that deep breathing may improve digestion as well?  That's right, by breathing correctly, the circulatory system will be better oxygenated to digest food more quickly and more effectively, which of course will speed the digestive system's effectiveness in distributing nutrition to the blood. Another less obvious effect is that better breathing improves posture, which then frees up the digestive system to move its organs through the process of digestion comfortably. In both cases though, this means better digestion, and a cleaner internal system.

Breathing exercises may even improve your immune system

Breathing is intricately connected with the oxygenation of the bloodstream. The bloodstream, among other things, is intricately connected with the immune system. The immune system is comprised of different types of cells, such as lymphocytes like the different types of T-cells available in the body. And all of those cells are... blood cells.

Because the different types of white blood cells race through the body at amazing speeds defending it from pathogens along with the rest of the blood, they require oxygenation and replacement as much as any other type of blood cell. When you change your breathing habits and use deep breathing exercises to improve your respiratory system, you keep your autoimmune responses in top shape-- meaning you get sick less and you recover more quickly.

Start along your path to better breathing and improve your way of life along the way with help from breathesimple. With breathesimple on your side, you’ll be able to discover new opportunities to better your breathing, while learning breathing exercises tailored to your individual needs. Don’t be one of the 80 percent of adults who are breathing incorrectly, discover the way to better breathing to improve your health, happiness and your well-being by downloading the breathesimple App



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