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Do you breathe voluntarily and consciously? Now what a question is that! We all learned in our younger years that breathing is an involuntary function of the body. It just comes naturally. But I have a reason to ask this question.

A few years ago, I mentioned to a colleague of mine at work, “Oops, I just realized that I was not breathing!” He gave me a sarcastic laugh and said, “how can someone forget to breathe?” as he got up and left his seat. Back then, it made me wonder for a while whether I was the only one, or whether I just mistakenly felt that I had stopped breathing.

Oxygen is vital to life, no doubts about that. But did you know that you could be depriving your body of the required amount of oxygen if you do not breathe consciously? Yes, you can indeed stop breathing for dangerous durations of time. No, you most likely will not die, as you brain would give you a kick before it’s too late. It’s not the immediate effects that matter much, but rather the ill effects of a bad breathing habit that gets chronic without you probably even noticing it.

You see, one can even stop breathing properly while performing exercises. It may just so happen that you focus on the exercising and forget to relax and breathe properly. And that’s the main reason I am writing this post today, as we take on the challenge this month.

There’s a lot of information out there on breathing and it’s benefits and ill effects. The purpose of this post it to highlight a few important points, and to express the importance of breathing while we are working on the daily exercise challenge.

Consequences of improper breathing

Ever thought about the ill-effects of improper breathing? Or were you of the opinion that as long as the “involuntary” breathing happens, you’ll be just fine? Well, here are some of the consequences of improper breathing:

- Lack of energy, and reduced stamina
- Anxiety, stress and irritability
- Digestive problems
- Weakness of body and brain
- Tense muscles, and neck and shoulder pains
- Weakened immune system
And other unimaginable diseases!

If this interests you, check out some quotes and frightening facts that I found at:
http://www.oxygenesis.org/professionals.html

Basic types of breathing problems

There are some breathing problems that are critical and require special medical assistance. However, we will not talk about those in this post. Instead, we will talk about some of the most common types of breathing problems, which often go unnoticed.

Some of these simple and common breathing problems are:
- Frequently holding one’s breath for periods of time exceeding 5 seconds
- Very shallow breathing
- Breathing only using the chest, not including the abdomen

Some people would not even think about these as breathing problems, and some may not even know that they actually have these breathing problems. And yet, I guess these problems would be common amongst us, and may be the reason why some people feel the consequences mentioned above.

Common causes of improper breathing

What could be the causes of these improper breathing problems? The causes are things as simple as:
- Strong focus on the task at hand
- Being habitual accustomed to improper breathing
- Stress, tension, anxiety,…

In a world where we are increasingly expected to work at peak efficiency levels continually, it is common to need to focus intently at the task at hand, and it is common to feel stressed, tensed and anxious about the day to day circumstances. So how common do you think improper breathing would be?

Benefits of proper breathing

Maybe I shouldn’t even include this section, as the benefits are probably just too many to list down. Anyway, here is a gist of some of the benefits, just so that you know what is in store if you really make an attempt to improve your breathing:

- Improved energy levels
- Better focus and concentration
- Efficient elimination of toxins from the body
- Stronger immune system
- Improved metabolism
- Reduced stress, tension and anxiety
- Overall calmness and relaxation
- Controlled blood pressure
- Better regulation of body weight

All in all, the benefits are innumerable!

How to breathe properly, when exercising and otherwise

Though I am no authority on breathing, I have learned and found out for myself that the following breathing technique works very well. You may need to tweak it or take expert medical advice to make sure that you are doing what is right for your body.

1) First and foremost, exhale, completely! Inhaling without first exhaling properly, doesn’t allow a full load of fresh air to come in. Do not exhale only up to the point of your abdomen feeling relaxed. You have to exhale completely by caving in the abdomen and consciously forcing out the remaining air from the lower part of the lungs before taking in the next breath of fresh air.
2) Inhale slowly, fill up the abdomen such that it bulges out, and also fill up the chest with still more air. This should be done slowly and in a relaxed manner (I’d say, in about 4 seconds).
3) Hold the breath for 1 to 2 seconds.
4) Then exhale in about 3 seconds.

When exercising, however, the duration of each inhalation and exhalation reduces. Inhaling for 3 seconds and then exhaling in 2 seconds may be a reasonable estimate for simple exercises like the ones we have outlined for the challenge this month.

It is said that you should be able to carry on a simple conversation while exercising. I think it is meant to be a measure of whether you are becoming breathless. I personally do not prefer to talk, and would rather concentrate on how each exercise acts on the various muscles and joints of the body.

Time to breathe!

You can breathe now! Yes, take a deeeeeeeep breath, and then answer yourself honestly:

Can you say for sure that your breathing is perfect? Do you give conscious attention to your breathing, at least every once in a while? Do you sometimes find yourself out of breath even while working on an activity that is not physically challenging? Were you really breathing fully when reading this article?

Now take another deep breath, and leave a comment to express your opinions.
Then keep breathing away to success… consciously!