Becoming Aware of Your Breathing is key to being more present in your life. To change something, you first have to become aware of what needs to be changed. Modulating breath to influence health has been around for centuries and should be used today. 3 tips to retrain your breathing are: close your mouth, extend your exhale, and raise your body awareness.

Close Your Mouth. Simply closing your mouth yields significant gains; it will slow down the frequency of your breathing and airflow volume. Our bodies thrive in a precise range. Too much of anything is not good - including oxygen. We breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Mouth breathing brings too much oxygen in and gets rid of too much carbon dioxide. Nasal breathing is the healthy way.

Extend Your Exhale. The exhale is connected to the parasympathetic (rest/digest/grow). The majority of us spend more time in stress mode and have a high sympathetic tone (fight/flight/freeze). This automatically puts us into a shallow breathing pattern. Infuse calm into your day to day through your breathing by slowing down and slightly extending the out-breath. It will change your internal physiology and state of mind.

Raise Your Body Awareness. The heart and diaphragm are 2 muscles that work 24/7. The breath drives diaphragm movement, which impacts heart rate. The diaphragm should be doing 80% of moving the air in and out of your lungs. When this is not the case, other muscles (scalene, sternocleidomastoid, trapezius, and even psoas) take on this role they are not designed for. These muscles overcompensate, leading to sore neck and shoulders. When the diaphragm is weak, so much can go wrong. It is the hallmark of many diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, COPD, heart and circulation issues, asthma, and poor digestion.

Lastly, try paying attention to your breathing during these daily routines.

• Using your Phone
• Working/Concentrating
• Stressed
• Talking
• Preparing Food in the Kitchen
• Driving
• Feeling down/depressed
• Watching TV
• Sleeping
  

By observing how you breathe in different situations, you can retrain your breathing.