Breathing

When someone asks me how I am I usually respond with okay which means nothing bad or good is going on. When things aren’t so okay I reply with “I’m barely breathing” which means I’m highly stressed out over something. When I listen to meditation videos they always start out with deep breathing, at first, I thought it was kind of silly to concentrate so much on breathing. I also started to notice my breathing when I was stressed out or intensely involved in something. I have two destructive breathing patterns that take place, I either over breath or shallow breathe; sometimes I even subconsciously hold my breath. None of the three poor breathing methods make a happy functioning body. It’s funny to have to learn how to breath properly because it’s something we do automatically.

   With some unknown allergies or on and off sinus issues I already face upper repertory struggles at times. When I over breath due to some hidden or not so hidden stress I notice changes in my body that then become something bigger to stress over and I must actively engage my mind to slow down my breathing. When I’m deeply engrossed in trying to pull off a well-executed event, I pour all my energy into it and often forget to breath. By the time I notice that I’m grinding my teeth and withholding breathing I have already put the body in an uncomfortable mode.

    There are going to be places and circumstances where practicing deep breathing to bring the body into homeostasis are not so appropriate but it is something to take notice of and practice.