1. It’s good for your health

The mechanisms of breathing involve a whole variety of muscles. In general, in modern life we do not have the opportunity to employ them to their full extent. Partly, this is because we sit more than our forebears and partly we are often living in a continuous process of slight stress which changes our breathing. We spend more time indoors than our ancestors and our working lives are less physically strenuous. We can give our breathing muscles a simple “workout” just by considering where our breath is going in our body. Are we breathing deeply enough? Do we consider how we breathe out as well as how we breathe? As our muscles develop and good breathing becomes the norm our posture is better and there is more oxygen available to us.

2. It’s helps you relax

The rhythms of our body are interconnected. Our breathing is connected to all the other major functions of the body. We need oxygen to come in and carbon dioxide to go out. Our hearts and brains need oxygen to be flowing properly. Not only that we can use rhythmic breathing to calm ourselves down. If you are feeling stressed and anxious it affects your breathing; conversely concentrating on measured, considered deep breaths can help you trigger the dispersal of adrenalin out of your system and lessen the effects of stress.

3. It improves your voice

Our breath generates the sound of our voice. When we have enough breath we can vary the volume speed and pitch of our voices with ease. We sound clearer and can deal with more complex and difficult thoughts. When we run out of breath it puts pressure on our vocal chords and can strain them.

4. It’s good for your audience

We are sensitive and empathetic beings. When someone is listening to you talk they breathe with you. It helps them follow the structure of your ideas and understand the variety and speed of your thought changes.

5. It will make you feel confident

When your breathing is successfully in a calm, deep and measured place you look and sound more confident and so people treat you as such. When they respond to you as a confident person you feel more confident in return. This confidence upward spiral is a very good place to be.

So, here’s an exercise you can use to practise…

We do not usually consider our breathing as it happens naturally. If we change our breathing pattern even slightly it can feel very different. Lots of muscles are involved in the breathing process so like much exercise a little and often is much better than a big burst once a week. The following exercise should take less than ten minutes.

Step 1. Regular breathing

a) Breathe in for the count of five through your nose
b) Breathe out for the count of five through your mouth

Repeat this three times and notice where you are holding your tension. Most modern people hold it in their shoulders. Gently move your shoulders on the out breath and see if that helps. Notice if the gentle rhythmic breathing makes you feel more relaxed and calmer.

Step 2. Deeper breathing (Make sure you are relaxed and calm before you move on to this step)

a) Take a deep breath as above
b) When you breathe out count out loud approximately one number per second. How far did you get? The intention is to gradually increase the amount of numbers you can speak without running out of breath. Don’t force it and don’t go right to the very end of your breath.
c) If you do this regularly and notice that you are breathing into the lower areas of your rib cage and diaphragm your muscles will gradually expand and get stronger and more flexible.

Happy breathing!