Around our house we used to call three PM stupor time because on most days it was around then that I would start feeling sluggish and have difficulty concentrating. I figured that after the age of forty-five this was common for most people. I was a bit bored with my work, had some mildly painful twinges in my lower back and I had fallen into a comfortable winter routine where I got a little paunchy while I cocooned myself indoors watching old movies and M.A.S.H DVDs. It was while extolling the virtues of short afternoon naps to an old high school friend I found out that it's possible to make simple changes that create a vibrant flow of energy and keep your mind alert throughout the day.
Put simply, most of us don't feel as good as we could simply because we don't breathe well. When I learned how to breathe in the way that I'll describe below, my mood brightened, the fatigue disappeared, the discomfort in my lower back stopped and I enjoyed clarity of thought throughout the day that used to only happen when I first got up and only if I'd had a good night's sleep.
Most of us probably don't think too much about the way we breathe but what you need to know is that the quality of breath can be easily disturbed by tensions in daily life such as stale or polluted air, being criticized and emotional "noise". Under stress our breathing shifts into fight or flight mode where we breathe too shallow, too fast and high in the chest. When your breathing chemistry is out of balance you feel a little anxious and a little tired all the time. There's mental fog and you feel like you can never quite take a full satisfying breath.
Here's what healthy breathing looks like.
Begin by relaxing the belly muscles. This allows the diaphragm to flatten and draw in the air. Your abdomen expands first, before your chest moves, which allows air to fill the lower part of your lungs.
The middle of the in-breath expands the chest muscles, which causes the ribs to widen in the front, sides and back. Your rib cage also moves upwards as the air begins to fill the upper part of the lungs.
At the peak of the in-breath, your collar bones move upward and your shoulders relax as air fills the upper part of your lungs. A healthy deep out-breath goes through these three stages in reverse.
You can see newborn babies belly-breathe like I've just described without being taught. Luckily there's an easy way to do this without all the choreography.
Sit upright on a chair and slowly arch and flatten your back. As you arch your back, lift your chin slightly and breathe in filling your lungs from navel to collarbones. As you flatten the small of your back, lower your chin and breathe out. If you encounter an unpleasant sensation or pain, make the movement very small. Breathe slowly and gently like this for a minute or so, then rest and notice if you feel different. I have found that by doing this breathing and movement, I can calm stressful feelings, re-energize myself and think more clearly. Most people I've shown this to tell me that they feel the same benefits.
I have made a short, four minute video demonstrating how to do this breathing technique.
Link to Video
This article is inspired by the book "Achieving Vibrance" by Gay Hendricks.
To find out about four other simple changes that you can make on a daily basis to feel more fully alive, join Rukhshana and me for the Vibrance Workshop on March 17th.
The first eight people who sign up will receive a free copy of "Achieving Vibrance".
