Top 3 Common Breathing Mistakes.

Want to know how to Breathe better?

What are the common Breathing mistakes Have we given a thought to the way we inhale and exhale, How to breathe ? We realize this only when we find difficulty in breathing. Most of us actually breathe incorrectly.

Studies show that we use only about one third of our lungs capacity when we breathe. Two third of the lungs remain unused. And we all know what happens to the elements that are unused or neglected.

Yes, their unused capacity gets deteriorated over a period of time. Not just that this also eventually leads to a host of health problems. If we are not breathing fully, it can make us feel stressed, anxious, depressed, tired, and our sleep patterns get affected.

70% of toxins leave our body via the breath. Proper breathing helps our nervous, muscular, digestive, cardiovascular and our immune systems.

When we breathe in, the lungs take charge of the oxygen from that air and allow it into the red blood cells in the body. They then carry oxygen around the body to be used by every cell in the body. In short, with each breath in by the lungs, each and every cell of the body gets energized and with each breath out, the body gets destressed as it gets rid of carbon dioxide.

Top 3 Common breathing mistakes:

Listed  below are some of the common mistakes we make in our daily life while breathing. Continuing this may affect in breathing diseases other health problems.

• Unconsciously holding your breath

When we are stressed or anxious, we tend to hold our breath unconsciously. In such emotional situations, we tend to sigh for want of oxygen. Sighing more than usual is a symptom of breath-holding.

• Improper posture

While seated, we tend to sit with a slouch in the upper back unconsciously. Such a posture puts unnecessary pressure of the shoulders and the chest affecting the breathing capacity of the lungs in the long run.

• Mouth Breathing

Breathing with our mouth open is a common incorrect breathing practice. Not breathing properly through the nose, can alter your heart rate and blood pressure as well as increase your stress response.

Tips to ease breathing:

Simple exercises to maximize your oxygen intake and improve your lung capacity:

• Normal breathing

Some use chest to breathe while some belly. Ideally we must use the chest and the belly both while breathing. So when you inhale, expand the chest and abdomen and when you exhale, the chest and the abdomen contracts a bit.

• Yogic way of breathing

Alternate nasal breathing or popularly known as Anulom Vilom pranayama, helps a lot.

To practice, close your right nostril, inhale through left slowly and deeply with awareness, expanding your chest and the abdomen. Now close both the nostrils for a moment or so and then open right and breathe out slowly with awareness through it. Notice the chest and the abdomen contracting a bit. Again, inhale through right, close both for a moment or so, open left and exhale. Take care that you engage the chest and the abdominal muscles both in the breathing.

Incorporate the above breathing techniques in your life and observe how you BREATHE BETTER.

Also read our blog on Yogic breathing to make you prone to breathing disorders and other problems