Breathing. Have you thought about it lately? For most of us, we let our unconscious deal with it. And thankfully it works, but to what degree? Take a moment and pay attention to how you are breathing. Does your belly round out as you take an in-breath? Does your chest expand?

Typically we breath into our chest rather than our belly, resulting in a fraction of the oxygen getting into our blood system (less than 1/10 liter of blood flows through the top of the lungs-the chest breath, as opposed to over a liter through the bottom of the lungs-the belly breath) which causes the heart to work harder. I’m sure you see where this is heading. Enough said.

Chest-breathing is wired into the anxiety-producing mechanisms of the body, while belly-breathing is wired into the relaxation-producing mechanisms. Simply by breathing deeply, into your belly, you will notice changes in your physical, mental and emotional well-being.

When you need Relaxed Concentration

Two facts: It is not possible to feel anxious while breathing abdominally. If you tell the truth, your body relaxes slightly. So, take a big belly-breath and after the out-breath, say something true. Anything will do but it must be unarguable. “Today is Tuesday.” “I’m sitting in a chair.” Keep it simple. Just take a deep, relaxed, full breath, and tell the truth. This puts the body and mind into alignment, freeing your attention to focus on the task at hand.

When you need to Let it Go

Catch yourself as soon as possible after a negative experience, take 3 deep breaths, and change your body position (shake it off, stretch, jiggle-see what works for you). Part of the mechanism of a bad mood is shallow breathing and frozen body postures; don’t let the negativity settle down into your body. Breath and shake!

The human body is designed to discharge 70% of its toxins through breathing, so breathe deeply and let go of the garbage (physical and emotional!).