2:1 BREATH AWARENESS EXERCISE
One of the easiest ways to stay relaxed is 2:1 breathing in which you exhale twice as long as you inhale. The extended exhalation provides a greater stimulus to parasympathetic discharge, leading to a deep and balanced relaxation. You should always be comfortable when doing breathing exercises.
During your practice of diaphragmatic breathing, when your breathing is balanced and even and has become very smooth with no jerkiness stops or pauses; gently slow the rate of exhalation until you are breathing out twice as long as you are inhaling. It might be necessary to shorten the length of inhalation very slightly. You are simply changing the rhythm of the breath, not trying to fill the lungs completely or empty them completely. The purpose is to alter the motion of the lungs in a very systematic way. You may count to six on the exhalation and three on the inhalation or eight on the exhalation and four on the inhalation – or whatever is most comfortable for you. After you have established this gentle rhythm, stop the mental counting and focus on the smoothness and evenness of the breath flow. Eliminate all jerks and pauses. Maintain 2:1 diaphragmatic breathing for as long as you wish. Pay attention to what happens to your heartbeat and any other changes in your body.
One of the easiest ways to stay relaxed is 2:1 breathing in which you exhale twice as long as you inhale. The extended exhalation provides a greater stimulus to parasympathetic discharge, leading to a deep and balanced relaxation. You should always be comfortable when doing breathing exercises.
During your practice of diaphragmatic breathing, when your breathing is balanced and even and has become very smooth with no jerkiness stops or pauses; gently slow the rate of exhalation until you are breathing out twice as long as you are inhaling. It might be necessary to shorten the length of inhalation very slightly. You are simply changing the rhythm of the breath, not trying to fill the lungs completely or empty them completely. The purpose is to alter the motion of the lungs in a very systematic way. You may count to six on the exhalation and three on the inhalation or eight on the exhalation and four on the inhalation – or whatever is most comfortable for you. After you have established this gentle rhythm, stop the mental counting and focus on the smoothness and evenness of the breath flow. Eliminate all jerks and pauses. Maintain 2:1 diaphragmatic breathing for as long as you wish. Pay attention to what happens to your heartbeat and any other changes in your body.
BENEFITS:
The exhalation stimulates the parasympathetic system twice as long as the inhalation stimulates the sympathetic system.
This rhythm greatly reduces tension and creates a deeper state of rest for your heart and vascular system.
CAUTION:
Do not practice, if you suffer from chronic depression. In chronic depression, the PNS is already too dominant, and you don’t want to emphasize its dominance with long exhalations.
For depression and low energy states, alternate nostril breathing exercise needs to be done.
1 comment:
This is a wonderful post. I have been practicing breath meditation for some time now. But for my bad luck I always fall a sleep. It is really hard to keep concentrating on your breath. It is very fragile. But if you ground your body from head to toes. It works better than any thing.
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