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Spring Flowers - Unknown
Photographer
How you
breathe reflects your self-esteem.
How you
breathe directly correlates
to your
enjoyment and satisfaction in life.
These are
startling statements,
yet we can
observe their truth in those around us.
If you
breathe deeply, you imbibe of life and what it has to offer.
If you are
a shallow breather,
perhaps
you are not confident and feeling safe.
Deep breathing,
using the diaphragm muscle and belly,
quiets the
mind, reduces blood pressure, uplifts unhealthy attitudes,
and
decreases psychosomatic symptoms.
On the
other hand, improper breathing habits can cause "cardiac symptoms,
angina,
respiratory symptoms, gastrointestinal distress, anxiety,
panic,
depression, headache, dizziness, seizures,
increased
susceptibility to infection
and other
immune system dysfunction, sleep disturbances. . . ."
When we
stop breathing deeply,
we tense
so as not to feel the rising emotions.
We operate
solely from our unconscious habits and programming.
Tension,
frozen feelings, trauma, and emotional reactions
cause us
to feel separated from the flow of life.
Conscious
breathing restores our balance so that we can be
in a state
of response, feeling fluid and connected.
We can
then stop worrying about the future and the past
and focus
more directly on being present...
Caron B. Goode,
Ed.D.
Excerpted from
Breathing in Relaxation
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