Breathing is such a staple in my life because of its underrated benefits in a chaotic world.
When my father was diagnosed with lung disease I became obsessed with learning more about how our lungs can improve and what the benefits of breathing daily really involved.
I had a morning routine that involved deep breathing using an alternate nostril technique that I love. Thats when I sought our various styles of breathing routines and the more I found, the more the foundation was set on just taking slow deep breaths and exhaling over a period of time
What are some key benefits of breathing deeply and creating a routine?
Reduce Anxiety100%100%
Better Physical Performance100%100%
Increase Oxygen to Body and Brain100%100%
Provide Calm and Clarity100%100%
Why Is it So Important
Breathing is underestimated because it is an act we do everyday of our lives unconsciously. Sometimes it is taken for granted because once you experience the benefits of a good session, you will fall in love with how it makes you feel.
Diaphragmatic breathing, also known as deep breathing, is such a powerful practice that involves breathing deep into your diaphragm rather than how we usually breath just into our chest. This is really important because of the problems of shallow breathing.
When we get stressed, nervous or anxious our breath tends to get shallow and faster. That can heighten your anxiety and make you more tense. The “fight or flight” response in humans is activated and your body responds to distress and increases its heart rate, blood pressure and even tenseness in muscles.
Deep slow breathing can create a calm and relaxing response to your body acting in this “fight or flight” stage. The body and mind can now get into a relaxed state instead of intensifying anxiety or making blood pressure worse. I witnessed this with my father’s lung disease.
He had many bouts with moments of feeling he couldn’t breathe. His pulse oximeter would show his levels drop fast and he would panic. His body would respond with danger on his mind and his anxiety would create panic. Being his caregiver, I would sit there with him and get him to slowly breathe deep and relax his mind and his body would follow.
My father was such a believer in these techniques and said he was grateful to me for getting him out of that scary state. All I did was be calm and remind him to breathe. That’s when I knew the importance of breathing can be lifesaving.
Deep breathing also allowed him to maximize his lung capacity. He only had 17% of his lungs functioning since he had COPD and Pulmonary Fibrosis so we had to make sure we got the most of his working lungs.
The 4-7-8 breathing exercise is a great start to experimenting with breathing and its benefits.
The video above walks you through a routine that involves breathing in for 4 seconds, holding your breathe for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. Very calming and easy to follow. Explore and watch your body react .
This is one of many techniques we will explore but I found this to be very friendly to newcomers and you can definitely feel an improvement in calming your body and mind. Relaxation can be controlled and improved as long as we try and work on ourselves.
Breathe and Do Your Favorite Activity
The purpose of this website is to get you to meditate or do breathing routine and then do something you love. The main reason: to put great free energy in a happy state. Stress lingers and catches up with us. Get in control and revitalize your energy levels
Go and try out the 4-7-8 breathing routine and keep your momentum moving forward. Each day we can do something for our mental health and be proud of you taking a positive step for yourself. Don’t doubt yourself, enjoy your energy.
Welcome to AfterIMeditate – the ultimate destination for self-discovery and happiness!
Here, we’ll be diving into the world of meditation and how it can help you unlock your full potential. By combining the power of meditation with doing things you love, you’ll be able to skyrocket your happiness and tackle those pesky daily stresses with ease.
Meditation + Doing What You Love = The Ultimate Positive Mental Health Formula
After I Meditate
We’ll be exploring all sorts of fun and interesting topics on this website, like:
1. Meditation – from the basics to advanced techniques, we’ve got you covered!
2. Breathing routines – learn how to breathe like a pro and say goodbye to stress
3. Discover your passions – learn how to turn your hobbies into a way of life
4. Finding new skills and courses – expand your horizons and explore ideas
5. Therapy – speak with professionals can change your life for the better
I created this website because I’m passionate about meditation and how it changed my life.
It helped me out of some dark times and gave me the tools to calm my mind. I know how overwhelming life can get sometimes, and I want to share my knowledge and help others in the same way.
Breathing routines are a game-changer too! They’re so simple but incredibly effective when it comes to stress relief. We’ll be sharing some of our favourite techniques that you can start using today.
We’ll be adding new content all the time, so make sure to check back often! Remember, knowledge is power, and the more we learn and challenge ourselves, the happier we become.
Let’s start this journey together and make the most out of life!
In 2017, my father was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis and Pulmonary Hypertension. His lungs were functioning at a 20% capacity, and he was terminally Ill. Things would not get better. At this moment he told me that all he wished for was the ability to breathe.
Years before this, I adopted a breathing routine that I would do every morning and many times my father would walk by my room and smile knowing I was repairing my lungs and working towards a healthy lifestyle.
As the UCLA lung specialists searched for better ways to help his severe condition, they always recommended breathing techniques that could ease the pain.
My dad looked at me and said, “you are good at this; you have a gift.” I found it my mission to help him in whatever way possible.
Why Breathing Changed My Life
Growing up I was a very anxious kid; always overthinking everything. I was an honors student and I attributed that to my constant anxiety of wondering “did I study enough?”
Many of us deal with anxiety on various levels and while mine was controlled, it still felt like a problem that needed to be addressed. I always wondered what it would be like to just enjoy life without that constant reminder of something wrong.
Family issues, heartbreak, tough times and many other variables brought on more stress that didn’t help my scenario. What could help me change my mentality?
Confused On How To Start?
I graduated college in 2004 and in 2007 I had the pleasure to travel to India for 3 months. It was my first time as an adult in a foreign country with a new perspective. I decided I wanted to enjoy without a worry in the world, being in a whole unfamiliar environment.
Step 1: Just decide you want to do something different
Overthinking just kills action. My friend advised me to just start with a simple practice of breathing. He showed me a technique he learned from his culture called Pranayama. This technique involved breathing in through one nostril and pumping your stomach in and out and then releasing the breath through the opposite nostril.
I first saw it as intimidating, but I realized that there was a whole other world on breathing. I had never seen anything like it. It looked fun and the benefits were amazing. He told me to start slow and just believe in it as a positive practice.
Step 2: Understand why your breath is important
As I began to understand more techniques there was a main idea that kept popping up: why were we never taught to properly breath and use it as a positive force in our lives?
What does proper breathing look like? What can we do to improve our lung function?
Here are some core reasons I fell in love with its importance:
Can help provide mental clarity
Help reduce stress levels
Aid your digestion
Stabilizing blood pressure
Slowing down heart rate
I began doing the Pranayama technique for 30 minutes/day every morning for over 15 years and fell in love with its benefits. I felt a clear mind, my anxiety was not at the forefront, and I felt happy. I started to laugh and think: did oxygen just make me feel better? Was all that was needed was breathing?
As my father dealt with his lung condition, he inspired me to share what I learned. He dealt with many terrible days of always needing 10L of oxygen constantly on. When we did some rehab exercises, he noticed a calmness that came from just breathing and trying to control our minds from feeling nervous.
Just breathe became our mantra, no matter how severe a scenario became.
How does meditation figure into this?
Many mornings after breathing, I would read to start my day. The books I chose had to do with spiritual growth, meditation and calming the mind. I started to feel as if my breathing routine was a form of meditation, and there was a correlation: eyes closed breathing can inspire meditation.
Many meditation routines begin with focusing on slowing down your breath and focusing on just inhaling and exhaling to relax. That is when I really wanted to pair my breathing routine with a meditation routine.
Start With Simplicity!
When I thought of meditation I did not know if I would succeed. My overthinking led me to believe that I did not have time for it and that I do not think I can quiet my mind. What is the point. I finally told myself that it was time to change that mentality.
JUST START SOMEWHERE
The key is to just familiarize yourself with the process. Meditation at its core can be simple. I started with this routine:
Sit in a comfortable spot: in a chair or on the floor
Close your eyes
Inhale slowly and deep then exhale slowly. Do this 30 times
As you do this, envision oxygen flowing to all parts of your body
On the last breath just sit there and keep your eyes closed for 10 minutes
The purpose of this process is to just get comfortable with your own breath and silence. In this world we are constantly distracted and never take time to sit still with ourselves. It is a great start to just notice what we think about when we are trying to relax.
Do not judge yourself and just enjoy getting started.
AfterIMeditate was created to help you learn about the power of positive routines in our life. Let us start with some basics and have fun. Our mission is to improve our mental health and be happy about ourselves by doing things we love.
In future articles we will look at meditation and breathing in depth and find ways to improve our lives.
