Love Your Lungs
Love Your Lungs
Your lungs are the wings of your heart! A deep inhale inspires; a double inhale can reset your nervous system; a strong exhale can revitalise; a slow exhale can calm. Healthy breathing patterns invoke a healthy body and evoke a healthy heart.
Is there a “right” way to breath? As a Yoga Teacher and a Natural Health Practitioner, this is something that I deal with a lot. There seems to be a strong argument for statements such as “most people don’t breathe properly!”. Breathing is fundamental to life, so if we’re all doing it so wrong, how are we continuing to live?? This poses a useful point about the difference between living and thriving. An old car might shudder and judder along, but if it has a good clean, an oil change, maybe a few parts need refreshing, and bulbs need replacing etc, so that it can then run more efficiently, effectively, and reliably. I’m not calling you a clapped-out old motor!! But perhaps we can all benefit from noticing when we need charging or maintaining and learning what fuel suits us the best.
Your lungs, your digestive system and your skin are the three organs or body systems which are responsible for taking nutrients in from outside and eliminating things from within. Yoga philosophy would suggest that around 80% of the energy that you need comes from the Prana – the life force associated with the breath.
Things that can prevent your lungs from functioning efficiently include bacterial or viral infections, allergies, injuries, traumas, emotional challenges, “bad” posture, and unhelpful habitual breathing patterns.
Tips for Breathing:
· Movement of the diaphragm (a large dome-shaped muscle that sits under the lungs) is key. Natural relaxed breath should come predominantly from the diaphragm, moving the belly out as the ribs cage expands out and up. Your shoulders may move slightly.
· Your nose is designed to take air into your lungs, whilst your mouth is there as a secondary airway if required. So breathing should occur through the nose for the most part, where possible.
· Try not to stifle your breath’s natural impulses. Yawning is a fabulously useful mechanism for regulating the nervous system so stop yawn-shaming!
Herbs to support your lungs:
· Elecampane: Great for clearing those deep-seated, long-lasting coughs
· Mullein: Sooths dryness and loosens mucus
· Thyme: Thymol, the natural phenol in thyme is a powerful antibacterial and great for clearing the airways
· Marshmallow: Soothing and protective for the mucus membranes of the airways and digestive tract
· Eucalyptus: Inhaling the essential oil is a wonderful way to open the airways, clear congestion, and help to buoy your heart
A useful exercise:
Nasal breathing: practice breathing comfortably, evenly (inhale and exhale equal in length without holding your breath) and calmly through your nose, keeping your lips gently together. Perhaps for a very short period to start off with. If this feels easy then you might continue this breathing as you do your regular daily activities such as walking around, doing the gardening, or gently exercising. As you do things that require more physical exertion you will find it becomes harder to keep your breath even and steady and keep your lips together. Test yourself but don’t force it. Be sure to do this for very short periods to start off with and be sure not to over-breathe. Consult a medical practitioner if you have any shortness of breath or if you feel light headed.
You might also find these Blog articles interesting:
Bhastrika Daily Breathing Practice
Contact me directly if you’d like further guidance or would like to book a session to assess what exercises would be best suited for you or if you would like to see what holistic natural therapies can do to help the health of your lungs.
