#2 FAVE HEALTHY TIP = DEEP BREATHING - MEDITATION

Yesterday I gave my keynote talk entitled “ Setting Yourself Up For Success -Simple tips for establishing routine of healthy habits,” at Joe Cross’ Reboot Camp. What an honor it was to be able to join this brave group of cool people from around the world (15 Canadians!) who came for five days to juice and learn all about living well. So fun to meet those I got to talk to and to hear their inspiring personal stories about what motivated them to change their lives.  I’ve also enjoyed getting to know the talented Stacy Kennedy, Board Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition & Russ Kennedy PsyD, MA and the lovely Dr.'s Carrie and Lewis Diulus here at the beautiful Omega Institute. I want to share with you what I shared with these lovely people yesterday. So as promised, I’ll continue to blog about each of the eight tips for the next seven weeks (last week we did #1 - Gratitude).  

I was lucky, as many of you now know, to grow up with fitness-minded parents. My swimming instructor mother had us swimming before we could walk, on swim and soccer teams at age five and at seven years old my father took me to learn to meditate at the Transcendtal Mediation Center in Houston.  So I’ve been doing this stuff for a LONG time and teaching it and studying Buddhism for over 20 years, so in the process I’ve tried A LOT of different kinds of meditations. But the one that’s seemed to stick the best is the simple Two Bells breathing.

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Fortunately neuroscience now proves there’s real benefits to  practicing some of meditation regularly. And I’ll get to those. But first, let’s look at why we need to think about getting a practice if we don’t already have one. 

How do you breathe when upset or scared?  Short, choppy breaths right?  These breaths send a message to body everything’s NOT ok which causes the emergency/ “Fight or Flight” Response, adrenaline gets released and causes the following:

• Suppresses Immune system  
  
• Slows Digestive System
  

• Muscle tension
  
• Short-term memory loss
  
• Increased heart rate to pump more blood to your muscles and brain.
  
• Cortisol

Most Americans are in this fight or flight response/stress-mode breathing 15-20 breaths per minute nearly all the time.  A calm, centered person takes about six breaths per minute.  Good news-it’s a two way street. If we slow breath down, the body and the mind thinks everything is alright-even if you’re in a highly stressful situation.

EXERCISE:
So let’s try some 'Two Bells' style/six count deep breathing:

• Close eyes
  
• Make a mental checklist of how feeling.
  
• Close your mouth and put your tongue on top of your mouth.
  
• Inhale deeply in through the nose 4-6 counts
  
• Exhale out of the nose 4-6 counts. Repeat 3-5x.
  

Now how do you feel?

So we know that breathing deeply can calm the body and mind/get us present. But what are the other benefits of breathing deeply:

BENEFITS OF DEEP BREATHING:

• Deep Breaths = Less Stress and Better Digestion.
  
• Breathing exercises have a positive impact on your respiratory system, which can reduce mental and physical fatigue, as well as relieve symptoms of asthma and bronchitis.
  
• Reduces anxiety
  
• Helps with ADD, ADHD
  
• Mild Depression
  

Not bad for just learning to deepen breath.  

TIPS FOR BETTER BREATHING:
Purchase Two Bells or use the clock on our Meditation Page.

Neuroscience shows you’re more likely to continue a desired habit if you practice in the AM, five mornings in a row and try to string as many days in a row for 30-60 days- the standard reco for most new habits you’d like to acquire.

Practice:

• Upon rising or as early as possible on way to/from work
  
• Anytime you’re feeling anxious or stressed
  
• Start with five minutes and work your way up to 20
  
• If you can’t get to sleep or if you wake up and cannot go back to sleep. Really works!
  
  

The cool thing about Two Bells is that you can do it anytime, anywhere with or without the actual bells and it works immediately! Let us know how it works for you! xoMB

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