You Will Have More Energy
When you breathe you take oxygen into your body. Taking deep breaths ensures that you take in more oxygen. Oxygen is carried to every part of your body. The more oxygen you inhale the more energy you will have. Taking deep breaths will automatically make you feel more mentally alert. The intake of lots of oxygen will leave you feeling energized and clearly focused. This is one of the reasons that we feel revitalized after an exercise workout, brisk walk, or deep breathing session.
You Will Feel More Relaxed
Breathing deeply activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System. This is the part of your nervous system that is responsible for rest, rejuvenation and healing. Often, due to high levels of stress, we are at the mercy of the Sympathetic Nervous System. The Sympathetic Nervous System is responsible for the neuronal impulses and hormonal activation associated with the fight or flight response. In this state of high arousal, your body remains active and alert. You may experience adrenalin and tension. Taking deep breaths will send a message to your brain that you are not in danger and help your body to relax and return to a state of balance. When you are relaxed your whole physiological system can rest and repair.
You Will Have Stronger Immunity and Be More Resistant to Disease
Stress is incredibly harmful to your body. If you are constantly in a state of hyper arousal, your normal bodily functions will be impaired and your body cannot restore itself. By deep breathing you counter the effect of stress. When your body is not overworked by preparing for perceived threats, you have a stronger immune system. Additionally, many diseases such as Cancer are thought to thrive in bodies that have high acidity. Bodies that are more alkaline are less likely to become unwell. Deep breathing can lessen the acidity in your body. This is in part due to the reduction in stress.
Your Relationships Will Improve
Deep breathing will help you to be less reactive. When you are angry or triggered it is common to make rash comments, or act without thinking. Situations can escalate. If you are able to take a few deep breaths, the impulse to react can pass and you will be able to choose the right words, or how to respond in a productive way. By introducing a feeling of calm by pausing, you may be able to see things from the other persons point of view and feel compassion instead of a desire to defend or attack.
You Will Have Better Digestion
When you are not relaxed and your body is in a state of flight or fight, it is not possible to properly digest food. Everything shuts down in order to prepare you for a dramatic dash from danger. Digesting food is not top of the agenda. In fact your body may spontaneously eliminate all food from your body in order to be less encumbered. As mentioned above, taking deep breaths will activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System allowing your body to breathe a sigh of relief and get about its normal business. It is not unusual for people to carry additional weight due to their emotions. Someone who feels fundamentally unsafe is liable to carry extra weight or be under weight. The bodys inability to digest food properly may be one of the reasons.
You Will Be More Connected to Yourself
Breathing deeply will cause you to slow down. We are often frantically busy. When we are not multi-tasking, we are chattering away in our minds. We may even be multi tasking whilst chattering away in our minds! Taking a deep breath will allow you to pause and stop all the doing. In those still, quiet moments you become able to hear the answers from deep inside yourself. You begin to know clearly who you are and what you want. You become better able to honor who you are. Once you are able to get out of your worry, you will be able to receive the guidance that was there all along. Often being can be much more productive than doing.
You Will Have Good Sleep
Deep sleep is so important for your physical health and mental well-being. During deep sleep your body replenishes so that you wake up feeling revived and refreshed. Deep sleep is important for lowering anxiety. In sleep, your unconscious processes and resolves, daily troubles. When we are fraught we tend to take quick shallow breaths. Our brain thinks we need to be alert and is not prepared for deep, relaxed sleep. We may struggle to get to sleep or keep waking up. If you have too little sleep, or do not complete sleep cycles, your body will likely feel tired, weak and possibly painful. With good sleep you will think more clearly, have more energy and feel better able to manage your emotions.
