Just Breathe

Relax. Such an easy word yet so hard for so many people. We as a society today are so stuck in the GO GO GO mind set that we forget to rest and take care of ourselves. This can (and does) cause so many issues in our minds and bodies. When something as simple as breathing could work wonders for our health, why don't we utilize it? The thought behind this is simple. We have our two states in our body.
1. Fight or Flight- sadly this is where too many of us live.
2. Rest and Digest- Where we should be the majority of the time

Now, when we are in this Fight or Flight state several changes happen in our body. Our breathing rate increases to send oxygen to our limbs to get ready to bolt, blood flow increases to these areas and away from our organs of digestion effectively shutting it down, and epinephrine is released to shut down our pain response. This all sounds pretty mild right? Well not when we are spending a lot of time here. Our body can't tell the difference between being chased by a bear and being on time for work. So our stress response immediately kicks in and sends us into Fight/Flight. Pretty hard to RELAX! Now this can cause huge health problems for us as our immune system takes a big hit. When our immune system is compromised we can't fight off disease and infection like we should causing us to be open to any number of illness.

Now this is where breathing comes in. When you are running from a bear, are you going to stop and take a nice deep breath? No Way! If you are fighting off a would be attacker are you going to stop and enjoy the fresh air? I Hope Not! Breathing deeply helps our body know that life is good. Breathing deeply is simple easy and free! You can't leave your body at home. Simply breathing increases oxygen in the blood, improves digestion (which is where a lot of your immune system lives), and helps you RELAX! So be healthy and start breathing. Become aware of what you are feeling and take control of your body. (unless of  course you ARE being chased by a bear).