How often do you go a whole day without taking a deep breath? The quality of your breath has a direct impact on how your body functions. Breathing exercises are used by fitness and clinical professionals to augment their clients' daily activity. Slow breathing and counting your breaths are two distinct techniques of respiration used for meditation and stress relief.
Slow Breathing
This technique requires you to deepen your inhale and lengthen your exhale. Our natural breath is often shallow and either too quick or infrequent. When practiced properly, slow breathing will fill the lungs to full capacity as well as deplete them to make room for the next inhale. Slow and deep inhales give your body's cells the opportunity to fully absorb oxygen. Slow and long exhales ensure that gas and toxins exit the lungs. The concentration involved to practice slow breathing removes your awareness from anxiety and redirects you to the present moment.
Counting Your Breaths
Sometimes breath counts are recommended over time counts when performing physical exercises and stretches. The optimal practice of counting your breaths integrates the slow breathing process. To count your breaths without first enhancing the quality of your inhales and exhales can actually deprive your cells of oxygen. However, if you deepen and lengthen your breaths as you count them, the body has time to distribute and utilize the oxygen as well as break down waste matter.
Which is Better?
Counting your breaths is a technique that should be combined with slow breathing. Counting quick and shallow breaths defeats the purpose of the exercise. To practice slow breathing for one or two cycles of inhales and exhales is beneficial, but even more so if extended for a longer period of time. These two techniques augment each other and can be practiced at any time and in any setting.
Count Slow Breaths, Not Seconds
Staring at a watch or clock when you are engaged in physical activity or daily chores can add stress and negatively affect performance. For example, holding a stretch for 20 seconds can seem like an eternity and if you are not focused on your breath, your body misses out on valuable oxygen supply. One slow inhale and one slow exhale have the potential to last 20 seconds combined. Concentrate on your breath, not the clock.
References
- "The Breathing Book"; Donna Farhi; 1996
- "Yoga Anatomy"; Leslie Kaminoff; 2007
