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"Jeff,

Thanks.  You’ve given me a way to kick my own $ss.   I need this, and I’m loving it.   I’m really flushing a lot of crap out and it feels GOOOOD to purify this way!"

Amelia Vogler

Cary, N.C.

Remember, the primary reason we should practice our deep breathing exercises every day (at least once per day) is to train our respiratory system to take slower, deeper breaths.  Let's not forget that your respiratory system is innervated by nerves you can't control (Autonomic Nervous System) as well as nerves you can control (Somatic Nervous System).  That is a pretty cool fact!  You can not directly control your heart, intestines, or kidneys.  They just go on doing their respective jobs without your having to think about it (and a good thing too!).

Your breathing also happens automagically.  However, since your respiratory system also contains somatic nerves, you can control your breathing to a degree.  You can decide to slow down your breathing, speed up your breathing, or stop altogether for short periods.  So why is this important?

As with riding a bicycle, playing a piano, or playing chess, correct breathing is a skill that must be practiced.  The more you practice, the better you get at it.  Mastery of any skill involves burning of the nervous pathways via countless repetitions of the correct actions.  Every time you perform an action, the mind-body link gets stronger, and that action becomes more "automatic".

Most adults become shallow breathers due to years of accumulated stress.  Stress causes your body to go into defense mode.  The result is tense muscles, closed in chest, tight ribs and abdomen, and shallow breathing.  It is as if your body is prepared for a strong punch.  And this would be great if you were hit with that punch.  The problem is your body is always expecting that punch, and remains in a state of protection for months or years -- without you even being aware of it!

Slow, deep breathing is the antidote!  It counteracts the tightness and tension.  And the way to get good at deep breathing is to practice regularly.  Over time, your autonomic nervous system learns to relax.  It begins to understand that there is no need to prepare for war when diplomacy has worked :-).

We do live in stressful times.  A good measure of how much stress is affecting you is how well you breathe.  If your breathing is shallow, then your body is probably revving too high.  So we must mitigate that stress daily.  And your deep breathing practice is the answer.  This is why we spend so much time practicing deep breathing in DPT class.  You are training your mind and body to take slow, deep breaths and to relax upon command.  Remember, this is a skill, and all skills get better with practice!