By Geeta Chopra
Over the holidays it can get stressful! Especially when you are working full time. Make sure you stop to breathe. Deep breathing is a powerful technique that only takes a few minutes per day but can change your entire life. The practices I will write about should be practiced in the morning on an empty stomach. The total time allotted will be five minutes.
If we think about it, we typically take shallow breaths all day. This isn’t just about our lungs, it has to do with removing toxins, circulation, blood purification, oxygenating the blood, boosting stamina, increasing energy levels, reliving head chases, cleaning out the lungs, improving digestions, and curing all imbalances and disease in the body.
You might wonder how simply breathing can serve so many functions. Well, we were built to inhale clean oxygen down to our deepest cell. When cells don’t have fresh oxygen, thats when disease is born. An anaerobic environment is the birth of all disease in the body. One example is candida, which creates an aerobic environment in the small intestines. This literally starves your cells to death; they turn black from suffocation. A similar occurrence is when you cannot exhale – your cells become filled with carbon dioxide. You get polluted internally.
When you don’t sit down to breathe deeply to oxygenate all of your cells – you might as well hold your breathe and pass out! Oxygen is nourishment to the cells as food is for the muscle. You might think you are already deep breathing throughout your day, since you are still alive, you must be breathing right? Well I will now demonstrate the correct way of breathing.
Make sure demonstration of these techniques which can be found on youtube: The Geeta Chopra, The power of breathing episode.
Put one hand on your stomach, and one on the chest. Breathe deeply and see which one expands further. If your stomach expands further, then you are inhaling correctly. If your chest expands further, then you are incorrectly inhaling. Always breathe in through the stomach. It may seem unnatural at first, but yo uvula get used to it and never go back. Also, make sure your body expands when you breathe in – to fill up with air like a balloon, and contract when you push out the carbon dioxide.
Take a deep breathe in through your stomach 3 times. After the third time exhale quickly and forcefully through both nostrils 21 times without breathing in. This is a reputed pattern f exhaling all th toxins out of you organs. During this, the liver is detoxifying itself through the breath. It is good to have the windows open during this; or do it outdoors. This also rapidly warms up the organs – so it should done n the morning on an empty stomach. It also prepares you agni (digestive fire) for the day.
Next we need fresh oxygen to fill back up. Make sure the windows are open, and put clean breath back in the system to rejuvenate the process. Hold one nostril closed, while breathing in deeply through the other one. Hold for two seconds, then exhale through the opposite side. Repeat 3 times. Now, switch sides and do the same thing. This is balancing to the last exercise; and very calming. This has a tremendous positive effect on the neurological system. It also has deep mental and psychological benefits.
Finally, close all your senses to the world. This is absolutely imperative for every human being to get back in touch with their spirit self. If you live in a big city, or are surrounded by a lot of people all of the time, this can be life-changing. Put one finger on each eye, nostril, and ear simultaneously and make the Om sound from your lungs / throat. This sound will echo through the chest and head. This is very calming and re-sets your brain daily. It also cures head aches and lung issues.
So those are the three exercises daily! Do them every morning, and soon you will not want to live with them! After 30 days, your cells will be completely different, and disease will be eradicated from your body. Disease cannot survive in a healthy environment.
Remember, you can watch my episode on the power of breathing to see a live demonstration!
Happy Breathing!
Geeta Chopra is the television host of ‘The Geeta Chopra Show.’ She is a health and wellness coach who helps people heal from their root. She has authored two books, and gives talks on the subject matter. The approach she uses is influenced by Ayurveda and Chinese medicine.
She has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Toronto and a Master’s degree from George Washington University. She is also the owner of a real estate development company. Follow her on YouTube to watch her latest TV episodes on various natural healing modalities including gut health, pranayama, the mind-body connection, organ detoxification, rejuvenation, and much more. Her book, “To Every Gastroenterologist in America: What You Didn’t Learn and Med School and to Every Patient Who Becomes Their Victim,” is launching in 2020. Follow her on YouTube to get a free copy. Be the best version of yourself!