I have these recurring dreams. I'm swimming, and of course, underwater holding my breath. As I was a swimmer in high school and I coached swimming, and synchronized swimming, I am quite practiced at holding my breath. In the dream, there always comes a moment when I remember "oh yeah, I can breathe here too." and I take a breath and continue swimming, like I am a fish.
I've always wondered if those dreams happen when I am holding my breath while sleeping, and they tell me to breathe in life?
Moreso, I love those dreams because they help me to value breath more the next day. And they remind me of the cleansing and rejuvenating power of water.
Beautiful recurring dream,Teri! When I was a teenager I wished I was like an amphibians species, they can breath in and out of water:-))) not sure why humans haven’t evolved that way... I dont think you hold your breath while dreaming but either way, it looks like you feel free becasue you can breathe under water too🤩
I am enjoying reading your posts, Mila. I only feel compelled to add three personal observations. (1) I've never trained myself to exhale through my mouth and think that, in my case, breathing through the nose is less distracting to the mind. (2) Surprisingly, Esther Gokhale (the Australian who dreamed up the amazing Gokhale Method) encourages us to fill the chest with air before visualizing the prana entering the ocean of chi in the lower Dan Tien. (3) Interestingly, a lifetime of practicing breathing exercises has caused my lungs to increase in size to the point where my doctor must take two x-rays to study all of them.
Thanks for reading Chalres. It is fun, when it becomes almost effortless ;).
Agree, I am for nose inahles and exhales but some people prefer mouth exhales while practicing breathing techniques. Nose is meant for breathing, mouth isn’t.
Amaizing, you increased you lung capacity significantly! This is one of the predictors of longevity.
A Gokhale method is also about our posture and better breathing, spinal allignment goes together.
Diaphragmatic breahting does not exclude deep chest expantion, the so called full yogic breath is about diaphragm, ribcage expantion all the way to clavical bones. There are many ways to breath, depending what we want to achieve.🤩
if you find it challenging to translate or listen to your breath right now, it's normal as it takes some practice.
1. Try Counting Breaths once: when you sit and work. You can count how many breaths you take in a minute to get a sense of your current breathing rate. slower, more steady rate indicates calmer state, while rapid,shallow breathing suggests more stressed state.
2.Inhale and Exhale:Try to observe a length of your inhales compared to your exhales, when watching tv or before sleep.
With relaxing breathing, your exhale should be slightly longer or as twice as long than your inhale, which helps activate our parasympathetic nervous system, and promotes relaxation.
With Balancing breathing, try 4:4 on ihnale and on exhale. But don’t count seconds, just choose your own rhythm.
3. Mouth vs. Nose Breathing: for examples: when at your work desk, take a note once, whether you're breathing through your mouth or your nose.
Nose is always our 1. Choice.
there's no need to rush or feel pressured to "get it right."
These small observations will help start "translating" what your breath is “telling “ you:-)🎊
Informative
I have these recurring dreams. I'm swimming, and of course, underwater holding my breath. As I was a swimmer in high school and I coached swimming, and synchronized swimming, I am quite practiced at holding my breath. In the dream, there always comes a moment when I remember "oh yeah, I can breathe here too." and I take a breath and continue swimming, like I am a fish.
I've always wondered if those dreams happen when I am holding my breath while sleeping, and they tell me to breathe in life?
Moreso, I love those dreams because they help me to value breath more the next day. And they remind me of the cleansing and rejuvenating power of water.
Beautiful recurring dream,Teri! When I was a teenager I wished I was like an amphibians species, they can breath in and out of water:-))) not sure why humans haven’t evolved that way... I dont think you hold your breath while dreaming but either way, it looks like you feel free becasue you can breathe under water too🤩
Great stuff looking forward to the next coffee breath article
Thanks JFT🎊
I am enjoying reading your posts, Mila. I only feel compelled to add three personal observations. (1) I've never trained myself to exhale through my mouth and think that, in my case, breathing through the nose is less distracting to the mind. (2) Surprisingly, Esther Gokhale (the Australian who dreamed up the amazing Gokhale Method) encourages us to fill the chest with air before visualizing the prana entering the ocean of chi in the lower Dan Tien. (3) Interestingly, a lifetime of practicing breathing exercises has caused my lungs to increase in size to the point where my doctor must take two x-rays to study all of them.
This is fun, isn't it?
Thanks for reading Chalres. It is fun, when it becomes almost effortless ;).
Agree, I am for nose inahles and exhales but some people prefer mouth exhales while practicing breathing techniques. Nose is meant for breathing, mouth isn’t.
Amaizing, you increased you lung capacity significantly! This is one of the predictors of longevity.
A Gokhale method is also about our posture and better breathing, spinal allignment goes together.
Diaphragmatic breahting does not exclude deep chest expantion, the so called full yogic breath is about diaphragm, ribcage expantion all the way to clavical bones. There are many ways to breath, depending what we want to achieve.🤩
Of all my activities, breathing is my favorite.
Coffee breath is something I don’t do. Looking forward to that article!
Cool, thank for reading, Tim! I will also release a video on that.
Seems obvious now after reading this that my breath is speaking for my ANS. That's really fascinating Mila.
And I have to be honest...I'm not great at translating let alone stopping to listen to it.
I see the benefits you are listing...
And I agree with this...
"While working, driving, or even amidst unpleasant conversations, we can tune into our breath willingly
"So, what is your breath telling you right now?"
I don't have the slightest clue Mila.
Do I count how many breaths in a minute?
Do I measure the inhale vs the exhale?
Do I note wether I'm mouth breathing or nose breathing?
Does google translate breath to english? 🤔😉
Thank so much for reading through, Brad.
if you find it challenging to translate or listen to your breath right now, it's normal as it takes some practice.
1. Try Counting Breaths once: when you sit and work. You can count how many breaths you take in a minute to get a sense of your current breathing rate. slower, more steady rate indicates calmer state, while rapid,shallow breathing suggests more stressed state.
2.Inhale and Exhale:Try to observe a length of your inhales compared to your exhales, when watching tv or before sleep.
With relaxing breathing, your exhale should be slightly longer or as twice as long than your inhale, which helps activate our parasympathetic nervous system, and promotes relaxation.
With Balancing breathing, try 4:4 on ihnale and on exhale. But don’t count seconds, just choose your own rhythm.
3. Mouth vs. Nose Breathing: for examples: when at your work desk, take a note once, whether you're breathing through your mouth or your nose.
Nose is always our 1. Choice.
there's no need to rush or feel pressured to "get it right."
These small observations will help start "translating" what your breath is “telling “ you:-)🎊
Thanks for these pointers Mila!
I’ve tried a few of these today.
I’m fairly good at nose-breathing, exhaling longer than inhaling, and slow breathing while at my computer.
I’m curious to contrast this against when I’m face-to-face with another person (without looking like I’m counting breaths or losing track : )
Great article! I wish I could do more breath of fire, but my Pitta is a bit wild at the moment. HA.