
More Benefits of Learning Breathing Practices
Several studies suggest that controlled yogic breathing has immediate and positive effects on psychological well-being, as well as on physiological markers of well-being, such as blood pressure and heart rate. Within minutes you will feel better and place your body in a significantly healthier state. The long-term effects of a daily breathing practice are even more pronounced. By activating the part of our nervous system associated with “resting and digesting” (the parasympathetic nervous system), breathing practices may “train” the body to be calmer. For example, preliminary studies have found that regularly practicing breathing exercises lowers one’s level of cortisol — the “stress hormone.” Having lower levels of this hormone may be indicative of an overall calmer state of being, which may translate into less reactivity in the face of inevitable life stressors and less risk of heart disease. Although substantial studies of yogic breathing and the brain have yet to emerge, preliminary brain studies of meditation and the breath suggest that they activate brain areas involved in the control of the autonomic system, such as the insula. Control of the breath appears to activate brain regions that guide the parasympathetic, or “rest and digest,” processes of the body, perhaps thereby inducing its calming effects. Deep breathing has even been found to reduce pain.
Breathing and De-Stressing (3): An Unusual But Effective Breathing Technique
Benefits of Gratitude (1): Savoring Life’s Good Times
Benefits of Gratitude (2): Builds Self-Esteem
Benefits of Gratitude (3): Helps Us Deal With Stress And Trauma
Benefits of Gratitude (4): Encourages Good & Giving Behavior
Benefits of Gratitude (5): Builds and Strengthens Relationships
Benefits of Gratitude (6): Inhibits Keeping Up With The Joneses
Benefits of Gratitude (7): Deters All Negative Emotion
Benefits of Gratitude (8): Keeps You from Taking Good Things For Granted