breathing exercises Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Reduce Stress & Promote Detoxification with One Easy Exercise

The AHA! Team — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 21:54:10 +0000

Dena Schmidt via NaturalHealth365 – Breathing is something many of us take for granted. However, most people tend to breathe in a shallow way, contributing to stress and limiting oxygen intake. On the other hand, deep breathing activates the body’s relaxation response, supports circulation, and promotes overall well-being. Why is deep breathing so important? Proper breathing helps oxygenate the body and supports the movement of the lymphatic system, which plays a key role in immune function. While the body primarily eliminates toxins through the liver, kidneys, and digestive system, deep breathing can aid in overall detoxification by improving oxygen exchange and circulation. Reduce stress by activating your body’s detoxification system The lymphatic system neutralizes and transports toxins from the cells and dumps them into the circulatory system. The toxins are then cycled through the liver and kidneys and eventually excreted. However, while the circulatory system is pumped by the heart, the lymph system does not have such a pump. Breathing and body movement are required for it to work effectively. Without sufficient bodily activity and deep breathing, effective detoxification isn’t possible. The lymphatic system becomes sluggish, resulting in fatigue, inflammation, weight gain, and high blood pressure. Fortunately, deep breathing exercises are one simple exercise that can make all the difference to the health of the lymphatic system. Best deep breathing exercises to promote detoxification Eastern cultures and yogic traditions have long been aware of how important deep, mindful breathing is to health and well-being. The breath is central to practices like yoga and tai chi. Deep breathing brings a wealth of benefits to health and well-being. Here are some of the top reasons to remember to breathe deeply: Stimulates organs and lymph flow: The expanding and contracting effect of the diaphragm during deep breathing massages the internal organs and the lymphatic system. Cellular detoxification and oxygenation: Deep breathing naturally stimulates the body to rid itself of toxins, allowing more nourishing oxygen to reach the cells. Relaxation: Deep breathing exercises also trigger the parasympathetic nervous system, called the “relaxation response.” This promotes a calm sense of well-being. Breathing is a natural way to reduce stress and its effects on the body and mind. Fitness and weight loss: Breathing is essential to cardiovascular capacity and maximizing the effects of each workout. By reducing stress, deep breathing also encourages increased fat burning, so the body doesn’t burn glycogen instead of fat. Deep breathing exercises can be performed anywhere, anytime. Strive to cultivate the habit of breathing deeply as much as possible throughout the day, not just during your fitness routine or yoga practice (although it’s extremely beneficial during these times as well). For optimal benefits during deep breathing exercises, exaggerate your breath, lungs’ expansion, and diaphragm movement. Expand your belly and abdominal muscles during each inhale, and empty your lungs completely when you exhale. Even just a few minutes a day of this type of breathing can work wonders for the body, mind, and spirit. Sources for this article include: NIH.gov To read the original article click here.

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How I Got Through a Major Mental Health Crisis

AHA Publisher — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 08:00:33 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – I recently watched the Disney movie Soul with my family. If you haven’t yet watched it, I would definitely recommend that you do. There was a lot that touched me about that movie, so much so that I intend watching it again, and you will hear me referring to it often! The closing line of the movie was for me one of the most striking parts and spoke directly to me. The main character says, after being given a second chance at life, that “I don’t know how [I am going to do life], but I know I am going to live every minute of it”. First thing that struck me was that it’s kind of hard to do this, especially when we have had such an awful year…I mean where and how do we even begin? For myself, besides the mess that is COVID-19, with its health and financial challenges and disastrously disturbing politics, we, as a family, have faced several scary physical and mental health challenges. What I have really come to realize now is that, at the end of the day, life is uncontrollable and uncertain. And, after such a year, many of us, if asked, may also say something like “I don’t know how I will do life”. What I want to tell in you in this podcast, based on both my professional and personal experience, is that what we can do, and help others do, is learn to control our own reactions to do life—to “live every minute of it”. As I mentioned above, as a family we have suffered some extreme and traumatic events this past several years, including some very recent events just this past year. Why couldn’t I, with all my knowledge, and experience be able to fix this? What am I doing wrong? What have I missed? It was at this lowest point that the very idea of making any new year’s resolutions seemed like ridiculous motivational nonsense. My mind drifted back to the Soul movie and the closing statement and I thought: “I don’t know how I am going to do what life has just thrown at me, but I am going to try to live through this the best way I can…but, how on earth am I going to do this? How will I live in this minute?”. I am a researcher and a mental health professional, which means I am trained to think objectively in extreme situations. But sometimes this is easier said than done! When I was at my lowest point, I started a thought experiment, on me. I started doing a NeuroCycle, a scientific tool I have researched and developed and applied clinically over 38 years. It’s a 5-step process that takes you deeper into your mind in a way that influences brain and mind health and changes brain structure. It is designed to increase resilience, and help develop clear and flexible thinking in tough situations. I use the NeuroCycle as a lifestyle, so it comes naturally to me now—although it is something I still have to intentionally practice at times, especially in an acute situation like the one I found myself in in this past year. I was losing control and starting to succumb to despair—I was losing mental oxygen fast. So, I forced myself to start using the NeuroCycle process, even though I wanted to just sob and scream in a panic. Here is what I did: I gathered awareness of the dread in the pit of my stomach: the feeling that I was already dead from the shock of what had just transpired and the layer upon layer of bad news that just kept coming. I felt sick; my chest was sore and I was overwhelmed. I kept thinking, “This cannot be happening…just 24 hours ago this person was smiling.” I reflected on this awareness, realizing that this situation was out of my control and I couldn’t fix it. I felt totally hopeless and useless, like I had failed my loved one. I felt despair because of their pain. I wanted to absorb it all, so they wouldn’t have any of it. I was desperate. As I probed my thoughts and feelings, I had to admit to myself that I didn’t know how to protect my loved one. I took out my phone and started putting “my brain on paper” by writing these thoughts and feelings into the Notes app on my phone. I felt slightly calmer at this point–I could slowly feel the chaos in my mind, brain and body begin to recede as I organized my thinking. As I rechecked what I had written, I saw the words: “I can’t cope; this is too much; I don’t know what to do anymore; I am going to fall apart and have a breakdown. What happens if…I failed because I didn’t prevent this…”. Seeing these statements written down made me realize that I was spiraling into this a toxic thinking cycle that would get me nowhere and would not help me, my loved one or family. So, what would help us? I had to review this situation to influence/change the outcome. I asked myself this question: “What do I need right now to reconceptualize/reimagine this situation?”. I discussed this with myself and realized I needed information and advice from peers who knew more than I did about managing this particular situation—people who could help me put together an action plan and support me and my family through this. I couldn’t really think clearly in my shocked state, but with their advice, I knew I would know how to best manage this situation. This calmed me down and I suddenly had remarkable clarity and a sense of peace. This exercise even enabled me to do a few breathing exercises to help my brain. I immediately launched into a series of actions I call “active reaches”, which included texting and phoning my peers (who are also my friends) for the advice I needed at that moment in time, which I could then discuss with my family, so that we could think clearly and make good decisions. This set up a series of events that gave me a feeling of autonomy and control, which prompted me to do another active reach, which was to remember the previous traumas we had gone through as a family and how we had somehow got through—we were stronger than we thought! Then I did a third active reach, where I looked at my loved one and visualized them smiling, and I hung onto this each time my mind started pulling me back to the point of the trauma. And, finally, I made peace with the uncertainty of the situation; this is life, and we will find a way through. We will find a way to live this minute, and the next minute, and the next minute. At this point in time, I calm enough to do and say the right thing—I realized my experiment had worked, because I was no longer stuck in a “frozen panic” mode. I was back in action! Even though I was still tearful, fearful and didn’t know the end result just yet, I knew that I was going to get through this, taking it one moment at a time. I was then able to give the necessary emotional “oxygen” to my loved ones, and we all felt a bit more hope. I don’t want to make light of this crisis, or any crisis, by saying the 5 steps of the NeuroCycle will solve it all. I am painfully aware we cannot control events and circumstances of life, and that we cannot wrap the people we love in bubble wrap and protect them from the evil out there. Yet the one thing we can do is control how we react to all the uncertainties and tragedies of life, the good and the bad and the in-between, and find a way to “live each minute”, like the main character is Soul said. Having a mind management technique in place like the NeuroCycle allowed me to control my reactions in a crisis, so I wasn’t a useless mess and no good to myself or the people that needed me. When I started managing my mind and my reactions, I could be their advocate and the support they (and I!) needed. I had become strong in my pain. I found a way to live through that moment, and you can too. After this experience, I decided that the best New Year’s resolution I can make is to further develop this skill of self-regulated mind management and help as many people as I can use it as well, because we all have stuff we must deal with and we all need help at times. I have always felt this, but this year has highlighted the need for mind-management strategies to help people cope. You may have thought you were hardwired to be like this or that, to fail or to be bad at life, but the reality is that your mind is much more trainable and malleable than you think it is…that you are more resilient than you think you are. You can learn to be in the driver’s seat of your own mind through practice and mind-management skills like the NeuroCycle. This won’t make the pain of life magically go away, but it will help you make it through the pain to experience all life has to offer—to live each minute and live them well. You are lot stronger than you realize (speaking from experience!) and, when you harness this strength by training your thinking, you can deal with whatever life throws at you! To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Leaf click here.

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Pursed Lip Breathing Benefits for Better Lung Function (Plus How to Do It)

AHA Publisher — Mon, 11 May 2020 07:00:32 +0000

Christine Ruggeri, CHHC via Dr. Axe – For people struggling with dyspnea, or difficulty breathing, a technique called pursed lip breathing is often used to improve oxygenation. Imagine you’re blowing out the candles on your birthday cake while slowly exhaling — it may look a little strange, but this breathing exercise actually removes stale air from your lungs. If you’re looking to strengthen your lungs with this air trapping technique, practice breathwork at least 10 minutes a day and notice the difference. What Is Pursed Lip Breathing? Pursed lip breathing is a technique that allows you to control your oxygenation and ventilation. It’s done by breathing air in through the nose and exhaling through the mouth with a slow, controlled flow. During the exhale, which is drawn out, your lips are puckered or pursed, which is done for good reason. When your lips are pursed and exhalation is drawn out, it stimulates the autonomic nervous system and promotes relaxation. This has been shown to optimize lung mechanics and exercise tolerance among adults with dyspnea. It works by removing stale air that can become trapped in the lungs, and it decreases the amount of breaths you take in an effort to get enough oxygen. Normally, when a person exhales, the diaphragm relaxes and forces air out of the lungs. When the diaphragm is weak and doesn’t function properly, stale air becomes trapped in the lungs and won’t allow room for fresh air that contains oxygen. This leads to shortness of breath and trouble breathing. Pursed lip breathing for asthma, dyspnea and other lung conditions is a popular technique that’s part of lung rehab programs. This air trapping method is low-risk and allows people suffering from breathing issues to engage in physical activity more easily. Who Can Benefit from It? Because breathing exercises like pursed lip breathing help strengthen the lungs, they are used in pulmonary rehabilitation programs for conditions that cause shortness of breath and reduced oxygenation. This is one of the most common breathing exercises for COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It can also be used for other lung conditions that cause trouble breathing, chest tightness, chronic coughing, excessive mucus production and wheezing. People struggling with the following conditions may benefit from pursed lip breathing: emphysema chronic bronchitis asthma For people with these lung conditions, practicing breathing exercises is meant to get more oxygen into the body so everyday activities, such as walking or climbing stairs, become easier. How to Do It People with COPD and dyspnea tend to take frequent shallow breaths. The purpose of pursed lip breathing is to keep the airways open longer, removing stale air in the lungs and getting in more oxygen. At first, this breathing exercise may feel strange, but with practice it will become easier and more natural. First, sit up straight, relax your shoulders and release your tongue from the roof of your mouth. You want to release tension from the body and relax. Next, inhale deeply through your nose for about two seconds. Then purse your lips and breath out slowly for about five seconds. Act like you’re blowing out a candle. Repeat daily. How often should you do pursed lip breathing? It can be done anytime you’re having trouble breathing, like during or after exercise, after walking up stairs, and when lifting something heavy. It also can be practiced daily, for five to 10 minutes, to improve oxygenation and lung function. Benefits/Uses Pursed lip breathing is commonly used among adults with COPD because it helps promote relaxation, reduce shortness of breath and release air that’s trapped in the lungs. Here’s a breakdown of its benefits and uses for lung function: 1. Improves Breathing When researchers analyzed the benefits of pursed lip breathing among patients with COPD, they found that it improved levels of oxygenation and led to significant positive changes in respiratory function. A study conduced in Los Angeles indicates that pursed lip breathing was able to improve dyspnea (trouble breathing) and physical function in Veteran Affairs patients with COPD. It does this by slowing the breath, allowing the diaphragm to relax and removing trapped, stale air from the lungs. 2. Promotes Lung Rehabilitation This method of breathing is a type of respiratory training that strengthens muscles and improves lung function. When you exhale slowly with pursed lips, it gets rid of the stale air that’s been trapped in your lungs and allows new air to come in. With daily practice, it can improve breathing and lung function. Studies also display that it significantly decreases tension and breathing frequency, while improving oxygen saturation. 3. May Enhance Physical Performance Researchers in Brazil found that practicing pursed lip breathing may improve exercise performance in patients with COPD. Eight studies were used for the systematic review and meta-analysis, and results indicate that pursed lip breathing during exercise (such as walking) reduced minute ventilation and respiratory rate. A study published in the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine showed that exhaling with puckered lips during exercise improved exercise tolerance, breathing patterns and oxygenation among COPD patients. For people who experience trouble breathing and shortness of breath, practicing breathing exercises can help improve oxygen intake during physical activity or even when walking up stairs, lifting heavy objects and walking around the house. Risks and Side Effects There are no risks or complications associated with this breathing exercise. However, you do want to be sure you’re practicing properly, so if you notice that it’s decreasing lung function in any way, talk to your health care professional. If it makes you lightheaded, take it slow and only do a few breaths at a time, until you get used to this type of breathing. Other Breathing Techniques When it comes to improving lung capacity, there are several breathing techniques that may be helpful. They all involve relaxing the body and increasing the amount of oxygen that reaches the lungs. In addition to purse lips, some other breathing exercises for COPD or trouble breathing include: Diaphragmatic Breathing: Diaphragmatic breathing, also called belly breathing, trains your body to let your diaphragm do the work. To do diaphragmatic breathing, breath in through your nose until your belly fills with air. Let the air expand your stomach and then breathe out slowly through your lips. Breath Counting: Breath counting is an excellent way to improve oxygenation while also promoting relaxation. To do this breathing technique, take a deep breath and when you exhale, count “one.” Next, after a deep breath in, exhale and count “two.” Repeat this pattern until you have exhaled to five, then start the pattern over again. Do this for a few minutes every day. Huffing: Huffing, or huff coughing, helps move mucus from the lungs and clear the airways. You do this by taking a deep breath until the lungs are about three-quarters full, then hold the breath for two to three seconds and exhale forcefully, but slowly. Repeat this exercise several times, always ending with a strong cough. Conclusion Pursed lip breathing is a breathing exercise that’s done by breathing in for two seconds and then exhaling slowly, for about five seconds, while pursing your lips. This technique removes stale air that’s been trapped in the lungs and improves oxygen saturation. It improves lung function for people dealing with trouble breathing and lung conditions like COPD and asthma. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Dr. Axe click here.

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