I was reflecting tonight on why anxiety is associated with not breathing. Why do we "hold our breath" when in a tense situation? It occurred to me that when we were living lives threatened by stalking animals, our breathing could give us away. So we held our breath until danger passed.
I recently noticed that while playing the video game "Civilization Revolution" I held my breath when an important battle ensued. It was just a game, but my body was responding as if I might be noticed and attacked by a lion. It's amazing that this pattern of "breath holding" continues into contemporary living.
I would like to overcome this pattern. I would like to breath comfortably...all the time. The only time I would like my breath to be irregular is if I'm purposely doing connected breathwork to release tension. I have the feeling that if I were breathing regularly all the time I would not require as much connected breathwork as that technique seems to be a release of pent up tension.
When I first started having regular panic attacks around 1994, I had a hard time getting properly diagnosed. Eventually I ended up in a panic disorder group, and from a medical perspective the facilitator said that the two things that trigger a panic attack are a build up of either carbon dioxide or lactic acid. In other words, not breathing well, or holding tension in your muscles.
So to live without panic one must simply keep breathing, and relax. It sounds easy, but we are conditioned to be "on the lookout" for danger. What we consider dangerous now is different than our early ancestors. We now worry about things like social status, gossip, and money. Gone are the threats of wild animals. They have been replaced by fears related to how we are perceived by others and other minutia.
There is a reciprocal relationship between breathing and well-being. When we feel good, we breathe well. When we breathe well, we feel better. So consciousness of how we are breathing is one of the simplest ways to increase our enjoyment of life.
As a practice, I will commit to being more conscious of my breathing, and make sure that I continue to breathe easily. There are no threats in my life except what my ego conjures up to keep me in fear. I'm going to commit to staying relaxed, and breathing easily because I prefer to live a peaceful, enjoyable existence.
Peace,
Chris
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I recently noticed that while playing the video game "Civilization Revolution" I held my breath when an important battle ensued. It was just a game, but my body was responding as if I might be noticed and attacked by a lion. It's amazing that this pattern of "breath holding" continues into contemporary living.
I would like to overcome this pattern. I would like to breath comfortably...all the time. The only time I would like my breath to be irregular is if I'm purposely doing connected breathwork to release tension. I have the feeling that if I were breathing regularly all the time I would not require as much connected breathwork as that technique seems to be a release of pent up tension.
When I first started having regular panic attacks around 1994, I had a hard time getting properly diagnosed. Eventually I ended up in a panic disorder group, and from a medical perspective the facilitator said that the two things that trigger a panic attack are a build up of either carbon dioxide or lactic acid. In other words, not breathing well, or holding tension in your muscles.
So to live without panic one must simply keep breathing, and relax. It sounds easy, but we are conditioned to be "on the lookout" for danger. What we consider dangerous now is different than our early ancestors. We now worry about things like social status, gossip, and money. Gone are the threats of wild animals. They have been replaced by fears related to how we are perceived by others and other minutia.
There is a reciprocal relationship between breathing and well-being. When we feel good, we breathe well. When we breathe well, we feel better. So consciousness of how we are breathing is one of the simplest ways to increase our enjoyment of life.
As a practice, I will commit to being more conscious of my breathing, and make sure that I continue to breathe easily. There are no threats in my life except what my ego conjures up to keep me in fear. I'm going to commit to staying relaxed, and breathing easily because I prefer to live a peaceful, enjoyable existence.
Peace,
Chris
Get 5 Free Minutes ~ Live Psychic and Tarot Readings
Get 10 Minutes for $1.99 ~ Live Psychic and Tarot Readers
This blogger is supported by ethical reading sites which offer live online psychic readings, tarot readers and astrology.
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