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Healing and Alternative Health:
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Conscious Breathing for Health
and Self Transformation:
Breathing and Weight Loss
by Dennis Lewis |
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Our weight depends on a variety of physical and psychological factors, from our heredity, to how we feel about ourselves, to what we eat, to our insulin sensitivity, to the amount of exercise we get, and so on. It even depends on how we breathe. Those of us who are overweight often have a breathing problem of some kind and do not take in enough oxygen.
Learning how to breathe more naturally and efficiently, the way our bodies were designed to breathe, can have a powerful influence on our metabolism and overall sense of well-being. Healthy, natural breathing makes us feel better physically, emotionally, and mentally, and this has a beneficial influence on the quantity and quality of our exercise, the way we look at and feel about ourselves, the kinds and quantities of food we eat, the amount of energy we have, and so on. All of this can result in losing or even gaining weight when appropriate. It is clear that, among other benefits, healthy breathing helps us achieve the right balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in our cells, which has a beneficial influence on our metabolism.
Breathing exercises designed primarily to help us lose weight, however, even when they might be effective in the short term and increase our overall sense of energy, can cause many problems for the future. Depending on how they are done and whether or not they are based on the principles of natural breathing, they can weaken the diaphragm, create restrictions in our breathing muscles, undermine our overall breathing coordination, and upset our vital chemical and hormonal balances. Those that require simultaneous breath holding and exertion may cause even more serious problems especially for people with heart disease, high blood pressure, or other serious health concerns.
Our breath is an incredible gift, a fundamental force that has subtle interrelationships with all the different sides of ourselves--body, mind, emotions, and spirit. Using forceful breathing activities and exercises as a shortcut to lose weight can not only have a negative impact on our breathing in the long term, but can also disharmonize these interrelationships and lead to serious physical, psychological, and spiritual problems.
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Dennis Lewis,
Teacher of meditation |
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Dennis Lewis, a longtime student of the Gurdjieff Work, Taoism, and Advaita, teaches the transformative power of presence through natural breathing, qigong, and meditation.
He is the author of the acclaimed book The Tao of Natural Breathing and the audio program from Sounds True Breathing as a Metaphor for Living.
His new book, "Free Your Breath, Free Your Life: How Conscious Breathing Can Relieve Stress, Increase Vitality, and Help You Live More Fully" was published by Shambhala Publications in May 2004.
http://www.freeyourbreath.
com
He can be reached through his website at:
www.authentic-
breathing.com
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