Gustavo Cardoso - Director of the DeRose Method School London
Talks about breathing, sharing advice on how to incorporate the breathing technique in daily life.
He has been practicing theDeRose Method for more than 20 years.
Breathing and living
A friend of mine breathes superficially and almost gasping when he sits to have his meal and, while he is having his meal, he thinks about all that he has to do throughout the day…
The ancient practical philosophies have been teaching us for a long time that the way we breathe reflects all the aspects of our life – physical, emotional, mental and others. Once we become aware of this and consciously use this powerful resource, our breathing, we will increase tremendously our vitality, our energy, we will reduce the level of effort to produce the same amount of work, our mind will be focused, our emotional side will be stable and less susceptible to disruption, and we will have a strong immune system.
The primary source of energy
It is worth reminding that our body requires four main sources of energy: sunlight, without which we can survive for a few years; food, without which we can survive more than a month; water, without which we can survive only for a few days; and air, without witch we cannot survive for more than 10 minutes, then permanently damaging our brain or even dying. Breathing is so connected to life that it is the first thing you ever did and it will be the last thing you will be the last thing you will do. Heart and lungs work together, and for each other. The importance of breathing is therefore clear, isn’t it?
Patterns of breathing and state of mind
Now, let’s make some associations. We all know that we need to breathe quicker when we are running. It is known that in moments of pleasure and calm and pleasure is often expressed by the sound of a long exhalation? It is also aknown that in moments of fright we breathe through the mouth an almost gasping inhalation. When we are sleeping we tend to have a long, deep and calm rhythm breathing. I guess we don’t need any further examples to understand how our breathing is connected to our emotions and to our body.
Practical suggestions
And what about learning a few exercises that will command your mood, energy, vitality, quality of sleep, the work of your bowel, and bringing you focus like never before? Here are my suggestions. Every night, before you go to sleep, measure exactly five minutes and execute the alternate breathing: inhale through one nostril while obstructing the other, retain with the lungs full, swap the nostril in activity and then exhale, to inhale through the same nostril – always swapping the nostril in activity with the lungs full. And when you wake up in the morning, execute a cicle of ten very quick breaths, noisy, vigorous and wide. Let me leave you with three important notes: deep breathing is when we breathe using the abdomen, then the rib cage, then the upper part of the chest; in order to keep the focus on the breathing, remember to inhale slowly and deeply all day long; finally, none of the exercises suggested should performed if you are smoker of any kind.
