A Personal Story about Breath Work from Justin Deloy
A Never Ending Journey To Finding My Own Peace - My Own Breath
On any given day we can take upwards of 23,040 breaths and should we live to be 80 that adds up to roughly 672,768,000. That sure is a lot of breathing. If anything is taken from this post let it be that each breath you take, I take, we take is as important as the next.
Breathing is essential to life as we would obviously not last long without it. Needless to say the breath and breath work has been somewhat forgotten in the midst of other forms of training. It’s hard to know exactly why this is the case. What I do know is that I too have not always thought consciously about my breath or its impact on my life, in fact it has taken me time and challenges to get to where I am now with my understanding of the the power of breath. As with many things, once we accept that the task won’t always be easy, we can get to work on what needs to be done in order to grow. Through conscious focused effort on our breath we can grow. If I can do it then you can as well!
It all started back in high school when I had issues with anger, minor depression, lack of self esteem and low confidence. Even to this day I still experience many of these same issues; obviously not to the point I did in high school but they are still in me. The biggest skill I have learned that has aided in my growth has been my breath. I remember the first time I had heard about belly breathing. I had always thought that since breathing was just something we did that I was already breathing correctly. Wrong. Basically belly breathing is a proper way of breathing ‘deep.’ The idea is that you take 2/3 of your breath in through your nose starting from at the base of your abdomen and the last 1/3 in your lungs. if you’re doing it properly your shoulders shouldn’t be rising too much at all and you will expand in your back and sides. However, don’t force a super deep breath, simply do whatever feels natural and you’ll noticed your breath improve overtime.
The first time I consciously took a full series of breaths like this I noticed a difference in my mental attitude. This way of breathing naturally put my body into a correct posture. This change in how I sat and literally carry myself has lead me to feel much more confident in myself and the actions I take on a daily basis. Another thing I noticed was how much more calm and relaxed I was and in turn it allowed me to be more ready to handle different types of situations. My friends, all of this has come from learning how to breathe right.
A simple trick that will help you build this habit is if you take some twine or string about the length of your belt and tie that around your navel. Tie it just tight enough that it wont slip down but at the same time you don’t want it to be like a corset, it should be comfortable. Now each hour for about a minute, I find setting a timer helps as a reminder, consciously practice your belly breathing, Feeling the strings pressure will give you feedback as to if you’re truly breathing deep. Overtime you will start to take this breath all the time.
Thank you for taking the few minutes to read this - I believe that mastering our breath is one of the most powerful tools we can apply to life. I will leave you with three simple sentences that have had a profound effect on my life along with my breath.
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” - Marianne Williamson
If you are interested in attending a class to learn more about your breath and how you can change your life with proper breathing techniques, check out the classes offered by Amy!
My name is Justin Deloy and I am from St. Paul Minnesota, I moved to Denver 5 years ago. I have always had a passion for health and wellness and a strong desire to make a difference in even just one persons life. Movement as a form of medicine is something that I want to share with as many people as I can. I spend a lot of time outside moving and am currently training for a Half Ironman Triathlon. My approach to this life is that of living my best version Spiritually, Mentally and Physically. I hope to hear from some of you, I would love to connect. Together we can make a difference. Contact me here:
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