Outwitting the Lint Monster!

Some ultra-fine irritants that sneak into your lungs can never be expelled or absorbed. You are stuck with this garbage, forever. Your lungs and heart are eventually forced to work harder than necessary because of the mounting respiratory burden. After repeated exposure, the body may become sensitized and eventually only a few particles of an irritant will set off an asthma attack or an allergic reaction.

Cleaning the lint trap in the clothes dryer and changing the vacuum cleaner bag create clouds of dust, lint, carpet fibers, cat hair, mite dander and house debris.

Keep an inexpensive paper dust mask hanging near your clothes dryer AND on your sweeper handle. Remember, these little masks are great protection from airborne particles but do not protect you from toxic gases. If you have trouble remembering to wear the mask, stick up a Post-it on your dryer door. Paper masks are cheap so why not throw one in the car and one in the garage as well?

An alternative plan is to hold the lint trap or vacuum bag at arm’s length. Keep the problem as far from your nose as possible. Take a deep breath before you begin the process and while you are dumping the dirt, let your air out in a long slow “hissssssssss.” If you need more air in the process, turn your head to the side to breathe in and then repeat the hissing exhalation.

Be well and breathe beautifully.

Shoulder Lift

We carry way too much stress in the small complicated muscles of the neck, jaw and shoulders. You might not notice this at first because tension creeps up on you so gradually that it begins to feel “normal.”

The Shoulder Lift is an easy relaxing exercise that can release much of that tension BEFORE you get smacked with a whopping tension headache.

As always, tend to your posture so your breathing doesn’t have to push against a “posture dam.”

1. As you inhale, float your LEFT shoulder smoothly upward as if it were riding on a well- oiled track toward the ceiling. Then let that left shoulder slide DOWN as you breathe out.
2. Inhale as you float your RIGHT shoulder upward. Exhale, sliding it down again.
3. A shoulder rises when you breathe in and comes down when you exhale.
4. Alternate sides. Keep all movement smooth and fluid. Your neck remains long and relaxed.

Establish a smooth easy breathing pattern BEFORE you begin to move. The breath always rules and the movement follows the rhythm of the breathing, not the other way around.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Sleep Apnea

APNEA n. – “a temporary suspension or absence of breathing.” Hopefully someone nearby will notice if you stop breathing during the day and if you’re lucky they will be CPR certified. I trust you are.

It’s a tougher problem at night when your breathing stops during sleep or slows to a dangerous level. Although this is not a rare condition, most people have no idea they have it.

If you rattle the neighbor’s dishes with your snoring, if you wake up suddenly gasping for air as if you’ve been too long under water, if your sleep mate notices that you have an erratic breathing pattern or if you wake up each morning as tired as when you went to bed - then it’s time to have a long discussion with your doctor or pulmonary specialist.

This is serious business and can be fatal. These days, doctors have gotten pretty good at testing for and correcting the condition. However, it is your job to bring your concerns to their attention.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Upside Down Breathing

Take a look at the front view of a ribcage (minus collarbones and arms). Ribs #1 descending through #7 are all short and attached DIRECTLY to your breastbone. The upper cage is relatively NARROW and RIGID. Ribs #8 down through #10 each begin to lengthen and attach to the rib above instead of directly to the breastbone, noticeably increasing the flexibility of the lower cage. We will ignore ribs #11 and #12 because they are short and free-floating at their forward ends. They never make it as far as the front view.

The double layers of intercostal muscles are sandwiched in between your ribs and their job is to raise and lower your ribs as you breathe, much like opening and closing an umbrella.

Lung tissue cannot breathe by itself but MUST BE BREATHED INTO by the combined efforts of your intercostals and the powerful diaphragm that is stretched across the floor of your ribcage. Poke around on your ribcage (gently please) and note the flexibility of your lower ribs.

When we shallow-breathe, we invest a LOT OF ENERGY FOR VERY LITTLE OXYGEN IN RETURN. When we deep-breath into the wider and more flexible lower cage, we spend less energy for greater gain. The upper chest serves well as a reserve tank (when you need more oxygen than the lower cage alone can provide). Shallow breathing is lazy breathing or tired breathing or stressed breathing or simply a very bad habit.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Breathing Basics 101

Position
The first few times you practice a breathing exercise (unless otherwise instructed), sit squarely on the front edge of a straight chair seat. Rest your feet flat on the floor about hip-distance apart. This position discourages the temptation to doze off or the possibility of losing your balance if you were to stand. Once you are comfortable and confident with the exercise, practice it in any position that keeps your chest open and your spine straight. Again, unless otherwise suggested, breathe through your nose.

Pauses and Cycles
A “breath” or a “breath cycle” means one inhalation plus a natural pause, plus one exhalation and a natural pause. In–Pause–Out–Pause equals a single breath cycle. The pause is not a hold. It is a natural turning point allowing the breath to change direction comfortably.

Names of Exercises
I have chosen particular names because they are descriptive and easy to remember. You may have previously learned a different name for a similar exercise while exploring a different discipline. Remember that breathing exercises and meditation rituals are not like secret handshakes or passwords that somehow give us elevated status. Eventually, you are free to rename all the exercises as it suits you.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Posture Quick-Fix

Deep lung tissue is devoted almost exclusively to delivery of oxygen directly into the bloodstream and to the simultaneous pick-up and carting away of carbon dioxide. This 24/7 job is so complicated and important that Nature pretty much leaves all the other air pumping, filtering, warming, moisturizing chores to other parts of your anatomy. Your lungs lose full and proper expansion when your spine and ribcage collapse like a beanbag. Lazy posture means poor lung function. Poor lung function leaves you tired and vulnerable to illness.

The slouch, the slump, the sprawl inhibit the amount of air that can move easily in and out of your chest. Less air – less fuel. Less fuel – more fatigue. More fatigue – more slouch.

Experiment: Sit in a typical slouch with your weight rolled back onto your tailbone and your shoulders forward of your ears. Count the seconds it takes for an inhalation. In contrast, roll your weight forward onto your thighbones and off your tailbone. Reach GENTLY upward with the CENTER TOP of your head. That center point is on an imaginary line that would run from one ear, over the top of your head to the other ear. Place your elbows in line with your side-seams.

This time, count the seconds it takes for an inhalation.

This “taller” position is something you can do frequently to help maintain your energy level. Watch yourself in the mirror and notice how much younger and more confident you look in the corrected position.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Breathe Through The “Power Moves”

As you lift, shove, hoist, or haul anything that is huge, heavy or awkward, DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH! On occasion we all take complete leave of our senses and decide that, just this once, we absolutely MUST move a file cabinet the size of a small hippo.

You can potentially blow off the top of your skull when you hold that big gulp of air while lifting an armoire only slightly smaller than a Ford Taurus! KEEP YOUR BREATH FLOWING. Your blood pressure and your vascular system get cranky when you combine extreme effort with holding your breath.

Visualize the task in detail before you actually lay hands-on so all your energy will be focused where it needs to be. Still, DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH! Resist the temptation by singing or counting out loud till the deed is done. You can’t sing or count while holding your breath.

Better yet. Ask three hunky friends to help but be sure to tell them not to hold their breath.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.