Core Daily
One Small Change
Take a 31-Day Breather
Getty Images
Each month for this blog I make one small change in my life, gauge its impact, and then decide whether it’s worthwhile enough to continue.
So far I’ve given up caffeine (never again), napped for 20 minutes daily (sweet!), drank 95 ounces of fluid every 24 hours to stay fully hydrated (can I use your bathroom?) and stretched for 30 minutes every morning (a revelation).
For July I’ll be making probably the smallest, simplest change possible. In fact, if this works as well as some people claim, then it could revolutionize just about every facet of life.
It’s directed at a wide audience, too—everyone from athletes looking for a secret weapon to use in competition, to stressed-out moms in need of instant calm, to couch tomatoes made even more round (and ripe) by the summer doldrums.
The small change I’m alluding to is breathing.
Don’t laugh. I’m serious. According to experts, we’ve all developed a nasty habit. The stress of everyday, look-over-your-shoulder living combined with sedentary jobs and lifestyles is causing us to take shorter and shallower breaths. I’ll explain the specifics of how this affects our physiology and performance in a later blog, but for now all you have to accept is that this is somehow bad for you.
But how, you may be wondering, can I possibly be screwing this up? Isn’t breathing like digestion—instinctual and unconscious? Actually, no. It is the only part of our autonomic (read: automatic) nervous system that we can control.
It’s been calculated that the average person takes 15 full breaths (inhale/exhale) every minute while at rest, which equates to 900 breaths per hour, 21,600 per day, 151,200 per week and 7,862,400 per year.
By slowing this rate down to, say, 10 breaths per minute—which is what some experts claim is ideal—you’re supposed to be able to better relax and nourish your entire body. In other words, breathing is the lead domino. Strength, sleep, sex, and any other alliterative advantage you can think falls in line with it.
Skeptical? Frankly, so am I. That’s why throughout July I’m going to be experimenting with a bunch of different breathing techniques in a variety of situations. If you could use a breather, follow along.
Next Post >>
About The Author
Joe Kita – Joe Kita is a noted writer, editor, motivational speaker and teacher. He authors the blog "One Small Change" for CorePerformance.com.
