Fresh Air

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There is much more to a wellness lifestyle than having a power pantry. While whole food choices are fundamental to health and longevity, there are other basic wellness choices to maximize our well being. One of those basics is getting some much needed fresh air, and working on our breathing. Good oxygen supply to our brain, heart and muscles is critical to wellness, and we can improve on these with some simple tips.

Do you get cooped up in an office for much of the work day, or find yourself at home, closed up with air conditioners or heater running all day long? We weren't meant to live 24/7 in these spaces we've created, sealed off from the out-of-doors. Planning simple outside activities like a morning walk, or stargazing, is a great way to break the monotony of indoor living.

Fresh air literally clears our minds and helps us reset from the stress caused by closed-in spaces. There are some great suggestions for experiencing time outside at www.greenhour.org, and check out this article from Prevention promoting the concept here.

Something else that is highly beneficial is a cleansing, deep breath. For millennia it's been recognized as a calming, centering activity for our mind and body. I think we all know this, but because we need to be intentional about it, very few people benefit from taking deep breaths. Eastern religious traditions lean on breathing to bring calm, health and even transcending the moment. Whether or not we take it that far, deep breathing is a valuable asset to any wellness lifestyle to dissipate stress, helping us find peace and patience in the moment.

Dr. Andrew Weil is an avid proponent of deep, calming breathing; he has a review of three breathing exercises here. A great exercise is a "4-7-8" breathing technique: breath in through your nose for 4 counts, hold it for seven counts, and breath out through your mouth for eight counts. Repeat 5-10+ times. You'll get great oxygen supply to your brain and muscles, and can even get to a kind of settled euphoria.

So get out for a walk, take some time to stargaze, and throw in a few cleansing breaths whenever you think of it. You'll recognize the calming, healthful benefits right away, and the strains of the day will diminish as you invest in your wellness lifestyle.

By the Way

Another great breathing exercise is breath counting, where you concentrate on the current breath you are taking, and count up from one to two to three, etc., up to ten or more. While this has merit on it's own, I like to concentrate on something other than a number.

When I starting doing breath counting a couple years ago, I remembered that there are nine 'fruits of the spirit' (the Apostle Paul wrote about these in his letter to the Galatians - in the New Testament). They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. So those are my centering thoughts when I do breath counting... and it's great that it ends with self-control...