Regina Brett's Fifty Life Lessons: The Forty-Seventh Lesson

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Lesson Number Forty-Seven: Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.

There is no other way to calm the mind and relax the spirit than taking slow deep breaths. It helps much if you are with nature. However, if your circumstances do not allow you to be in the heart of nature, you can then just retire to a solitary place -- your room is the best place, and do the exercise there.

Due to our busy lifestyle, we often forget to do the proper way of breathing. In my experience, one factor that leads me easily to fatigue is my inability to breath properly. From then on, I start to become aware whether I am breathing properly or not.

If you want to be refreshed on how to breathe properly, here are some tips:

    Basic Breathing Exercise

1. Inhale deeply through your nose, keep your mouth closed, and hold it a few seconds. You will feel your chest (or, even better, your belly - if you're breathing through your diaphragm) expand.
2. Release it by blowing it slowly out through your mouth.
3. Do this a few times and you will be amazed to have a feeling of being relaxed.
      
   Belly Breathing
    
    

   1. Remain calm. Have good posture.
   2. Inhale through your nose at an even rate and allow your stomach to push-out, thus relaxing your diaphragm, and allowing more air to enter your lungs. You can place your hand on your abdomen and feel it being pushed away as your abdomen rises.^[1]
   3. Exhale slowly through your mouth and allow your stomach to return to its normal position. Exhaling should take double the time it took to do the inhale.
   4. Repeat.
   5. Note this method of breathing is said to allow the accumulation of chi energy in the 'tan t'ien', a point an inch and a half below the navel.^[2]