Breathe, breathe.....

Looking into one of the most taken for granted essentials for life on earth.....breath!

During a couple of the classes, I asked the question, " What are the benefits of embryonic/ abdominal breathing?" This is a question that most have to think about or research, because the simple fact is that, because we continue to live and function the way we breathe, that we don't think about breathing more effectively with more qualitative results. There are numerous benefits to breathing as we did when we were children.

Meditation involves deep breathing or abdominal breathing, within a quiet calming environment. Meditating calms the body and mind, relieving stress and tension throughout the body. Abdominal breathing increases the oxygen supply to the body, having many benefits. Breathing into the diaphragm not only exercises this muscle, but massages and soothes the adjoining organs and digestive system. More oxygen in our bodies allows for quicker healing. Increased oxygen to the brain allows for more responsive thought processing.

To many people the benefits of quality breathing are not practiced; if practiced, this alone, could relieve a lot of aliment which is currently being treated with drugs, which in most cases complicates the matter even further.

I read that it takes the average person about six months to retrain their body and diaphragm to recapture the abdominal breathing process. The cost for most of us to better this portion of our living is desire, trust, patience, persistence and consistency. It's ironic, all terms that we hear through our kung fu training on a regular basis.

Darcy Regier, Silent River Kung Fu, UBBT, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.