If you are a person who cannot exercise vigorously, or at times when you cannot exercise, another good way to increase oxygen to your brain is with deep breathing. Deep breathing is a great way to oxygenate your blood and brain. And as you will see below in Step # 4 on Stress Management, it has a very potent mood-elevating effect, Although this is often taught in conjunction with yoga, crossing your legs and saying Ohmmmm are optional. One of the most effective forms of breathing is called SKY breathing. Learn more about it’s benefits and where to obtain training in the SKY breathing technique under Just Breath in Step # 4 on Stress Management below.
Almost any strategy that will slow and deepen your breathing may help. For example, simply counting to four while you breathe in, and again counting to four while you breathe out, can slow your breathing. Around 6 breaths a minute seems to be an effective pace.
Also it’s helpful to breathe from deep down using your diaphragm, rather than using just the top of your lungs. It may help to imagine you have a balloon in your tummy, that expands as you breathe in and count to four, and deflates as you breathe out and count to four. Simply doing a dozen or so repetitions of this deep breathing can do much to reduce the tension in your body, and oxygenate your brain!
