emotionalpeace

Finding hope and peace through writing, art, photography, and faith in Jesus.

Remember to breathe

Bible Verses About Breath

Job 33:4 – The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

Genesis 2:7 – And the LORD God formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

2 Timothy 3:16 – All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Job 27:3 – All the while my breath [is] in me, and the spirit of God [is] in my nostrils;

John 20:22 – And when he had said this, he breathed on [them], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

Job 34:14-15 – If he set his heart upon man, [if] he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;   (Read More…)

Ezekiel 37:9 – Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

Isaiah 42:5 – Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

There are times when each of us need the reminder to breathe. We do not always consciously hold our breath. When you exercise you need to remember to breathe.  Isn’t it funny how something that should be natural we still need to be reminded of doing.

So here is todays reminder – Breathe!

I found this on WebMd and hope you enjoy the breathing exercises.

Stress Management: Breathing Exercises for Relaxation

Have you ever noticed how you breathe when you feel relaxed? The next time you are relaxed, take a moment to notice how your body feels. Or think about how you breathe when you first wake up in the morning or just before you fall asleep. Breathing exercises can help you relax, because they make your body feel like it does when you are already relaxed.

Deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. This is because when you breathe deeply, it sends a message to your brain to calm down and relax. The brain then sends this message to your body. Those things that happen when you are stressed, such as increased heart rate, fast breathing, and high blood pressure, all decrease as you breathe deeply to relax.

  • The way you breathe affects your whole body. Breathing exercises are a good way to relax, reduce tension, and relieve stress.
  • Breathing exercises are easy to learn. You can do them whenever you want, and you don’t need any special tools or equipment to do them.
  • You can do different exercises to see which work best for you.

How do you do breathing exercises?

How do you do breathing exercises?

There are lots of breathing exercises you can do to help relax. The first exercise below—belly breathing—is simple to learn and easy to do. It’s best to start there if you have never done breathing exercises before. The other exercises are more advanced. All of these exercises can help you relax and relieve stress.

Belly breathing

Belly breathing is easy to do and very relaxing. Try this basic exercise anytime you need to relax or relieve stress.

  1. Sit or lie flat in a comfortable position.
  2. Put one hand on your belly just below your ribs and the other hand on your chest.
  3. Take a deep breath in through your nose, and let your belly push your hand out. Your chest should not move.
  4. Breathe out through pursed lips as if you were whistling. Feel the hand on your belly go in, and use it to push all the air out.
  5. Do this breathing 3 to 10 times. Take your time with each breath.
  6. Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.

Next steps

After you have mastered belly breathing, you may want to try one of these more advanced breathing exercises. Try all three, and see which one works best for you:

  • 4-7-8 breathing
  • Roll breathing
  • Morning breathing
4-7-8 breathing

This exercise also uses belly breathing to help you relax. You can do this exercise either sitting or lying down.

  1. To start, put one hand on your belly and the other on your chest as in the belly breathing exercise.
  2. Take a deep, slow breath from your belly, and silently count to 4 as you breathe in.
  3. Hold your breath, and silently count from 1 to 7.
  4. Breathe out completely as you silently count from 1 to 8. Try to get all the air out of your lungs by the time you count to 8.
  5. Repeat 3 to 7 times or until you feel calm.
  6. Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.
Roll breathing

Roll breathing helps you to develop full use of your lungs and to focus on the rhythm of your breathing. You can do it in any position. But while you are learning, it is best to lie on your back with your knees bent.

  1. Put your left hand on your belly and your right hand on your chest. Notice how your hands move as you breathe in and out.
  2. Practice filling your lower lungs by breathing so that your “belly” (left) hand goes up when you inhale and your “chest” (right) hand remains still. Always breathe in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. Do this 8 to 10 times.
  3. When you have filled and emptied your lower lungs 8 to 10 times, add the second step to your breathing: inhale first into your lower lungs as before, and then continue inhaling into your upper chest. Breathe slowly and regularly. As you do so, your right hand will rise and your left hand will fall a little as your belly falls.
  4. As you exhale slowly through your mouth, make a quiet, whooshing sound as first your left hand and then your right hand fall. As you exhale, feel the tension leaving your body as you become more and more relaxed.
  5. Practice breathing in and out in this way for 3 to 5 minutes. Notice that the movement of your belly and chest rises and falls like the motion of rolling waves.
  6. Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.

Practice roll breathing daily for several weeks until you can do it almost anywhere. You can use it as an instant relaxation tool anytime you need one.

Caution: Some people get dizzy the first few times they try roll breathing. If you begin to breathe too fast or feel lightheaded, slow your breathing. Get up slowly.

Morning breathing

Try this exercise when you first get up in the morning to relieve muscle stiffness and clear clogged breathing passages. Then use it throughout the day to relieve back tension.

  1. From a standing position, bend forward from the waist with your knees slightly bent, letting your arms dangle close to the floor.
  2. As you inhale slowly and deeply, return to a standing position by rolling up slowing, lifting your head last.
  3. Hold your breath for just a few seconds in this standing position.
  4. Exhale slowly as you return to the original position, bending forward from the waist.
  5. Notice how you feel at the end of the exercise.

Return to Stress Management: Breathing Exercises for Relaxation

Credits

ByHealthwise Staff

Primary Medical ReviewerPatrice Burgess, MD – Family Medicine

Specialist Medical ReviewerSteven Locke, MD – Psychiatry

Current as ofNovember 14, 2014

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.© 1995-2015 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

Stretching Those Muscles

In exercise of any form one thing they all have in common is the need to stretch. You bend you twist, and you pull.  In the beginning stretching can be one of the things you may like the least because you are making yourself uncomfortable. Can you bend over and touch your toes?  I can! To be truthful the only way I can do this is if I bend my knees. With the injuries I sustained do to abuse has caused me not to be very flexible. I have a reverse curve of my cervical column which compresses my ulnar nerve and led to adult onset scoliosis. I have to stretch daily and get regular chiropractic treatments so I can walk upright. I have to admit that I do not do my stretches as much as i should. Why not? It hurts. Yet this pain is actually good for me. It keeps my muscles from locking up on me and keeps me moving.

Okay what made me think about all of this today? I was reading a post by Dan Ledwith here on his blog which I hope you will check out if you have not already read his posts.

Learning To Be Full Of Grace And Truth.

The post I read this morning was this one –

Yup

The photo in this blog was of a church message board and it definitely caught my attention and reminded me I need to stretch today. Not just my body though. i need to stretch myself spiritually. What does this mean to me? It means that I need to get out of my comfort zone and push forward a little harder. I don’t want to become spiritually stagnate, which is something I had written about in a Bible study lesson which I titled ‘Bread and Water’ which you can read here –

https://emotionalpeace.wordpress.com/2015/09/10/bread-and-water-bible-lesson/

It also reminded me of martial arts training and how we had to stretch for lengthy periods of time before our training and lesson began. I once could do the splits and kick higher than my own head. The flexibility stretching gave our bodies helped us move more freely and swiftly. It also gave us the ability to move our body out of the way from a hit without having to move our feet. Which I can now incorporate in my relationship with Jesus. Even when under attack I can move without stepping off of my sure foundation which Is Jesus Christ. I can stand upon His promises and they guide me in what direction I should move.

Are you comfortable sitting on the sidelines watching others play the game, or being the wall flower sitting on the edge of the dance floor not dancing yourself? Do you want to get in the game and tackle the giants you are facing? Do you want to get up and dance because the life He gave to you gives you reason to even dance in the rain?

Okay then, get up! Stretch those muscles. Even runners stretch before the race, and we do have a race to run.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV – Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

Philippians 3:13-14 ESV – Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 40:31 ESV – But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Question;

Do you have a verse that encourages you to run the race and stretch yourself? Please share it with us.

Here you can find some good stretching exercises

http://www.self.com/gallery/essential-stretches-slideshow

Hip Flexor/Quad Stretch

Kneel on floor with both knees bent, shins on floor. Lunge right leg forward, so right knee is bent 90 degrees in front of you, right foot is flat on floor directly under knee, and left leg is still bent underneath you, parallel to right. Place both hands on top of right knee and press back hip forward, leaning into stretch, keeping torso upright. Hold for 30 seconds; release. Do three reps; switch legs and repeat.

Stretches hip flexors, quads, hamstrings

.

Seated Trunk Twist

Sit tall on floor, abs engaged, and legs extended and together in front of you. Rotate ribcage to right, keeping nose in line with breastbone and abs engaged. Lift ribcage off hips to rotate further to right, growing taller, twisting as far as possible. Return to center; repeat to left to complete one rep. Do 10 reps, holding final twists for 30 seconds each.

Stretches back, abs, obliques

Bridge With Leg Reach

Lie faceup on floor with knees bent 90 degrees, feet flat on floor, arms extended by sides. Extend right leg in front of you, and then slowly lift hips toward ceiling until you form a diagonal line from right knee to right shoulder, pressing upper back into floor and opening up chest. Lift right leg straight up toward ceiling; lower. Do 10 controlled reps, holding the last rep for 10 seconds. Switch legs; repeat.

Stretches chest, abs, hip flexors, glutes, legs

 

 

 

 

 

Exercise your body and your mind – Knee bends while lying down

There are many today that exercise may seem to be out of the question because of physical limitations. Back injuries, knee surgeries, and other physical ailments that interfere with our mobility tells us that we cannot exercise. Guess what we can. Okay we won’t run a marathon or compete in a gymnastics meet, but there are exercises you can find that will not harm you but impact your health in a beneficial way.

Today we can do this exercise while lying in our bed.

  • The knee bend
    Do each leg separately. Bring knee up to chest level. Do not touch chest or strain in any way to bring knee past a comfortable point. Straighten up leg and touch it down on the bed or floor. Repeat the number of repetitions you have attained or until you start to feel the muscles hurt or get tired if below that mark. Do this with the other leg. Remember to breathe. Breathing in and out of your nose is best because our noses filter the air we breathe while mouth breathing causes our throats to dry.

If you like to exercise in the morning here is a good scripture to begin your day.

Psalm 5:3 (KJV) My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

Keeping my mind on Jesus while He holds my heart.