Using breathing exercises to calm and relax. Exercise for the lungs: charging methods

There is probably no need to convince our readers that breathing is the basis of life. A lack of oxygen in the blood leads to metabolic disorders in all body systems, and consequently to illness and even death. It is most beneficial for health when breathing is combined with physical activity, so the best breathing exercises are aerobic exercises. However, there are also special breathing exercises (systems of yoga, Strelnikova, Buteyko, etc.).

Most untrained people breathe shallowly and shallowly. With this breathing, only the upper part of the lungs “works” and the blood is poorly enriched with oxygen, and since all organs depend on blood for their metabolism, the entire body suffers. To somehow compensate for this, we involuntarily increase our breathing. According to the teachings of yogis, each person is given a certain amount of breath by nature. Those who breathe frequently die earlier, and conversely, slow, deep breathing lengthens life. Therefore, according to the teachings of yogis, proper breathing should be full (deep and rhythmic). This is exactly how our distant ancestors breathed until the benefits of civilization changed the nature of human life.

Of course, it is impossible to constantly control your breathing, but sometimes, at least once a day (preferably three times a day), half an hour before eating, taking a full breath is certainly useful. Do this exercise for one minute at first, gradually building up to five. The most important rule to follow is to breathe only through your nose. Nature has provided the nose with everything necessary so that neither dust, nor too cold air, nor odorless poisonous gases enter the body. The mouth is not suitable for these purposes.

Full Yogic Breathing includes:

Upper breathing - carried out by raising the shoulders and collarbones (most women breathe this way). Air enters only the upper part of the lungs.

Medium breathing - the middle part of the lungs is filled with air.

Deep, or abdominal breathing occurs due to the fact that the diaphragm (the muscular partition that separates the abdominal cavity from the chest) moves down, protruding the abdomen. Air enters the lower part of the lungs. Deep breathing is impossible if the stomach is tightly tightened with a belt.

So, let's start doing full yogi breathing. Stand or sit straight, exhale calmly and begin to inhale slowly as follows. First, lower your diaphragm and stick your stomach out (to control the movement of your stomach, you can place your palm on it). As a result, air will fill the lower part of the lungs. Now fill the middle part of your lungs with air. To do this, spread your lower ribs and middle chest. Finally, spread your upper ribs, arching your chest, lifting your collarbones and pulling your belly in slightly so that your diaphragm supports your lungs. The inhalation is complete. It is important that it is not performed as three separate movements, but that each stage smoothly transitions into the next.

Now you can start exhaling. First, draw in your stomach, then squeeze your chest, and finally lower your shoulders. Movements should be smooth, without tension.

Deep breathing ensures complete ventilation of the lungs, protects against tuberculosis and other pulmonary and colds. To get rid of chills, breathe according to the yogic method for a few minutes. Full breathing significantly enriches the blood with oxygen, increases the body's resistance, stimulates metabolism and has a beneficial effect on the endocrine glands, thereby strengthening, rejuvenating and toning the entire body. Slow, deep breathing is a powerful weapon against stress and helps the body relax. When air enters the lower part of the lungs, where oxygen exchange takes place most intensively, the heartbeat slows down, blood pressure decreases, muscles relax, feelings of anxiety disappear, and tension subsides. Among other things, when you breathe fully, the diaphragm and abdominal walls contract and massage the abdominal organs, promoting blood flow.

To calm the nervous system and restore strength, yogis use breath-holding. This exercise is done standing, sitting or lying down. Inhale through your nose, as if you were breathing fully (count to 8), hold your breath for 8-32 seconds (increase the pause gradually), exhale as if you were breathing fully (count to 8). Do this exercise two to three times a day.

If you have low blood pressure and a headache, you can relieve or reduce the pain with the following exercise. Stand straight, toes and heels together, arms hanging down freely. After exhaling, inhale as in full yogi breathing. Close your ears tightly with your thumbs, and pinch the wings of your nose with your middle fingers. Puff out your cheeks, lower your chin to your chest, close your eyes, place your index fingers on your eyelids. Stay in this position as long as you can. After this, raise your head, remove your fingers from the eyelids and wings of the nose and exhale slowly through the nose as if in full breath. After this, remove your thumbs from your ears and lower your arms. And you will immediately feel relief.

Comment on the article "Breathing exercises"

Breathing exercises. Girls, please tell me how to breathe correctly during contractions? The most annoying thing is that during my first pregnancy I mastered this breathing exercise. Physical activity during pregnancy: gymnastics and exercises for all trimesters.

Discussion

during contractions or pushing? During contractions there is one rule: relaxation. Therefore, they usually say: “a relaxed mouth means a relaxed uterus.” my husband memorized this as a mantra and made sure I did the relaxation throughout the birth. the contraction must be fully accepted - for this, during the contraction you need to relax as much as possible, so breathing should be free and deep, slightly slow, inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth. you need to exhale completely, “to the bottom.” The technique from the course helped me a lot: when you imagine how with each exhalation you relax so much that you give the child the opportunity to move lower and lower along the birth canal. and as I exhaled, I imagined how gravity was helping me to exhale - to release. or you imagine yourself in some beautiful place - for me it’s the sea, and I imagined the contraction, like a wave, passing through me. This state of detachment and relaxation, which is required in a fight, must be trained.

but you really have to work hard. they breathe differently there. intermittently, strongly, holding back efforts when necessary. 2 inhalations - 2 exhalations, sharply. or 3 stepwise sharp inhalations - 1 strong sharp exhalation. I remember it was convenient for 2x2. and then they push while holding their breath, inhale and push the air inside you - push.

I don't think I confused anything :)

Raising a child from 7 to 10 years old: school, relationships with classmates, parents and teachers, health, extracurricular activities, hobbies. How to stop breathing through your mouth. After several years of problems with her adenoids, my daughter completely switched to mouth breathing.

Discussion

Find out at the clinic or just look for where you can do this - there are BFB “Breathing” devices that correct breathing, the procedure is fun :-) There, sensors are attached to the chest, and the correct breathing is shown on the monitor in cartoon form. My husband went to such procedures

I have nothing to brag about; I have been fighting with my daughter on this topic for six years. Nothing helped. And they persuaded, and reminded, and scared that they would have to have their tonsils removed because of mouth breathing, and they punished...
BUT. I have hope that she is still breathing through her nose, and her mouth is simply open. But if your daughter breathes through her mouth, then this is bad. Look for ways.

“At first, breathing exercises seem to be one of the most difficult for children, but regular training makes deep and slow Child health, illnesses and treatment, clinic, hospital, doctor, vaccinations. Does anyone have a set of Buteyko exercises?

Discussion

Thank you all very much! I'll tell them.

Here's what I dug up. I don’t really know if it’s Buteyko or who.
Breathing exercises

“At first, breathing exercises seem to be one of the most difficult for children, but regular training makes deep and slow breathing natural, regulated at an unconscious level, which over time leads to an increase in lung capacity, improved blood circulation, general health and well-being.

1. Lying on the floor, the child puts his hands on his stomach. Taking a slow, deep breath, inflates your stomach, while imagining that a balloon is inflating in your stomach. Holds your breath for 5 seconds. Exhales slowly, the stomach deflates. Holds your breath for 5 seconds. Performed 5-6 times in a row.

2. Starting position - lying on the floor, legs together, arms at your sides. As you inhale, raise your arms above your head, touching the floor, and as you exhale, slowly return to their original position. Simultaneously with the exhalation, the child says “Vni-i-i-z.” After the child masters this exercise, speaking is canceled.

3. Starting position - sitting on the floor, legs crossed (options: sitting on your knees or on your heels, legs together). The back is straight. Raise your arms up above your head with an inhalation and lower them down to the floor in front of you with an exhalation, bending slightly at the torso.

4. Starting position - the same. Arms extended above head. As you exhale, the child bends forward, reaching his hands and forehead to the floor, and while inhaling, he straightens, returning to his original position.

5. I.p. - Same. Straight arms are extended forward or to the sides at shoulder level, palms facing down. With an inhalation, the left hand rises up, the right hand goes down. Exhale - left hand down, right hand up.

6. Swimmer exercise. I.p. - sitting on your knees and heels, back straight. The upper body imitates a crawl swimmer. Hands alternately make “strokes”, inhale with a 90% turn of the head, exhale for three strokes of the arms, head straight.

7. The child, sitting in the same position, spreads his arms to the sides, clenches his hands into fists, retracting his thumb. When you inhale, the thumb rises up; when you exhale slowly, the finger gradually moves down.

8. Breathing through only one (left, then right) nostril.

9. Sitting with his arms down, the child takes a quick breath, pulling his hands to his armpits, palms up. Then, slowly exhaling, he lowers his arms along the body, palms down.

10. Holding your breath. The child takes a deep breath and holds his breath for as long as he can. During group correction, you can introduce an element of competition. When all the above exercises have been mastered, you can complicate them by introducing additional movements (finger exercises, oculomotor exercises, etc.). At the final stage of correction, breathing exercises are performed while standing."

More breathing exercises. Breathing exercises. "Trumpeter". It is most beneficial for health when breathing is combined with physical activity, so the best breathing exercises are aerobic exercises.

Everyone knows. Therefore, we offer you a set of breathing exercises.

A set of breathing exercises

1. Stand up straight and relaxed and lower your arms along your body.

2. Exhale. Start breathing slowly. As the lungs fill, the shoulders rise, then exhale without delay, lowering the shoulders.

3. With an inhalation, as your lungs fill, slowly move your shoulders back, bringing your shoulder blades together, bringing your arms together behind your back. Then exhale slowly, moving your arms and shoulders forward, while squeezing your chest. Do not strain your arms and shoulders.

4. Inhale and bend to the right, stretching your left side. Exhale and return to the starting position. Do the same to the left. Do not bend your neck, do not bend your arms, keep your back straight.

5. Exhale. Slowly tilt your head back, bending your spine in the thoracic region, inhale. Exhale, bend your head forward, bending your spine in the thoracic region, and look at your knees. The arms hang freely along the body.

6. Inhale. Slowly, smoothly twist the spine, moving one hand behind your back, the other forward, exhaling. When returning to the starting position, inhale. The hips are motionless. Repeat the same on the other side (the exercise is very effective).

7. Perform circular movements with your shoulders, imitating the movements of a kayak rower. First with the left shoulder, then with the right and both at the same time. Breathing is voluntary.

All breathing exercises can be performed within 6-10 minutes. When finished, relax and unwind.

Basic breathing exercises for the development of various groups of chest muscles and ligaments

Experience and practice have developed systems for breathing exercises for the development of the muscles of the chest, their ligaments, air cells, etc. These exercises are very simple, but their effect is unusually strong. You should not master many exercises at once; choose 3-4 available to you and perform them for 3 weeks, then learn a few more. Yogis consider “cleansing breathing” to be the main breathing exercise they especially love. They use this exercise when they feel the need to ventilate and cleanse their lungs. They end all other breathing exercises with this breathing and recommend it for constant use.

Cleansing Breath

Cleansing breathing ventilates and cleanses the lungs, stimulates all their cells and improves the overall health of the entire body, refreshing it. This exercise is incredibly calming and strengthens tired respiratory organs. The exercise is very useful for speakers, singers, teachers, actors, and all people in professions that require a lot of strain on the lungs.

Cleansing breathing is performed as follows. Take a full breath. Hold your breath for a few seconds. Purse your lips as if to whistle, without puffing out your cheeks, then exhale a little air with considerable force. Stop for a second, holding the exhaled air, then exhale forcefully a little more, etc., until all the air has been exhaled. It is very important that the air is exhaled forcefully.

The exercise will have an unusually refreshing effect on any tired, tired person. Try this exercise and after a short period of time you will notice positive results. You need to practice until it becomes easy and natural. As mentioned above, it is designed to finish off other exercises and can also be done on its own.

Holding your breath

Performing this very important exercise aims to strengthen and develop the respiratory muscles, and at the same time the lungs. Frequent practice of this exercise will inevitably lead to expansion of the chest. Yogis claim that temporarily holding the breath after the lungs are filled with air brings great benefits not only to the respiratory organs, but also to the digestive organs, nervous system and circulatory processes. They are convinced that temporarily holding the breath clears the air that remains in the lungs from previous breaths and promotes better absorption of oxygen by the blood. Yogis also claim that such retained breathing collects the waste accumulated there from the lungs and, when exhaling air, carries them with it thanks to the great force of exhalation. Cleansing the lungs is perhaps the most important thing in holding the breath, and yogis recommend this exercise for the treatment of various stomach disorders, liver disorders, and for the treatment of blood diseases. They also find that doing the exercise helps eliminate bad breath, which very often simply depends on poorly ventilated lungs.

Doing the exercise. Stand up straight. Take a full breath. Hold your breath in your chest for as long as possible. Exhale forcefully through your open mouth. Do cleansing breathing.

A person beginning to practice this exercise can hold his breath only for a very short time at the beginning of practice, then constant practice will significantly increase his ability to hold his breath. If, after gaining experience, you want to check how much your ability to hold your breath has increased, then do this exercise with a watch, noting your progress daily.

Excitation of lung cells

This exercise is designed to stimulate the activity of air cells in the lungs. A beginner should not overuse this exercise; in general, it must be performed with great caution. After the first experiences, some may even feel slightly dizzy. In this case, you should stop doing it and walk around.

The exercise is performed as follows. Stand straight, arms along your body. Inhale the air slowly and gradually. Exhaling, slowly hit your chest with your fingertips in different places. When your lungs are full of air, hold your breath and hit your chest with the palms of your hands. Finish with cleansing breath.

This exercise greatly improves the tone of the whole body and plays a big role in all breathing exercises of yogis. It is necessary for health, since many of the air cells in our lungs become inactive due to our habit of shallow breathing. As a result, many cells almost atrophy.

For a person who has been breathing incorrectly for many years, it will, of course, not be easy to stimulate all the air cells that have been dormant for a long time, but over time this exercise will certainly lead to the desired results, and therefore it is worth using it.

Joyful upper breathing

Improves mood. To control, place your hands on your collarbones. When you inhale, air fills the upper parts of the lungs, the chest rises up, and when you exhale, the chest drops to its original position. In this case, the abdomen is motionless and the chest does not expand.

Calming lower breathing

As you inhale, air fills only the lower sections of the lungs, and the stomach protrudes. As air is exhaled from the lower parts of the lungs, the stomach retracts. The chest remains motionless. If you immediately perform middle breathing after this, the tone of the body will increase. As you inhale, air fills the lungs, the chest expands, and when you exhale, the ribs return to their original position. The stomach is motionless.

Stretching the ribs

The cartilages of the ribs have the ability to expand significantly. Since the ribs play a very important role in proper breathing, it is useful to do special exercises with them in order to give them greater elasticity. Our ability to sit and stand in unnatural positions makes the ribs extremely stiff and inelastic. The given exercise, if performed correctly, can completely eliminate these shortcomings.

The exercise is performed as follows. Stand up straight. Press your hands to the sides of your chest as high as possible under your armpits so that your thumbs are facing your back, your palms are on your sides and the rest of your fingers are facing the front of your chest, that is, as if squeezing your chest with your hands from the sides, without pressing too hard. Take a full breath. Hold the air for a short time. Then slowly begin to squeeze your ribs with your hands and at the same time slowly exhale air. Do cleansing breathing. The exercise should not be overused.

Chest expansion

The chest is greatly reduced from the habit of bending when doing work, as well as from lack of physical labor. The proposed exercise is very useful in order to restore normal conditions for the functioning of the chest and give it the opportunity for the necessary expansion.

The exercise is performed as follows. Stand up straight. Take a full breath. Hold the air. Extend both arms forward and keep both fists clenched at shoulder level. Then, in one motion, move your arms back. Bring your arms forward again, then move your arms back again in one movement. Repeat quickly several times. While performing, keep your fists clenched and tense your arm muscles. Exhale forcefully through your open mouth. Do cleansing breathing.

This exercise should also not be overused; it must be handled very carefully.

Breathing on the go

You need to walk with your head held high, your chin slightly extended, keeping your shoulders back and making sure your steps are of equal length. Take a full breath, mentally counting to 8 and taking 8 steps at this time so that the count corresponds to the steps and the breath is taken as if in 8 steps, but without a break. Slowly exhale air through your nostrils, counting to 8 in the same way and taking 8 steps at this time. Hold your breath while continuing to walk and count to 8. Repeat this exercise until you feel tired. You should stop the exercises for a while and continue after resting. Repeat the exercise several times a day. Some yogis vary this exercise by holding their breath and counting to 4, then exhaling and counting to 8. Try this variation too; if it turns out to be easier and more enjoyable for you, do it.

Morning exercise

The exercise is performed as follows. Stand straight, raising your head, lifting your chest, drawing in your stomach, pulling your shoulders back, with clenched fists and arms at the sides of your body. Slowly rise to your toes, very slowly taking a full breath. Hold your breath for a few seconds, remaining in the same position. Slowly lower yourself to the original position, while exhaling air very slowly through your nostrils.

Do cleansing breathing. Varying it by lifting it alternately on the right and then on the left leg, repeat this exercise several times.

Exercise to activate blood circulation

The exercise is performed as follows. Stand up straight. Take a full breath, hold your breath. Lean forward slightly, pick up a stick or cane by the two ends, squeezing tightly and gradually putting all the strength into the hands gripping the stick. Lower the stick and straighten up, slowly exhaling air. Repeat several times. Finish with cleansing breath. This exercise can be done without the help of a stick, mentally imagining it, but putting all your strength into imagining squeezing the stick with your hands.

Yogis value this exercise very highly as it has the ability to attract arterial blood to the extremities and divert venous blood to the heart and lungs, enabling the body to receive more oxygen and get rid of waste blood particles. If circulation is poor, there may not be enough blood in the lungs to absorb the increased amount of oxygen from exhaled air, and the entire system will not benefit from improved breathing. In such cases, it is especially useful to practice this exercise, alternating it with the correct full breathing exercise.

Cleansing ha-breath

Stand straight with your feet apart and breathe like a full yogi breath. While inhaling, raise your arms up and hold your Breath for a few seconds. You need to relax your larynx, open your mouth and exhale vigorously, leaning forward, allowing your hands to fall. At the same time, the sound “ha” is naturally produced. Then slowly begin to inhale, straightening up and raising your arms up again. Exhale slowly through your nose, lowering your arms down. Repeat the exercise 3 times. Exhale air with relief, as if freeing yourself from worries. Exercise stimulates blood circulation and clears the airways, enhancing the rejection of mucus accumulated in the airways. After completing the exercise, a person feels much more energetic.

Blowing out a candle

Take a full breath and hold your breath without straining. Purse your lips into a tube and exhale all the air in 3 sharp exhalations. With the first exhalation, air comes out of the abdomen, with the second - from the chest, with the third - from the top of the lungs. Keep your body and head straight, perform the exercise energetically, with enthusiasm. Perform no more than 3 times.

Abdominal breathing exercises

Stand straight with your legs approximately 30-40 cm apart, feet parallel; tilt your body slightly forward. Keep your arms bent at the elbows, palms against your thighs, thumbs pointing toward your groin. After a full inhalation, exhale slowly and completely, strongly drawing your stomach inward, raising your diaphragm as much as possible so that your stomach seems to “disappear.” It should be noted that this exercise can only be performed on an empty stomach. Holding the air for 5 seconds at first, gradually increase the duration of holding your breath. In order for the diaphragm to rise upward, the lungs must be free of air until the very end of the exercise. Exercise is an excellent remedy against prolapse of the stomach, intestines, kidneys, and uterus. Stimulates the function of the solar plexus and restores the balance of the autonomic nervous system. Has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart, lungs and diaphragm. Restores the mobility of the diaphragm and maintains the elasticity of the lungs. In general, abdominal exercises are very effective, especially since they are not difficult to perform. Exercise is contraindicated in all acute forms of abdominal diseases and heart diseases. If you feel pain while performing an exercise, you should stop exercising and consult a doctor.

Moon Breath

Performed through the left nostril and left lung. It is recommended to close the right nostril and apply pressure to the right lung with something. Doing the exercise brings passivity, peace, and a sense of permanence. The action is creative, enhancing digestion, healing and soothing. Helps with anxiety, sadness and fever.

Earthly breath

It is necessary to strengthen the nerves, with mental and physical fatigue, and bad mood. Used for magnetic force, which can be converted into any type of energy if desired. Earthly or rhythmic breathing is Two Nostrils and Two Lungs Breathing. It is recommended to do this constantly. Stand up straight. Extend your relaxed arms in front of you. Slowly move your arms back, increasing muscle tension. Without relaxing the muscles, slowly move your fists outward, then quickly bring them back to their original position. Do all this while holding your breath. Repeat 3-5 times, exhaling forcefully through your nose.

Few people think about how to breathe correctly: this process occurs uncontrollably, at the subconscious level. Meanwhile, there are thoracic, abdominal and combined types of breathing (diaphragm, stomach, both together), each of which is equivalent. To form correct breathing, you need to regularly perform a set of breathing exercises, but before that, evaluate how correctly you are breathing (observe the frequency and rhythm when inhaling and exhaling).

The basics of developing correct, deep breathing with the stomach and chest

Proper breathing is especially necessary in winter and during the transitional winter-spring period, during a flu epidemic. According to experts, improper breathing significantly increases the likelihood of respiratory pathogens entering the body, which increases the risk of contracting the flu or a cold.

Many people breathe shallowly: too often (the norm is 16 respiratory movements per minute at rest) and shallowly, holding inhalation and exhalation from time to time. As a result, the lungs do not have time to ventilate properly - fresh air enters only the outer sections, while most of the lung volume remains unclaimed, that is, the air in it is not renewed, which plays into the hands of viruses and bacteria.

The basis of proper breathing is an extended inhalation, a pause, and a short exhalation.

Type of breathing. Determine exactly how you breathe: actively relaxing the stomach - abdominal type of breathing, raising and lowering the chest - chest type, combining both - mixed type of breathing. What kind of breathing is correct for the stable functioning of the body?

Chest breathing, in which the intercostal muscles are mainly involved in the act of breathing, is reserved by nature for women. But men sitting over a pile of papers, in front of a TV screen or behind the wheel also breathe in this manner that is unusual for them. The main thing is that the process of chest, abdominal or mixed breathing itself is clearly established, which will require training.

How is proper breathing characterized?

Correct breathing is characterized by frequency and rhythm.

To determine your breathing rate, sit comfortably, place a watch with a second hand in front of you, relax, straighten your shoulders. Count how many breaths you take in a minute.

14 breaths per minute - this is an excellent indicator of correct, deep breathing: well-trained and resilient people usually breathe this way. By taking in the air deeply, you allow your lungs to expand, ventilate them perfectly, that is, you make your respiratory system almost invulnerable to infectious agents.

14 to 18 breaths per minute - a good result. This is exactly how most practically healthy people breathe, who can get the flu or ARVI no more than 2 times a season.

More than 18 breaths per minute - a cause for concern. With shallow and frequent breathing, only half of the inhaled air enters the lungs. This is clearly not enough to constantly update the pulmonary atmosphere.

System for developing the correct rhythm of human breathing

The rhythm of proper breathing is the ratio of inhalation and exhalation, the placement of pauses in this cycle.

Extended inhalation - pause - short exhalation. This is exactly how people with high performance breathe breathe. Try to get into a mobilizing breathing rhythm to feel a surge of strength and activate your defense system. The body is very wisely designed: inhalation is a stimulating factor, exhalation is a calming factor.

Short energetic inhalation - extended exhalation - pause. This rhythm acts like a calming pill. With the help of this rhythm, the nervous system relaxes the muscles, getting rid of internal tension. Have you started sighing often for no apparent reason? This is the body trying to unobtrusively remind us - it’s time to take a break, relax. Don't ignore his advice. Remember, chronic fatigue weakens the immune system.

An insufficiently clear breathing rhythm with periodic holding of inhalation or exhalation in combination with frequent and shallow breathing greatly increases the likelihood of contracting the flu or. And not only. Improper breathing, in addition to complicating the functioning of the lungs, disrupts the accompanying movements of the diaphragm, which normally should improve and facilitate the activity of the heart and activate blood circulation in the abdominal and pelvic organs.

What is the correct breathing: thoracic and abdominal types

To form proper breathing, a person needs to perform special exercises.

Special breathing exercise to develop abdominal breathing:

lie on your back, place your palms under your head and slightly bend your knees;
to practice proper abdominal breathing, you need to tense your abdominal muscles, drawing in your stomach and vigorously exhaling air;
hold a short pause until the need to inhale appears;
using the diaphragm, inhale, as if filling the stomach with air;
after a short pause, exhale, strongly drawing in your stomach.

By mastering thoracic and abdominal breathing and combining these skills into one, you will feel how much stronger your body will become. But don’t stop there, continue developing proper breathing - the basis of good health.

Special breathing exercise to develop chest breathing:

lie on your stomach, straighten your legs and assume the pose of a resting lion: slightly raise your chest, resting on your palms and forearms with your arms bent at the elbows;
straining the intercostal muscles, slowly take in a full chest of air so that the chest rises;
hold your breath for a few seconds and then exhale briefly, relaxing your muscles and lowering your chest;
take a short pause, and when the need to inhale appears, repeat the breathing cycle from the beginning.

Full (mixed) breathing, which simultaneously involves the abdominal muscles, diaphragm and intercostal muscles, is considered the healthiest. With such a system of proper breathing, not only the lungs, but also the intestines and liver work like clockwork, and the resistance of the bronchi and nasopharynx to adverse effects increases. So no viruses will be scary.

The possibilities of breathing exercises are difficult to overestimate. You need to train this way at least several times a day. It is best to do this in the fresh air while walking at a calm pace.

In the morning and afternoon while walking, perform simple breathing exercises that activate the type of full breathing: an extended inhalation (4-6 steps) with a pause (2 steps) and a shortened but active exhalation (2 steps). And in the evening before going to bed, breathe in a calming mode: a short full inhalation (2 steps), an extended exhalation (4 steps) and a pause after exhalation (2 steps).

Remember that increased ventilation without appropriate training can lead to excessive loss of carbon dioxide - you will feel dizzy, you may even lose consciousness. To prevent this from happening, exercise in a well-ventilated area, in the morning on an empty stomach or in the afternoon 3 hours after eating. Be sure to pause after each exhalation and gradually increase the time of exercise: from 2-3 breathing cycles to 10-15 during one lesson.

You cannot perform full breathing if you are on a polluted street with cars scurrying nearby.

Special breathing exercise to train full breathing:

stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides. After exhaling air, wait until the need to inhale appears;
Counting to 8 in your head, slowly inhale through your nose, sequentially directing the air stream from bottom to top: first into the stomach (while sticking it out slightly), then expanding the chest, and then raising the shoulders. At the end of the inhalation, the stomach should be slightly drawn in;
exhale vigorously in the same sequence: first relax the diaphragm and tense the abdominal press, drawing in the stomach, then relax the intercostal muscles and lower the shoulders;
take a short pause, and when the desire to take a breath appears, repeat it all over again. When taking a full breath, you need to slightly raise your head, and when exhaling, lower it slightly.

The video “Correct Breathing” shows all types of correct breathing:

Special static exercises for the respiratory system

1. Standing, feet shoulder-width apart. Exhale completely, then inhale slowly through your nose, as if you were breathing fully. Without pausing at the height of inhalation, exhale through lips folded as if for a whistle, but without puffing out your cheeks. Exhale air in short, strong bursts, for which during each air burst you should strain (retract) your stomach and relax your abdominal muscles and diaphragm. If the air shocks during exhalation are weak, the exercise loses its meaning. One breath is divided into three shocks.

This breathing exercise is useful for quick ventilation of the lungs after a long stay in a stuffy room.

2. Sitting on a chair. Taking a deep breath, exhale slowly through your nose, noting the duration of the exhalation in seconds. During the training process, the exhalation gradually lengthens (by about 2-3 seconds per week of training), and the exhalation must be completed without much volitional effort.

3. Sitting or standing. Take intermittent inhalations through the nose in 3-4 steps, that is, after each inhalation, exhale slightly, and each subsequent inhalation should be deeper than the previous one. When the lungs are filled with air, after holding your breath for a short time, exhale quickly and forcefully through your mouth wide open. This exercise for the respiratory system must be performed 3 times.

4. Standing without tension. Take intermittent inhalations in 3-4 steps, accompanying each inhalation with a protrusion of the abdomen (the diaphragm moves down). Exhale through the nose in bursts. With each push, the stomach retracts a little.

5. Take a full breath through your nose. After a short pause (3-5 s), exhale through your mouth with the sound “s”. Then take a full breath through your nose again and, after a pause, exhale in jerks with the sound “fu-fu-fu”. Simultaneously with each “fu” sound, draw in and relax your stomach. Shoulders slumped. Do it 3 times.

6. Breathing training with gradual lengthening of inhalation. Breathing is done under mental counting. The pause after inhalation during this special breathing exercise is equal to half an inhalation. Eight respiratory cycles are carried out with a gradual lengthening of the inhalation (counting from 4 to 8) and a short exhalation.

The best dynamic gymnastics exercises for proper breathing (with video)

These breathing exercises strengthen the muscles of the chest, abdomen and diaphragm and, like static exercises, contribute to the development and consolidation of the skills of correct (full) breathing:

1. Feet shoulder-width apart, hands on the waist. As you inhale, lean back slightly, as you exhale, lean forward a little, squeezing your shoulders and lowering your arms down. Do it 5 times.

2. Feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips. After inhaling, simultaneously step forward with your left leg and tilt your head back slightly; right foot on toe. As you exhale, put your leg back in place and lower your head a little. Do the same with your right leg. Do it 5 times.

3. Feet shoulder-width apart, arms down along the body. Take a deep breath while raising your arms above your head and leaning back slightly. As you exhale, bend forward, trying to touch the floor with your fingers without bending your knees. Do it 3 times.

4. Feet together, hands on the belt. Inhaling, turn to the left, legs remain in place, arms spread to the sides at shoulder level. As you exhale, bend forward and to the left, move your arms back.

On your next inhalation, straighten up and turn your torso to the right, spreading your arms to the sides at shoulder level. Exhaling, bend forward and to the right, and move your arms back. On the next inhalation, straighten up, raise your arms up and exhale calmly while lowering your arms. Run 2 times.

5. Feet shoulder-width apart, arms down along the body. Take a small breath. Exhaling slowly, lower your head to your chest, bring your shoulders forward, touch your knees with your hands, and look down. As you exhale, raise your head, straighten your shoulders, raise your arms to the sides to shoulder level, look up, lower your arms. Do it 3 times.

6. Feet shoulder-width apart, place your hands on your chest so that you can feel the movements of your ribs. Make circular movements with your elbows back and forth. Breathe evenly, without delay. Do it 5 times.

7. Feet shoulder-width apart, hands on the waist (palms on the back, thumbs in front). Bend your torso forward and backward, right and left. When straightening, lightly squeeze your back with your hands; exhale while bending, inhale when straightening. Do it 3 times.

8. Feet shoulder-width apart, hands on the waist (palms on the back, thumbs in front). Make circular movements with your midsection and hips. Breathing is voluntary, without delay. Perform 10 times to the right and left.

9. Feet together, hands with clenched fists behind your back (fists touching each other). Walk slowly, while inhaling, rise on your toes and try to raise your arms behind your back, throwing your head back. As you exhale, place your legs on top of your feet, lower your arms, and touch your chin to your chest. Perform for 1 minute.

10. Feet together, arms down along the body. While inhaling, bending backwards, take a step to the left (the right leg remains in place) and, raising your arms to the sides to shoulder level, describe small circles with them - from left to right and from right to left 6 times. As you exhale, return to the starting position. Do the same most effective breathing exercise by switching legs.

11. Feet together, hands at the back of the head, fingers intertwined. As you inhale, rise onto your toes and bend back. As you exhale, lower yourself onto your feet and, spreading your arms to the sides, lower them down. Do it 6 times.

12. Sitting astride a chair facing the back, back straight, arms resting on the back of the chair. Take a breath. As you exhale, bend over and, strongly drawing in your stomach, touch your face to your hands. Do it 6 times.

Watch the video “Breathing Exercises”, which will help you better master the technique of breathing exercises:

An effective complex for proper breathing: types of oriental exercises

The set of breathing exercises includes the so-called “cleansing breath” - the most important way of breathing for yogis. As a rule, it completes any set of physical exercises or breathing exercises.

Stand straight, legs together, palms pressed together, wrists lightly pressing on the stomach so that the palms are perpendicular to the body. Take a deep breath through your nose. Breathe as described for a full breath. Hold your exhalation for a few seconds. At the same time, the lips fold into a tube. The cheeks do not swell. Next, release the air rhythmically, with strong but sharp exhalations. Make sharp sounds. The cheeks should not be puffed out. Don't exhale all the air at once. After a pause, when it lingers in the lungs for a moment, exhale with force all the remainder. It is important to feel the very power of exhalation; you need to feel the portions of exhaled air.

This method of proper breathing technique cleanses the lungs and refreshes the human body, giving a supply of vigor and health. An excellent option for relieving fatigue - both mental and physical.

Another type of breathing exercise is breathing for voice development. It helps to develop a beautiful, deep, sonorous, strong voice. This affects not only the euphony of our speech, but also the condition of the upper respiratory tract, as well as the larynx. The voice directly reflects the general condition of a person, and also shows how great the vital force is in him. This technique is rather additional than basic, since it affects very important and subtle matters, and without special, long preparation it will not have the desired effect.

When performing this exercise for proper breathing, you need to take a slow and deep breath through your nose. Hold your breath for a few seconds. Exhale powerfully, in one motion, with your mouth wide open. Finish with cleansing breathing so that the lungs return to a calm state.

One of the best breathing exercises is holding your breath. This exercise helps develop the breathing muscles and lungs. After repeated and frequent use, it is possible to expand the chest, which is very important for air and energy exchange processes. During this exercise, the lungs are cleansed and their ventilation improves. It is also useful for diseases of the stomach and liver. It is dangerous if you have hypertension, so it is not recommended for hypertensive patients.

Can be performed standing, sitting or lying down. Take a slow, full breath through your nose, as described for the full breathing technique. Hold your breath while inhaling for 10-20 seconds. Feel your lungs fill with air. Exhale forcefully through your mouth. All spent energy must come out, taking with it the negative that has accumulated in it. Finally, calm your lungs with cleansing breathing.

Below is a video of “Breathing exercises” to strengthen the body:

Methodology of simple breathing exercises: possibilities of self-control

In the method of breathing exercises to determine the adequacy of physical activity, there are several simple methods.

Pulse rate. Most people get the most benefit from exercise if their heart rate is around 70% of their maximum during exercise. Your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age.

If you are 20 years old, then the maximum heart rate is 220 - 20 = 200 beats per minute. Then 70% of the maximum would be 140 beats per minute.
With such a pulse, the load will be most effective and safe.

Pleasantly tired. If the exercises are pleasant, but you do not get tired, then the load is insufficient. If you get tired and there is no pleasure, then it’s great. You should feel pleasant fatigue.

Speaking test. If you can freely carry on a conversation with someone during gymnastics for proper breathing, then your load is not enough. If you can talk to yourself, then the load is good, but I would like to increase it a little.

Exercise for training the respiratory system “Centimeter”

The set of breathing exercises includes the “Centimeter” exercise, which is suitable both for monitoring the correctness of inhalations and exhalations, and for training the respiratory muscles (primarily the intercostal muscles), as well as the main respiratory muscle - the diaphragm and abdominal muscles. This exercise also helps to increase the mobility of the intercostal and intervertebral joints.

The difference in chest circumference at maximum inhalation and exhalation determines the mobility of the chest, which, for example, in adolescents is about 10 cm. If this difference is smaller, training is necessary - breathing control.

This exercise for the respiratory system is performed using a regular measuring tape, which is applied at the level of the xiphoid process (on the skin or on a T-shirt), tightly fitting the chest. The ends of the tape are held firmly in the hands of either the student himself or his assistant. It is good if the exercise is done in front of a mirror.

How to breathe correctly while doing the Centimeter exercise?

On the count “1-2-3,” a deep, slow breath is taken through the nose, the ribs overcome the resistance of the tape. The ribs should seem to push the tightly wrapping tape apart, overcoming quite a lot of resistance, to the maximum possible position.
On the count “1-2-3”, the breath is held and the movement of the ribs is stopped. The tape continues to fit tightly around the chest.
At the count of “4-5-6-7-8-9”, exhale slowly and smoothly through the nose or slightly open mouth. The ribs extend freely inwards as far as possible. At the same time, the tape tightly tightens the ribs deep into the chest.

The “Centimeter” breathing training exercise is performed 1-2 times a day (depending on the severity of the bronchopulmonary process in the patient), in the morning and/or afternoon, for 15 minutes, on average 15-20 respiratory cycles.

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Breathing is an important component of human life. You can only live without it for a couple of minutes. It can have different rhythms, depending on life situations, and no one seriously thinks about how it happens. In addition, most people have not even heard about the benefits of breathing exercises. And they help improve health, lose excess weight, and achieve a harmonious combination of body and soul. The organs responsible for breathing include the nose, trachea, bronchi and lungs. Disturbances in their work lead to deterioration of respiratory function. To help your body function, you can use various breathing techniques. The most widespread of them is considered to be yoga.

In different situations and in different people, breathing may differ.

Deep - characterized by the entry into the respiratory tract of such a volume of air that completely fills the respiratory organs. Usually a person inhales this way in the forest, in nature, or after feeling a pleasant aroma.
Frequent - may appear, for example, after jogging, or during severe fright.
Superficial - the respiratory organs do not receive enough air.
Rare. It's more of a developed technique. For example, gymnasts in synchronized swimming can breathe this way.
Lower. This is breathing using the diaphragm, in which only the stomach works, without the participation of the chest.
Average - the chest is involved.
Upper - the shoulder girdle is involved.
Mixed is the most universal, which involves the diaphragm, chest and shoulders.

Shallow and rapid breathing in a normal and calm state of the body may indicate pathological processes.

Yoga helps to bring the spiritual and physical components of your body into harmony. It assumes that for normal existence and life a person needs prana (vital energy), which can be food and respiratory.

Breathing exercises used in the yoga system allow you to:

provide the lungs with enough air;
lower blood pressure;
restore normal metabolism and nervous system;
improve the functioning of the immune system;
achieve harmony of soul and body.

You can practice this system at home by doing the following exercise:

Starting position: lotus position, hands on knees, index and thumbs on each hand connected and forming a large ring, and the remaining fingers not touching. The back is straight, the eyes are closed. Men sit facing north and women face south.
Execution: release air from the respiratory organs by exhaling properly. Start filling them gradually. As you inhale, you should feel the air filling your lungs from bottom to top. First, the stomach inflates, filling the bottom, then the chest rises, filling the middle of the lungs, and eventually they are completely filled. In the final stage, the shoulders rise and the stomach deflates. Exhale and repeat at least 3 times.
Features of the technique: with this breathing in yoga, the air flows smoothly and gradually. There is no tension or discomfort in the body and respiratory organs. The entire body is saturated with life-giving prana.

Yoga is not the only popular form of breathing exercise. There are various methods for this, including their own set of exercises:

Breathing exercises. It allows you to cure diseases of the respiratory system, heart, nervous system, and blood vessels. This method is based on completely filling the respiratory organs with air, involving the entire body. This complex is quite diverse. Let's look at some of them:
Stand up, relax, bend your arms at the elbows and press them to your ribs, clench your hands into fists, palms turned away from you. Take 4 quick breaths in and out in a row. The inhalation should be loud and the exhalation silent. As you inhale, clench your fists, as you exhale, unclench your fists. Do at least 10 approaches with a break of a few seconds.
Place your hands on your stomach and clench them into fists, turn your palms towards you. Inhale and exhale quickly 8 times in a row. As you inhale, clench your fists, and as you exhale, unclench your fists (at the same time, your arms sharply straighten down). Perform at least 10 approaches.
Stand up, bend forward a little so that your arms are straight above your knees, your hands are relaxed, your face is down, your back is rounded. When you inhale, the body lowers, when you exhale, it rises (the amplitude is small), but the back does not straighten completely. Inhalation is loud, exhalation is silent. Take 8 quick breaths and exhale, and rest for a few seconds. Repeat at least 10 times.
Bodyflex - helps to lose extra pounds and saturate the body with oxygen. The breathing itself looks like this: exhale all the air through your mouth, inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth, draw in your stomach as much as possible and hold your breath, counting to 10. While holding your breath, you can perform any exercise on the desired muscle group. Also, during such training you can simply do household chores. Just a quarter of an hour of exercise a day will help you lose weight by improving metabolism and intestinal function.
Three-phase breathing. Its founder is L. Kofler. A set of exercises using this method helps to cope with respiratory diseases, as well as improve vocal abilities. Exhale and hold your breath in the middle until you have the strength not to breathe. After this, inhale and exhale completely. Do 6 such approaches, pronouncing different sounds in this order: “pfff”, “ssss”, “pfff”, “zhzhzh”, “pfff”, “zzzz”.

There are other programs for breathing training. Some of them (such as rebirthing, the Butenko breathing system, holotropic breathing) cause a lot of controversy and have unproven effectiveness. Others, for example, vibration, breathing according to Pershin, are modified methods of existing exercises.

Regardless of which set of exercises is preferred, the following recommendations should be followed:

during the first training, you do not need to try to complete all the approaches;
if dizziness appears, then you should temporarily increase the interval between approaches;
if unpleasant sensations arise during the exercise, then you should reconsider the technique - perhaps you are doing something incorrectly;
It is better to train in the fresh air or indoors with open windows;
Before starting training, you should consult your doctor to exclude contraindications.

The right approach to breathing training and a well-chosen technique will improve the condition of the entire body and find inner harmony.

There are several popular systems of breathing exercises in the world, but the legacy that the great Patanjali left us still remains at unattainable heights, and in its uniqueness and multifaceted functionality, no other direction has been able to surpass the developments of the ancient yogic school.

In this article we will tell you the benefits of performing breathing exercises for the body and their beneficial effects on a person’s emotional and mental state. You will learn to manage your emotions through breathing practices.

A set of breathing exercises

A set of breathing exercises will be useful to anyone interested in a healthy lifestyle. Breathing is involved in all vital processes of the body. A person cannot live even a few minutes without it. Proper breathing will help normalize the functioning of internal organs and glands, improve blood circulation and, along with it, provide oxygen to the cells of the body, which previously lacked a vital element.

Gas exchange in the lungs depends on whether a person breathes correctly. If breathing is shallow and insufficient, then oxygen will not be delivered to those cells that need it. Proper breathing and its effect on blood flow is significant, since it is thanks to proper gas exchange and the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen that the body will receive nutrients delivered through the blood.

Much more can be said about the importance of breathing and how vital it is to learn to control it. Yes, breathing can be controlled, and the practice of yoga calls this the art of controlling and distributing prana in the body, or pranayama. Prana is the energy that we cannot see with our eyes, but it exists. This is not a synonym for the word “oxygen”, but much more. Prana is a life-giving energy that exists in everything around us: in food, living organisms, air, light, etc. This is what gives the Universe life.

Breathing exercises for calmness

Let's first understand what we mean by such a term as “breathing exercises for calming” and what we can understand by calming. As practice shows, this is a matter of paramount importance. If you understand by calmness physical calm, relaxation and complete comfort for the body, then to achieve such goals you must perform one set of breathing exercises.

If by calming exercises you understand primarily the psychological aspect, freeing the mind from thought processes, or at least reducing the flow of thoughts and slowing down the internal dialogue, then this will be a different conversation, because although physical and mental calming can go hand in hand, and usually mental Relaxation promotes physical calm, but these states can also occur separately from each other, that is, you can be physically active and at the same time mentally calm and relaxed.

The reverse relationship is somewhat more complicated, since psychological tightness or nervousness will affect the physical state, because the psychological and mental levels in terms of the hierarchy of human bodies are higher than the basic physical one. Based on this, we understand that the mental and psychological state plays a big role in controlling the physical body.

Let's remember the moment when you, having come home from work, are comfortably seated in a chair and generally feel physically relaxed, while the brain still continues to function in the same mode as at work, i.e. it has not switched, did not disconnect from old programs. He continues to replay the stories of the day, which also does not help calm him down, and this happens day after day. The thought process does not leave us for a minute. We cannot talk about peace in its pure form if the brain is constantly comparing something, reviewing details, analyzing. This machine is constantly working, and most importantly, it is very difficult to stop.

Stopping the thought process with breathing exercises

Meditation techniques are used to stop the thought process, thus ultimately achieving complete relaxation, not just physical. But in order to enter into meditation, to start meditating, it is best to start with breathing techniques. They will help you concentrate, reduce the flow of mental images, and with constant practice it will become possible to completely stop it and, as a result, truly calm down.

Thoughts are what make us restless almost all the time. Unfortunately, we have no power over them, but it only seems so at first glance. A person can and should be the master of his thoughts so that, at his own request, he can concentrate on fruitful thought forms, selecting and weeding out unnecessary ones. This is what the practice of dharana teaches - concentrating thoughts on one thing.

You can also learn not to think at certain moments when it is necessary to really calm down. If you understand by calmness to be a focus on positive emotions and memories, then this is not yet real calmness. This is just a way to temporarily avoid negative thoughts, but they will come back again, so this approach is, to put it mildly, counterproductive and is just a form of avoidance. For those of you who don’t want to return to where you started every time, you need to master meditation techniques, the best of which are associated with yoga breathing exercises -.

Yoga: breathing exercises

Yoga breathing exercises - pranayama - generally have a good preventive and therapeutic effect on the body, not to mention the fact that the calming effect on the psyche achieved when performing them is stable and has a beneficial effect on mental processes. If you want to learn in practice what it means to turn off the flow of thoughts, at least for a short time, then you can hardly think of anything better than pranayamas. From the entire list of pranayamas, we will select those that are best to start with and that will also allow you to experience meditation.

Anuloma Viloma;
Chandra Bhedana pranayama;
Samavritti pranayama;
Full yogic breathing.

There are many pranayamas in yoga practice, but it is undesirable to use Bhastrika and Kapalbhati, because these 2 breathing techniques ventilate the lungs very strongly, and it is better to use them only in combination with other pranayamas, since they alone will not give a calming effect. While combining them with other types of pranayamas can be effective, but for this you need to have enough practice experience to skillfully create a complex of breathing techniques that is safe for your body and at the same time leading to the desired result.

Performing pranayamas that include kumbhaka, i.e. Holding your breath while inhaling or exhaling is possible, but you should wait until you have mastered basic breathing techniques well. Only after this can you engage in the practice of holding your breath, starting with very short periods of time: for 3-4 seconds.

Yogic breathing exercises are designed in such a way that, by performing them, you fill the body with that same amazing energy - prana, which we have already talked about. It moves along internal nadis, there are hundreds and even thousands of them. The three most important of them are located along the spinal column, if we try to explain them from an anatomical point of view to make it clearer. However, these channels are energetic, that is, they are invisible.

Through Ida - the lunar channel on the left, Pingala - the solar channel on the right, and the central, most important one - Sushumna - pranic energy passes and is distributed. By performing full yogic breathing and pranayama, you activate the flow of prana through these channels, filling your body with life.

Breathing exercises in yoga as preparation for deep meditation

For those who are just starting to take their first steps in the practice of pranayama, it is best to first master full yogic breathing. It consists of 3 stages: abdominal, thoracic and clavicular. The essence of such breathing is contained in the name itself - it is complete. Your breathing calms down and becomes deeper and more measured. Your thoughts concentrate on the breathing process; this alone prevents you from rushing or taking shallow breaths and insufficient exhalations. Gradually, through the breathing process itself, you relax, even if you were physically tense, because when the abdominal region is involved in the breathing process, the body itself smoothly relaxes.

Next comes the removal of emotional stress, and by concentrating on the processes of inhalation and exhalation, the mind also switches, its work becomes less intense, the thought process slows down, thus having a calming effect on the emotions and psyche, not only on the body. With the inclusion of full yogic breathing in your daily practice, even with its help you can for the first time understand what a state of thoughtlessness is, when the thought process is stopped, at least for a while. This is the beginning of real meditation, then it can be deepened, and performing pranayamas and full yogic breathing can be the key for you that will open the door to meditation.

Breathing exercises to calm the nervous system

All yoga exercises help to calm the nervous system to one degree or another. Some are more, others are less. In order to get your nerves in order, you can start practicing pranayama such as:

Apanasati or otherwise known as Anapanasati pranayama;
Nadi shodhana or Anuloma Viloma - they are similar, the only differences are in the moment associated with kumbhaka;
Samavritti pranayama, or “square breathing”;
Shitali pranayama, or “cooling breath”. Its essence is not in cooling you down, but in calming you down;
Chandra bhedana pranayama also refers to “cooling” in the same sense as described above;
Full yogic breathing completes this list of breathing exercises to calm the nervous system.

Yogic breathing practices, along with the practice of asanas, have a very organic effect on the psyche, strengthening the nervous system and increasing stress resistance. If you decide to practice breathing exercises regularly, after a short time you will notice how your way of thinking changes. You will begin to pay less attention to trifles, small, annoying moments that just recently irritated and drove you crazy.

A new outlook on life will be the factor that will help you be more balanced. Thoughts penetrate and govern all areas of life, therefore, by changing your breathing, you can change the very direction of your thoughts, and this will help you react less to external stimuli, but be more aware of the series of events and their significance in your life. This way, not only will your life become more balanced, but you will be able to take control of it and become a co-creator of your life path.