Shallow breath is the source of my suffering

[Heaven]

Hello everyone

All my life I suffered from some stress, in my adulthood it became clearer and stronger so I got in the work and spirituality.

Today it hit me hard that during the day I breathe very shallow unless I force it..and I believe it adds up and makes me anxious and stressed.

Why I don’t breathe deeply? Do I have to focus on my breathe the whole day? Is it just a bad habit? 
 

Thanks?

Edited February 13, 2020 by Heaven
Made things clearer

[Pacific Sage]

Hello!

You realising the fact that you have shallow breath already shows that you are one step out of the problem. Just surrending to the concept that you now have shallow breath helps. It could be due to the body being tight that deep breathing is not possible. Yoga really helps loosen the muscles of the body and helps develop natural deep breathing. Basically more relaxed you are, easier it is to breath deeply. Deep breath also helps deal better with trauma which are already stored in the body. Focusing on the breath whole might work too from the other way.. deep breathing relaxes the body.

[Unemployed]

Thank you so much for this post.  It helped me tremendously.

[Heaven]

On 2/14/2020 at 4:43 AM, Unemployed said:

Thank you so much for this post.  It helped me tremendously.

Thanks for mentioning that?

 

On 2/12/2020 at 11:29 PM, Pacific Sage said:

Hello!

You realising the fact that you have shallow breath already shows that you are one step out of the problem. Just surrending to the concept that you now have shallow breath helps. It could be due to the body being tight that deep breathing is not possible. Yoga really helps loosen the muscles of the body and helps develop natural deep breathing. Basically more relaxed you are, easier it is to breath deeply. Deep breath also helps deal better with trauma which are already stored in the body. Focusing on the breath whole might work too from the other way.. deep breathing relaxes the body.

I definitely see how it’s the case.

thanks.

[Leo Gura]

Your suffering is not due to shallow breath, it's due to you attached to being you.

Suffering is attachment to a finite self.

[mrzgraphics]

Hi Heaven, 

First of all I hope you're feeling much better now. Sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves at the expense of getting more work done or just totally surrendering to daily tasks without taking a break to actually breathe. This happens to me often these days as I am doing my full time scientific work plus part-time artistic freelance work. My advice to you is to allocate 20 minutes every day from your schedule to breathing exercises combined with meditation. Also, Wim Hof's method might be a good idea to try out. 

Have a fantastic day everybody

Regards,

PS. This is my first contribution to this forum. I love you Leo. I watch all your videos and they bring so much value to my life. Thanks million times!!!! 

[Display_Name]

your psoas and diaphragm is probably chronically tense. I have the same. try out for a good physiotherapist or rolfer. I release mine by pushing my hands deep inside to the spots that hurt

[okulele]

@Heaven Hi! In my experience, the body does not contract just like that. You are, most likely unconsciously, holding something down. Stuffing down feelings?

Ok, here is what I would do.

1. Sit down and relax.
2. Breath naturaly, even if it is shallow.
3. Notice the contraction, don't try to remove it or force your way through.
4. Ask yourself (the unicerse, the contraction) - "What is hiding underneath this?
5. Listen

Might be good to have a journal with you. This can help with the expression and seeing.

And above all, lots of love for yourself.

[peqkno]

On 27.2.2020 at 11:15 AM, Display_Name said:

your psoas and diaphragm is probably chronically tense. I have the same. try out for a good physiotherapist or rolfer. I release mine by pushing my hands deep inside to the spots that hurt

Same here though it's getting remarkably better with breathing exercises, some yoga asanas and stretching (after amazing results in a osteopathic therapy session).

What I use as a morning routine are "Dr. Fulford's 7 daily exercises" (for breathing deeply and getting rid of tensions). They were recommended to me by an osteopathic physician.

https://drkyle.com/2015/06/25/fulford-exercises/

Though it's best when someone can show you correctly how these are done or if you're able to do them. I haven't found better online sources than this excerpt

[Ingit]

On 2/27/2020 at 3:02 PM, Leo Gura said:

Your suffering is not due to shallow breath, it's due to you attached to being you.

Suffering is attachment to a finite self.

? Everything is controlled by the total intelligence. Giving meaning to thought brings out suffering.

[Heaven]

Thank u for the help fellows?
 

Many points to consider.

14 hours ago, Ingit said:

? Everything is controlled by the total intelligence. Giving meaning to thought brings out suffering.

I used to think the same but it’s just a thought and belief. Not my experience.