The key to a healthy metabolism and vitality is a healthy spirit.
How a person breathes can tell lot about them. The shallower the breath, the lower a person’s self-esteem, vitality and ability to cope with stress. The deeper the breath, the more present, confident and secure a person is. Short breathes show that the body is heated – usually by anger or stress. Short breathes and mouth breathing are the body’s way of trying to cool or calm down.
Stress is the number one “metabolism saboteur”. Stress triggers your flight or fight mode and tells your body it is in trouble. “There is danger”, “Get the adrenaline pumping we’re going to war”. Your body is a physical manifestation of your spirit. If your spirit feels it is in danger, unsafe, it will send signals to the body to respond. Your body doesn’t know the difference between famine or fasting, arguing or a full-blown war. It only knows it is unsafe, and the physical body responds. It triggers stress hormones, that are known to wreak havoc on your metabolism, your circulation, your heart and your lymphatic system.
In spiritual healing, excess weight is a sign your spirit is trying to protect itself.
The first step to a healthy metabolism is a healthy spirit. When your spirit (your psyche) is strong and safe, you will be motivated, unstoppable, full of energy to conquer whatever comes before you. Working with your spirit begins with the breath.
Conscious breathing is the first step to connecting and working with your spirit. Controlling the length and depth of your inhales and exhales will bring you inward to your spirit and improve your emotional, mental, and physical state. This is why people naturally want to take a deep breath when they are scared or upset.
Your breathing changes all the time, when you’re active, sleeping – even your thoughts are connected to your breath. Your breath has a powerful effect on your body and mind. Consciously controlling your breath can immediately shift your emotional, physical and mental state. When you control the amount of oxygen you take in and the amount of carbon dioxide you release, you can adjust the chemical makeup of your nervous system. This effect expands throughout the body, shifting your hormones and your metabolic processes.
There are many different styles of breathwork. In Qigong I teach what is called primordial breathing. The first breath you ever took was through your navel. In this exercise you breathe through your navel filling up your pelvis, then your stomach, then your chest, all the way to the clavicle. Filling it up like a balloon then deflating it as you exhale. The inhale is through the nose; the exhale is out the mouth.
This type of breathing involves contracting the diaphragm, expanding the stomach, and deepening inhalation and exhalation to detox the body, lower the stress hormone and draw your attention inward, soothing and strengthening your spirit. It increases the oxygen intake, brings vitality and contributes to health and emotional balance.
Several studies have proven Qigong to reduces blood pressure, decreases stress response, strengthens the heart, and improves overall health and balances your body’s main stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol influences how the body uses nutrients like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. It also impacts inflammatory processes, blood pressure, blood sugar, and step patterns.
When you are under stress, physical or emotional, the body releases a boost of cortisol to support the sympathetic nervous system known as the fight or flight instinct. When you are constantly under stress, continually elevated cortisol levels create emotional or physical exhaustion and cognitive weariness, creating more anxiety, stress and burnout.
Heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes, abdominal obesity, atherosclerosis, hypertension, dementia, and depression can all be managed and possibly eliminated by taking care of your spirit.
Breathing out the stress
Slow, purposeful breathing patterns, roughly six breaths per minute, will force your autonomic system (heart rate, digestion, and other unconscious processes) to slow down. Slow breathing changes brain activity to decrease stress and anxiety and generally makes us feel better.
• Inhale slowly through the nose all the way in until you’ve reached your full lung capacity. Hold the breath to the count of five, exhale through the nose all the way until your lungs are empty. On the next breath increase the hold to six, then seven all the way to ten.
• Repeat for as long as is helpful, until you feel relaxed.
Vasiliki
Medicine Woman
Vasiliki is the visionary and sage behind Teaching Spirit Retreat Centers. An intuitive healer, mother, and spiritual leader, she is a multi-faceted individual who has transformed her entire being through profound teachings and life experiences. With her uncanny ability to use her natural born gifts and innate wisdom to balance all aspects of life, she freely shares love, light, and service.
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