HOW - Notice our Breathing

This week's Habit of the Week (HOW)  is to notice your breathing.  Our breathing is most efficient when we are straight,  sitting or standing, head up and shoulders down the back.

Take a lovely deep breath right now with your hand on the lower ribs above the hips.  It is so easy to breathe deeply, the muscles expand the ribs creating low pressure inside the lungs and the air rushes in.
Now try to take the same breath with a slumped posture, bury your head in your chest, curve forward through your shoulders, when you try the breath it is soooo difficult because you are forced to use the very top of the lungs and those ribs don't move so easily.

This week I have noticed an ad on TV where someone is taking a deep breath, standing on pool deck and you can see the flaring of the ribs and diaphragm working beautifully -  but I digress

Here is the kicker, when we are tired, we slump, right? Slumping causes us to breathe more shallowly and shallow breathing makes you tired.  Want some more energy?  Straighten up and breathe.

This week, notice how many different ways we have of breathing, the "stretching" breath, the laughing breath, the sprinting puffing breath.  Have you seen someone sleeping and watched their breath change?  How many types of breath do you have?