's motd Sunday January 9, 2011

[Guest guest]

INHALE!

Sunday, 09 January 2011

As a child, I suffered with a

severe case of asthma. In fact, it seems just about

everything gave me an asthma attack. I hated going to

the doctor when I had serious flare-ups because that

usually meant I had a shot coming. (Oh,

no!) And I couldn't stand those needles. I'd

always have a little panic attack as the nurse

prepared to poke that needle into my arm.

Sometimes, I also had to see an Ear, Nose & Throat

doctor because of my asthma. I ended up having to

keep one of those little asthma medicine spray bottles

with me all the time. Whenever I had an

attack, I'd have to spray my throat to get some

relief. (Hey, it was better than getting a shot.)

Within seconds after a spray, ahhhh, I had

some relief. I could breathe again.

That medication became part of my life until I was 19

years-old. But eventually, my asthma went away and I

got much better. And I have to tell you, one of the

reasons I think the asthma left is because I lost so

much weight. Another thing I believe is that once I

made exercise a regular part of my life, it

helped me get over the asthma, too. Thank

goodness! Today, I breathe just perfectly.

Losing weight has paid off for me in so many

ways.

So, I wonder...do you breathe well? Oh how

we take the simple act of breathing for granted. Our

bodies have to breathe 24/7. We breathe

all night when we're sleeping and when we wake up in

the morning, our breaths are right there saying...Good

morning! Hey, if you're alive...you're

breathing. (How simple is that?)

But I also wonder, are you

breathing properly? Some people breathe

just from their noses to their throats in little short

breaths. But your body needs more than that. It

needs deep breathing. When you breath

properly, you can feel it coming all the way from the

core of your torso. When you inhale through your

nose, you have to really inhale. As you

inhale that air, push your stomach out and fill your

tummy with those fresh bursts of air. Hold that

breath for a second then exhale all of the air out as

you pull your stomach in. In fact, why don't you try

one with me right now.

First, sit up straight and place your hands on your

knees. Okay, now inhale as much air as you can

through your nose and...GO! Now, hold that

breath for a couple of seconds and then exhale all of

that air out and relax your stomach. Okay, let's do

one more. (Be sure to keep your neck up.) Inhale

again, hold the breath for a few seconds an-n-n-n-d...exhale!

(Feels good, doesn't it?)

When you inhale, the oxygen you take in is transported

to every blood cell in your body. And when you

exhale, your body rids itself of toxins and gases such

as carbon dioxide that are harmful to your body. You

need to take some deep breaths all day long...it

really wakens you.

And I can't tell you how important

it to breathe when you're working out.

Still, a lot of people hold their breath while they're

doing certain movements. (That's not good.)

Remember, it's very important to breath

properly when you're working out. That's because it

helps oxygenate those hard working muscles of yours.

So breathe away today. Your heart, lungs and the rest

of your body will be so thankful. Now...inhale!

Love,