I guess this looks like it is a topic which is getting some discussion.  So lets explore it a bit.

What does health, fitness or wellbeing mean to you? 

Does Health equate to not being sick or is there more to it?

What is fitness? Personally I think I am not as fit as I would like to be, but my lack of fitness doesn't impede my participating in the things I enjoy, however I may be avoiding some challenges because I am not as fit as I may need to be to enjoy them. 

What is your fitness level /expectation?

Wellbeing   well how do you describe that?  A sense of being well?  I suspect something more akin to being content - How would you describe it? 

lets explore these concepts and get some ideas abouthow to define these terms.

 Hi Helen

My current health regime includes mindful meditation, qigong , taichi and golf.

Qigong and taichi I have only started in the last 6 weeks and  I am really enjoying them.

 In the first three regimes (meditation, qigong and taichi) the practices all talk about the health advantages of breathing effectively.

The general terms seem to be abdominal breathing, belly breathing and or diaphragmatic breathing.

As a relative newbie to this area does anybody have reference or practices that clarify these methods and also what is the best starting point. Like any exercise regime I am sure that there are many subtle variations, and I am aware yoga can be very detailed in this area but what I am looking for is a good beginners guide to  healthier breathing in my health and fitness regime.

Skip

Hi Skip,

having studied a range of disciplines over the years, my sense is that they all point to the same issue: most of us do not breathe completely enough to really fill our bodies with oxygen, that is, our breathing is far too shallow.

The concept of belly breathing is to use the diaphragm to inflate your lungs a decent amount, rather than just raise the rib cage on its own which only partly inflates the lungs. 

You can experiment by lying on your back, hold your hands lightly on your belly and breathe in with the intention to lift your hands. Then generally during the day, bring your awareness back now and again to whether you are breathing into your belly rather than just the top of your chest.

However, avoid prolonged very deep breathing where you both use the diaphragm and expand your rib cage to really fill your lungs -- that can lead to hyper ventilation!

Hi Skip,

I agree with Ivan's comment. The diaphram is actually the breathing muscle, and it is conveniently located right under the lungs. So, when that muscle contracts, it expands the lungs downward and they fill with air. When it contracts, it pushes air out of the lungs and the belly flattens. Most people breathe using their shoulders and ribs, which keeps massage therapists in business because those muscles soon get tired and tight! When I do breathing exercises with clients, they seem to struggle at first with which way the belly is supposed to move. There is a simple breathing exercise in the Having Surgery? Introduction guide that might be helpful.

There are so many interpretations as to what health is. So many people view wellness as the absence of disease. Wellbeing can be on all levels, though not necessarily at the same time. I can feel a sense of emotional wellbeing and my physical body is stressed. Or, I can have a sense of mental wellbeing (my thoughts are finally the ones I want to have) and my spirit feels disconnected. Optimally, wellbeing is a sense of wholeness in mind, body, emotions, soul and spirit.

 Thanks Ivan and Stephanie, I had read one website where they recommended with qigong/taichi that you inhaled when the lower abdomin  went in and exhaled when you relaxed your tummy muscles. (the reverse of what you are suggesting) The reasoning being that the diaphragm moves upwards when you pull your stomach in and  downwards when you relax the belly.

I have had further discussion with my son who has done martial arts for many years and his view is the technique above is a more of a advanced martial arts technique and should not be used when breathing for simple relaxation/ meditation or doing qigong/taichi for pure relaxation.

I will stick with what you suggest.

cheers

Skip

 Skip I've thought about your question and have had a look at what is available to check about health and breathing. I foiund what appears to me to be a fairly comprehensive site with a questionnaire on breathing and health. You can find it at this questionnaire on breathing here .

I have taken the this test and I found the resulting report very intresting and helpful.It covers a range of health areas and has a lot of information about breathing and good health.  The site covers a wide range of Health issues like  nutrition, fitness, energy and sleep as well as self esteem and confidence.  Using breathing to enable a change or improvement in these areas seems like a good place for me to start as it something I can do anywhere, anytime.

There is a really good comment by Sensei on the blog post on health . That Health means so many things being in balance is important and todays global financial situation means that many of us are struggling with this balance and our concern for our financial healthmay be causing other stress related health issues.

This is a time when breathing, reflecting and taking stock of your situation ca be critcal elements in managing to work out how to move forward. The stress management practices have been really helpful to me over the past few weeks while I consider the impact of  what is happening in the financial sector and how I can create a buffer to protect myself and my family from the hardship which is just around the corner.