Babylune

You Do Have Time to Breathe

by kate baggott on July 1st, 2006

But do you have time to breathe deeply?

All new mothers need to relax and the role of deep breathing in the quest to deal with stress is getting more media attention.

Participants in a six-day course called The Art of Living say they now have not only a better quality of life, but better health due to deep breathing techniques they learned in the class. According to a Globe and Mail report, participants say “they are now happier, calmer and stress-free. And a growing number cited health improvements such as lowered blood pressure, reduced asthma attacks, fewer sleepless nights and increased lung capacity….”

The idea that deep breathing itself could replace medical treatment for conditions like high blood pressure is starting to garner attention from the medical establishment. One doctor who has seen his patients transformed by deep breathing is Richard Brown of New York City.

• “(Brown is) associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons has recommended the program to “thousands, upon thousands of people” after publishing several studies on the benefits of sudarshan kriya, the breathing method taught by the Art of Living Foundation. One of those patients was a heavy smoker in her 50s, whose lung-function tests improved by 60 per cent,” the Globe report says.

Obviously, a relaxation technique that requires no equipment, fees or, for me at least, no talent or coordination, is a good fit for stressed out mothers everywhere.

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POSTED IN: Mental Health