The Ultimate Detox: Breathing
Want to know the best way to detox? It’s not by fasting, eating, running, popping pills, or buying the latest diet book. I’ll give you a hint: it’s free, it’s automatic, and you’re doing it right now. You guessed it, breathing. Throw away all the detox fads and just get to breathing.
It sounds like it’s too obvious to be true, but it is! Backed up by natural health authorities like Dr. Andrew Weil, the benefits of deep conscious breathing cannot be under-emphasized. By focusing on the breath, and by practicing deep breathing, we give the body a chance to pump a healthy shot of oxygen into our lungs and bloodstream. Just ask any yoga practitioner!
If you’re interested in detoxing, here’s why that matters: oxygen helps your body absorb vitamins and nutrients more efficiently, and it actually creates more white blood cells, helping to speed up the process of out-with the-old, in-with-the-new inside your system. Your lymphatic system is fully charged with lots of oxygen, and this naturally leads to detoxification of the body.
Don’t run out and buy oxygen supplements or head to the nearest oxygen spa (yes, both really exist). Instead, try Dr. Weil’s recommended 4-7-8 Deep Breathing Exercise. He recommends three “reps” of this exercise done about twice a day for maximum benefits. Inner toxins, be gone.
- Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind your upper teeth and exhale completely through your mouth so that you make a whoosh sound.
- Close your mouth and inhale deeply through your nose for a count 4, hold your breath for 7 counts, then exhale through your mouth for a count of 8.
- Repeat three times.
Image: shawnzrossi
