Just Breathe!
Chances are, if you are reading this then you are breathing. More often than not, your breath is something that goes overlooked and taken for granted. Breath awareness helps detoxify the body, repair cellular damage, regenerate cell growth and carry stress away. Your breath can calm your mind and heal your body. Breath work helps to improve lung function by opening up lung passages and releasing stale air accumulated at the base of the lungs. By exhaling out toxins, it allows the lungs to circulate fresh, clean air.
Here is a simple, practical breath work technique:
Lie flat on your back. Rest your hands comfortably at your sides. Close your eyes and breathe normally through your nostrils. Allow the breath to occur naturally. Relax your body as you breathe naturally for one to three minutes.
Now, sit up straight in a cross legged position. Inhale slowly and count to three then exhale slowly and count to six. Gradually, increase the breath counts. Inhale to the count of four and exhale to the count of seven. Inhale to the count of five and exhale to the count of eight and so on. Repeat two to four sets.
Inhale and exhale naturally through the nostrils for a moment to center and ground yourself; calming your mind and body. Inhale through your nose and hold the breath to the count of three. Then open your mouth and exhale forcefully by opening your mouth and exhaling your breath so it forms the word: “Hahhhhhhhh” Be mindful to draw out the breath when you open your mouth. Repeat six to eight times.
Lie down, again and close your eyes. Visualize your breath in the form of a warm, white light flowing into your lungs as you inhale deeply to the count of three. When you exhale to the count of three, visualize the stagnant air being expelled from your lungs as puffs of grey smoke. Concentrate on your lungs and feel the positive energy flowing through your lungs and into your heart center, filling your body with fresh, pure air. Imagine toxins and impurities leaving your body as you become aware of your natural breath. Place both hands on your chest and feel the natural rise and fall of your chest as you breathe. Stay in this relaxed state for at least one minute.
Sit up straight. Inhale and count to three as you raise your hands above your head and exhale to the count of three, letting your hands drop slowly to your side. Bring your hands to your heart center and end your breath work. Namaste.
Breathe Deeply, dear friends 
as published on Cancer Shmancer Movement for the Medication to Medication Movement run by Break The Norms
About the author: Jessica Saraswati
One Response "Just Breathe! "
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I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. However, I beelvie I have found a cure for hiccups that takes only 30 seconds and requires no extra “props”. I initially discovered this around 1994, and I’ve been using it successfully ever since. In late 2004 I decided to post it on the Internet. I do not know how or why this works, and if by chance you might be a doctor or have other knowledge of why this works, please let me know.I have seen many “cures” for hiccups . drinking a glass of water, having someone “scare” you (get real), breathing into a paper bag, etc. If anything, many of these cures seem like cures because eventually the hiccups go away. To me, that isn’t a cure . it is something to do until the hiccups go away! And some of these cures sound ridiculous, if not impossible to do (ever try standing on your head while drinking a glass of water?!?). The cure I use is easy to do and the results are immediate. All it takes is 30 seconds to try it, and you don’t need any “props”, such as paper bags, water, etc. You can do it anytime, anywhere. You have nothing to lose but your hiccups! And I even offer a click-back guarantee. If my cure doesn’t work for you, click your browser’s Back button and go back to your search page. Before I actually get to the cure, I should say that although I see no harm in doing this, persons with abnormally low lung capacity, lung/breathing problems, or other medical conditions might want to consult a doctor first. Not that I expect anything bad to happen, but don’t blame me if it does! I have also received a couple emails from worried people with extremely bad cases of hiccups. While I still see no harm in trying my cure, if you get hiccups very violently or very often, you really should see a doctor. I’ve never heard of anyone dying from hiccups, so I wouldn’t get too worked up about it, but if you get hiccups so bad that you can’t breath or they are seriously disrupting your life, you should see a doctor. While they probably won’t have much else to offer for a cure, they may be able to help find the cause. There are many different causes (some unknown), but some I have heard of are certain medications, certain types of foods, stress, alcohol, and drinking or eating too fast.Having gotten the disclaimer out of the way, here we go:
