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Editor’s Desk
10 JUL / AUG 2017 I Healthcare Journal of new orleans
Smith Hartley
Chief Editor
It isatrend of Healthcare Journal to
examine powerful, yet rarely discussed
health benefits within the enormity of
the healthcare industry. Focusing on
the exhale breath is a powerful health
opportunity.
The exhale is normally thought of as the passive
response to the inhale. But, shifting the control from
the inhale to the exhale will immediately help you take
control of much of what you do.
To begin, try for a period of time to double the dura-
tion of your exhale relative to the duration of the inhale.
For example, if you can normally breathe in for three
seconds, then breathe out for six seconds. You imme-
diately notice a calming effect come over your being.
Normally, we believe the effort of breath would be
towards the inhale. But the inhale will come. Rather
than attempting to get air, you patiently trust the inhale
to show up when it’s needed. This simple act of trust-
ing the inhale will transfer into other parts of your life
to let go of the many things you may be trying to con-
trol. Exhale fully, and then wait. The inhale will come
entirely without your effort.
Learning to fully exhale will do wonders for slowing
the heartrate and lowering blood pressure and stress.
As studies have revealed, higher stress results in poorer
health. And while we will never make our external life
perfect, learning the full exhale can help minimize self-
inflicted poor health.
The power received
from controlling the
exhale should not be
underestimated.
Focusing on the exhale helps to remove carbon dioxide and
harmful toxins from the lungs. This attention to the exhale will
counterintuitively result in pulling in more oxygen than just
thinking about the inhale, or not thinking about it at all.
Obviously, we aren’t going to spend all of our time focusing
on proper breathing. So we have to practice. By practicing the
full exhale, you can train your breathing patterns. This practice
doesn’t cost you any time, because you can simply do it at any
time. The more interesting question is, why not improve your
breathing practice?
Regarding a few breathing pointers, keep your mouth closed.
Breathe slowly through the nostrils, drawing breath from the
abdomen, rather than the rib cage/chest. Notice a baby will
breathe from the abdomen. Adults tend to avoid breathing from
the abdomen to avoid the look of expanding the waist. As is so
often the case, ego does not help in our efforts towards better
health and well-being.
When spending time with patients, it’s always a benefit to offer
breathing options if you notice stress, control or trust issues, or
simply as a way to improve calmness of mind and well-being.
It’s another tool in your healing tool box and an easy and free
one, at that.
Healthcare as a business functions so much better when it
works alongside healthcare as a path to optimal health. Exhale
fully, and then wait. Good things will come.