I hope everyone truly enjoyed the long weekend! Summer has arrived in upstate NY! I decided to do 2 challenges at once before we run out of time for our MAY challenges! By now you are probably understanding that DIGESTION & LIFESTYLE are two of the most important focuses of Ayurveda.
Challenge No. 7: Deep Breathing before eating means to take a moment and take 5 or 6 deep belly breaths. You may not be used to belly breathing, many are not. You'll know if you are belly breathing by putting your hand on your belly and breathing in. Does your hand move? Breathing deep into your belly means that you are breathing all the way into the bottom of your lungs where the parasympathetic (rest & digest) receptors are located. The opposite of that is chest breathing where you'll notice your hand not moving and instead your chest expands. That means that you are breathing into the top part of your lungs where the sympathetic (fight or flight) receptors are located. {Think about how you breath when you are stressed or scared!} We want to be relaxed when we eat, REST & DIGEST!
Challenge No. 8: I'll be brief with this one- It's a good idea to take a moment after your meal to relax and enjoy the feeling of being comfortably full but then get up and go! It's good for digestion.