BreathMinder

Congratulations. 

You are now on your way to a whole new way of breathing.

Before using your BreathMinder:

1.       Read all instructions and breathing tips completely.

2.       Keep away from water as it can damage your device. 

3.       Do not drop - device can be damaged or destroyed if dropped.

4.       Battery compartment is located at top of the device.  BreathMinder requires two AAA batteries (not included.)  Alkaline is recommended.

5.       Turn off when not in use to conserve battery life and to prevent the device from “dancing” itself off of a tabletop.

6.       A brief vibration alarm when the device is first turned on indicates everything is in proper working order.  The first alarm will vibrate 15 minutes after activation.  If you do not get an alarm, make sure the two AAA  batteries are installed per the diagram on both sides of the belt clip.

7.       BreathMinder is designed to be clipped to your undergarment or carried in a pocket – so that it will not attract attention or draw questions.

8.       BreathMinder has a silent alarm (vibration) every 15 minutes when switched “on” – to stop alarm cycles, switch to “off.”  Each 15 minutes, you will get a vibration of 4 seconds, an 8-second pause, and another 4-second alarm.  The second (“nag”) alarm is to make sure you didn’t miss the reminder to perform your proper breathing routine.

Test Your Breathing Pattern:

1)       To see how you currently breathe, find a comfortable position and make sure to breathe as you normally do. 

2)       Place one hand on your stomach and one on your chest.

3)       Breathe as you normally would and notice whether your "stomach" hand rises or your "chest" hand rises.

4)       To breathe properly, your stomach area must rise more than your chest as your diaphragm expands.

Proper Breathing Technique:

1)       Begin by slowly breathing in through your nose through the count of 4.

2)       Hold the breath for a count of 7.

3)       Slowly exhale through your mouth for a count of 8. When you exhale, try to make a soft "whoosh" sound by holding the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth as you exhale slowly. (Called 4-7-8 breathing.)

4)       Repeat this process for three more times (for a total of four breaths.) Do not do more than four breaths at first - with practice, you can work your way up to eight breaths. Do this twice each day.

5)       If the process causes you to begin panicking or if you become dizzy, only do it for as long as you are able.

6)       Increase the number of breaths each day until you can do the exercise four times per hour (every 15 minutes.)

7)      If you continue to practice breathing this way, you will soon be doing it naturally throughout the day.

In Dr. Andrew Weil’s Premier Issue of his newsletter, Self Healing, he states, “the most effective and time-efficient relaxation method I know is to practice breathing exercises regularly. My patients have used these simple tech­niques not only to center themselves but also to address various health problems, from stopping panic attacks to improving digestion.”

Why do you have to learn how to breathe and then practice breathing exercises?  Derived from yoga, the so-called Relaxing Breath is sometimes called the "4-7-8 Breath" for the number of counts you take while inhaling, holding the breath, and exhaling.  Dr. Weil tells of a patient who claimed that this breathing technique “would lower my blood pressure to normal within five minutes."  And, after a year’s time, he was able to discontinue using antihypertensive drugs.

“Stories such as Patrick's,” Dr. Weil continues, “have convinced me that the Relaxing Breath is one of the most powerful tools to manage stress and health problems related to it.”

When they first begin using breathing exercises some people can experience dizziness.

This usually indicates that your body is not accustomed to the richer supply of oxygen (in much the same way as someone who has lived on a strict diet for many months would be unable to cope with the quantity and richness of a normal daily diet).

So for the first few weeks, as your body becomes re-acquainted with what it is like to have a normal ‘diet’ of oxygen, you may wish to practice your breathing exercises while lying or sitting.

Become skilled at being able to use your entire breathing apparatus! This means activating the diaphragm, the mid-chest, and the upper chest - in this order. This is known in yoga as the Complete Breath.

For the most part concentrate on breathing out the stale air. You look after the emptying and the lungs will look after the re-filling.  Prolonging and deepening the out-breath calms and sedates. Do this when you wish to calm and ‘center’ yourself.

Advice to `breathe deeply' when feeling anxious or agitated is misleading since most people interpret this by taking deep in-breaths, which is likely to create an even more aroused state. When feeling anxious you need to prolong and slow your exhale.  Too much oxygen, relative to carbon dioxide, creates an agitated state. When you prolong the out-breath you conserve carbon dioxide and rebalance the system.

On the other hand too much carbon dioxide, relative to oxygen, creates a tired, lethargic and depressed state. To begin changing such states prolong the in-breath. This re-balances your system by taking in more oxygen.

Make the Proper Breathing habit part of your daily routine. Practice these relaxing breaths throughout the day until they become your natural method of breathing.  Because breathing is something we do without thinking about it is very easy to slip back into the old patterns – The BreathMinder will help you to `wire-in' the new habits and remind you to breathe properly and regularly.

"If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly." - Dr. Weil

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Page last updated June 3, 2008

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