In this podcast I discuss: 1. The Sympathetic (Fight or Flight) and Parasympathetic (Rest and Digest) nervous system 2. Why proper breathing is so important for reducing stress, blood pressure, and improving sleep 3. I will teach you a few simple ways to breathe for instant results.   I Want to talk to you about the importance of breathwork or deep breathing in our lives. It seems today that we have forgotten how to breathe, in this world of stresses, toxins, pollution, and imaginary threats we are running high on cortisol and therefore in a state of heightened alertness.   One of the most important links between your body and mind is breathing. All the ancient civilizations realized this which is why meditation, yoga, tai chi, and many others have used breath as a central component of their practice.   But Many of us have become shallow chest breathers, inhaling through our mouth, holding our breath and taking in less air, and I am as guilty as the next person. For years and years I had a high stress job where as soon as you wake up and check your email (pro-tip: you should never do that), but checking your email right away kicks off a cortisol release right from the get go. So you are not starting your day with being centered, and deciding how you want to show up in the world, but now you have become a slave to the demands being placed on you. This state of stress led me to breathe shallow for years hunched over a chair with my face buried in my laptop. The stress was not helping and causing me to breathe shallow as we will learn in a second, and the posture of me being hunched over didn’t even allow me the space to expand my belly or practice deep using the diaphram.   Here are few of the breaths we talk about: 1. Belly Breathing 2. Box Breathing 3. Alternate Nostril Breathing 4. Breath of Fire 5. Tony Robbins version of Breath of Fire