HAA In this popular series, the HAA editorial staff talks to "people of interest" about deep breathing.
In this second installment, acupuncture and moxibustion therapist Yuhito Ando is our guest on the theme of "regimen x deep breathing".
In Part 1, we shared with you Ms. Ando's experience and the concept of regimen that she values on a daily basis. In the first part of the article, we shared with you Ando's experiences and his daily philosophy of regimen.
In the second part, we present specific ideas for curing based on a dialogue between the HAA editorial team and Mr. Ando.

Two points to review
Before we get down to business, let's recall the important points we delivered in the first part.

The basis of a regimen is to rest
and that each person has a different regimen that suits him or her

The regimen we are going to introduce here is just one of many ideas. What is important is to face yourself. I would be happy if you could use this as a hint.

Practice of Curing ~Thinking

① Think long term, not just for now.

If we compare life to the ocean, there are times when it is calm and tranquil, and times when it is stormy and surging.
It is more difficult to maintain a healthy state of mind when all kinds of big waves are coming in, such as when you are working hard, giving birth, raising children, or caring for a family member.
How can we make it a little easier?

A hint came from Ms. Ando during our interview.

Ando:
"When I was an athletic trainer, I worked weekdays and weekends regardless, and although it was fulfilling, I was very busy. Later, after my child was born, my work style and way of thinking changed little by little.
What is important to me now is to keep myself healthy and in a good mood.
To do this, I need to adjust my workload a little. This may be accompanied by sadness and loneliness, but I try to think that this is the time for that. As the children grow up, their way of living and thinking will surely change. I feel that if we look at our current situation and at the same time think about life over a long span of time, it will make our hearts a little easier to bear.

②"Subtract" rather than "add"

Mr. Ando:
"When people think about regimen, I have the impression that many people take actions to "add" something, such as exercising or improving their diet.
But if you feel "tired" or "tired", it is often because you are doing something "too much" in the first place.
If this is the case, it is important to rest first.

Before trying something new, observe your own condition to see if there is room for it. If you feel that there is not, then you should take a break. If you feel that you don't, you may not be getting enough rest.

So curing begins with thoroughly confronting yourself.

 

Practice of Curing ~Action

① Change the location.

Mr. Ando:
"When you change the location, visual information changes at once. It is said that the human brain receives more than 80% of its information from sight.

"I go to a local café in my neighborhood during work hours and to a public bathhouse in the evening.

"Public baths in particular are perfect for relaxation because they stimulate all five senses, not just the sense of sight. There is no need to wash the bathtub or boil water, so I think it is good from the perspective of rest (letting go of housework).

②Take a bath and relax.

HAA also recommends the habit of soaking in the bath.
Bathing is said to be effective not only in relaxing the body and mind, but also in improving the quality of sleep.
The human brain is designed to feel sleepy when the body temperature rises and then falls. Therefore, to improve the quality of sleep, it is recommended to soak in a 40°C bath for 15 minutes 90 minutes before going to sleep. (For more information on the relationship between sleep and bathing, please see this article. →①②)

Additionally, hand or foot baths when you feel "a little tired" are also recommended. We hope you will try HAA's bath salt series in the autumn season when the weather gets colder.

③ Take a deep breath.

Deep breathing regulates the autonomic nervous system, which regulates all functions of the body.
The autonomic nervous system consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, which are well balanced in our daily lives.

In today's stressful society, the sympathetic nervous system tends to work excessively. This is why we need to make a conscious effort to make the parasympathetic nervous system dominant. A clue to this is deep breathing (mainly "exhaling").
Consciously at first. By repeating it and making it a habit, the autonomic nervous system will gradually become regulated and you will be able to approach a healthy state.

Curing is in a life of deep breathing.

In this two-part series, we have delved deeply into living a life with deep breathing from the perspective of curing.
We hope it will help you to find your own way of regimen by taking a good rest and trying out some of the ideas we have introduced.

In this series, we will continue to discuss deep breathing from various perspectives with various guests. Please look forward to the next installment.