You may be in for a surprise to discover that we breathe no fewer than 20,000 times a day.  It is the only vital bodily function that is both conscious and unconscious.  During the night, when we are asleep, we continue to breathe without thiinking about it.  However, if we want to control our breathing, we can do so at any time.  We can speed it up, slow it down or hold it at will.  In this way our breathing represents a bridge between the brain and the body, the mental and the physical.  Learning to breathe deeply helps us to control our emotions, reduce feelings of anxiety and prepare for a calm sleep.

Learn how to breathe through your stomach

Abdominal breathing helps to improve the exchange of gases by forcing air deep into the alveoli (air cells).  Waste matter is dispelled more quickly and effectively and our body is cleansed.  This relaxed form of breathing helps to dispel nerves and relieve tension and stress.  Follow the instructions below and perform this breathing exercise for a few minutes just before going to bed.  It will help you prepare for sleep.

-  Breathe in whilst inflating your stomach and then your thoracic cage

-  Count to five whilst retaining the oxygen in your lungs

-  Exhale slowly whilst contracting your abdominal muscles

-  Count to five before inhaling again

Did you know

-> The nose plays a vital role in the breathing process.  It warms and moistens the oxygen as it travels through it passages, stripping it of dust and grime at the same time.

->  The nose is also equipped with a mucus lining that humidifies the air as it is inhaled.

->  It is also armed with cilia (nasal hairs) that cpature the particles of dust and then expel them during exhalation.

Of all the things that nourish us as humans, oxy gen is the most vital.  WE can last a few weeks without eating, several days without drinking water but only a few minutes without breathing.  Each one of our millions of cells needs a constant supply of oxygen in order to function properly and execute the countless biochemical operations vital for our survival.  The air we breathe supplies us with this precious element.  Breathing regulates our nervous system and relaxes our minds – two key factors involved in the quality and wuantity of sleep we enjoy.  This air should be of the best quality possible.

Rooms that are not properly aired can become stale.  The level of oxygen diminishes whilst that of carbon gases increases.  The temperature also plays an important role.  If the room is too warm, we wake up and experience difficulty in getting bacl to sleep.  If it is too cold, the most regenerative phase of sleep, the REM phase, can be disrupted.  The ideal temperature for healthy and natural sleep is around 17 to 18 degree celsius.  Make sure that your air your bedrooms properly.  Open the windoes as wide as possible in the morning and leave them open for at least tem minutes, the amount of time required to revew the ar in an average sized bedroom.  Repeat this operation in the eveening, around half an hour before you retire.

The term 'geobiology' was first used by Dr Hartmann, a German doctor and researcher (1915-1992).  He documented the existence of electromagnetic rays emanating from the eartth.  Hartmann maintained that the earth is traversed by a kind of network or grid of invisible lines that run north to south or east to west, around 2 metres (just over 6 feet) apart, in a net like formation.  Where the lines meet, the rays are amplified.  If you sleep for too long over one of these so-called 'telluric' or 'Hartmann knots', your sleep may become disturbed.

There are 2 solutions to this problem.  The simplest of these is to move your bed around at least every 2 years.  It takes several years for the 'Hatmann knots' to disrupt sleep patterns.  The 2nd option involves detective work on your part.  Quip yourself with a portable radio, tune it to shortwave between 2 stations and you will be be able to detect the crackling noises.  Proceed to the next room on a north-south axis.  If the noise decreases you are on a Hartmann line.  Put a marker on the floor and do the same for an east west axis.  Simply note the point at which the lines intersect – this is the location of the knots to be avoided.  What you are looking for is a geobiologically neutral place.