3rd Eye Watch Early Pre-Spring Edition | Page 15

The Quest for Breath By Tonya Parker When I went off to college three decades ago, I stopped taking breathing for granted. I began to learn how this unconscious, yet controllable act of transporting oxygen into the body and carbon dioxide out of the body plays an important role in our physical, emotional and spiritual functioning. I took deep, full breaths, inhaling crisp, clean air, a sense of peace, focusing my mind, relaxing my muscles, quieting my spirit. The campus itself was a tranquil haven paying homage to nature’s diverse flora and fauna. The dorms were smoke-free, and when I could afford to eat out, I sat in non-smoking sections. But then it was time to return home, an event that caused me dread. Sure, I loved my family, and I missed them when I was away. However, going home became equated with suffocating. My father was a smoker. Not a few-puffsand-I’m-done smoker, but a Joe-Camel-two-packsa-day smoker. With wild, curly hair framing his thin, dark, face, he would sit quietly in a corner, reading, watching television, or working on a craft project as he held that ever-burning cancer stick between his nicotine-stained fingers. A layer of smoke filmed everything in the house, and I remember walking in a room with him and immediately breaking into a paroxysm of coughing. Even at night, in a different room in the house, separated by closed door, I slept with a wet cloth over my face in order to breathe. Those were the days when a tickle in my throat from cigarette smoke led to laryngitis, which then made its natural progression to bronchitis. My father has long since transitioned, and the rooms he occupied no longer reek of smoke. However I’m left with continued sensitivity to any type of smoke, plus allergies to dust, mold, pollen, and various and sundry airborne pollutants. Breathing fully is no longer as simple as closing a door and wetting a cloth. Minimizing carpets, cleaning drapes, dusting on and under surfaces, and vacuuming all help, but my housekeeping skills leave a lot to be desired. Keeping the house and car windows up, and avoiding the outdoors when grass is freshly cut and when pollen yellows the car windshield also help. Natural health experts relay other strategies for improved breathing/allergy management, include avoiding milk products—even items baked with milk as an ingredient—to avoid immune system irritability. They also advocate adding vitamins C and E to our diet, in supplement form, or try eating berries and other fruits rich in antioxidants, which help protect us from the damage caused by exposure to environmental toxins such as my old enemy, cigarette smoke. Also, something as simple as drinking plenty of water helps to hydrate our nasal passages and flush out our systems. Continued on page 19