W WELLBEING
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WHY I DIDN’T ENCOURAGE ANYONE
TO HAVE A DRY JANUARY
BY JOEL JELEN, BREATHING EXPERT
Now that you’re slowly escaping from the perils of January (if you
see it that way and many do), what plans are you making for your
health and wellness this Spring and hopefully a glorious summer
ahead?
Like a dog isn’t just for Christmas, in my opinion, neither are all
those resolutions for January! Given that many of the promises we
made for January can involve being a bit harsh on ourselves, I never
make any... apart from one... and it certainly didn’t involve Dry
January. Hear me out...
I’m not really much of a drinker and I like the philosophy,
‘Everything in Moderation.’ As a wellness advocate too, you’d think
I would have gone out of my way to encourage you to invest much
more in your self including abstinence from the devil that can be
alcohol... and not just January.
Well, my only resolution every year is the same one and again in
2018, it’s “How can I maximise my potential?” Admittedly, I’ve led
you astray here...
That Dry January thing... whenever I meet new clients on a one-
to-one, host workshops for companies and organisations... I always
bring up the same subject in exploring and explaining the power of
the breath in our wellbeing.
That same subject is mouth breathing.
If you do it on a plane or whilst walking around the supermarket,
you’re taking in all the germs around you and we’ve had record
levels of those recorded in January! And it’s the very behaviour that
makes you dry and thirsty, whether you realise that or not!
It’s the same difference of course if you mouth breathe by a computer
or whilst you’re texting or surfing your favourite social channel.
68 wirrallife.com
It’s a bit more obvious that you’re dry and thirsty when exercising
but that’s not just because of perspiration. Most people I’ve discussed
their exercise habits with mouth breathe all the way through, almost
like the nose is an ornament. Keeping your mouth closed keeps your
mouth moist especially when exercising.
Think about this...
When you’re asleep and you wake up with a parched, dry mouth,
either you’ve put several cloves of garlic in your dinner (garlic can
often dehydrate) or more likely, you’ve been mouth breathing.
Now you see why I led you astray...
It was my (dry) cunning way of word association with mouth
breathing. Seriously, mouth breathing can lead to so many health
complications.
For starters, it can block your nose. Your nose becomes blocked
because you are ‘over breathing’ when you mouth breathe, over
breathing doesn’t enable your blood vessels to dilate. When this
happens, you reduce the flow of C02 and oxygen to the smooth
muscle linings, creating the blockage. Asthmatics are classic over
breathers. In many cases, it is their over breathing that causes
asthma in the first place! Thinking of Spring and Summer, it’s the
same with hayfever sufferers too.
Maybe make yourself a promise...
Try and maximise your potential in 2018, even if it only extends to
stop being a mouth breather. If you’re not, great! But I bet you have
family and friends who are never that reconciled with the fact that
mouth breathing can cause so many health issues that very often go
unidentified. Mouth breathing can affect every organ in your body
and one of the first signs is feeling dry. Feel free to show them via
me, why it’s not worth doing dry throughout the whole of 2018.
Joel Jelen is founder of Reset Breathing. More details can be found at
www.resetbreathing.com.