Breathing Mindfully to Lose Weight

How can something as simple as breathing help us lose weight?

I know what I need to do to lose weight. So why aren't I doing it? The real secret for losing weight successfully is not some specific diet and exercise plan but in the mental and emotional hangups that I have to battle with in order to get to that point where I am no longer sabotaging my body and want to take good care of it.

I came across a very interesting podcast by Gil Fronsdal, a Buddhist monk. He discusses how breathing properly can bring about physical and mental healing.

The breath connects us to our inner world, our body, our minds and our emotions. The mechanical process of breathing is intimately tied to our intentions, reactions, feelings and thoughts. We breathe shallowly when we are not at ease. Many people are chronically contracted around their breathing. They have a band of tightness in their chests at most times.

His 43-minute free podcast discusses how important the breath is and how we can become much less anxious in our daily lives if we practise some daily meditation. The lecture doesn't mention weight loss as a goal but he is addressing the deeper underlying problems of anxiety and unhealthy coping mechanisms. I found the first seven minutes a bit boring but it got much more interesting after that. You can listen to it here. It's the lecture called "Healing Breath" dated March 2003.