Most of the time, we don’t pay attention to our breath at all. Experts share how our outbreath is key to allowing the body to let go of stress.
It feels, especially lately, that the world is releasing a emotional sigh. A COVID-weary, climate-anxious, war-distressed sigh.
But a sigh is really just an out-breath, an exhale, the companion to breathing in. “When we inhale, it’s a very active process,” says Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang, a pulmonary physician, podcast host, and mindfulness teacher who gets to see the process play out in her students. “The diaphragm actually has to pull itself down and flatten in order for us to invoke an inhaled breath.” The exhalation, on the other hand, is much more passive, and consequently, says Dr. Liang, doesn’t get as much attention. But what’s important, she explains, “is that we can actually control the out-breath and harness our own physiology to help exhale out all of our residual breath.” In other words, only when we deeply exhale will we be able to deeply inhale. That out-breath, that sigh, matters.
Continue reading Dr. Ni-Chieng Liang interview here.
Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang’s new podcast that she co-hosts with Dr. Jessie Mahoney is launching on 1/3! It’s called Mindful Healers. It’s for all healers notably healthcare professionals.
Join us in the second installment of our Integrative Therapy in Respiratory Disease 3-part series. In this podcast we explore mindfulness with a physician expert. Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang explains what mindfulness is, and how it can help clinicians, as well as patients and caregivers, navigate the stresses of daily life, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. She concludes the podcast by leading an interactive session on mindful masking, we hope the audience will follow along!
More than half of county residents may face complications if they contract SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 illness. Data analysis by county epidemiologists found 57% of San Diegans have at least one factor, such as age, heart or — not surprisingly — lung disease, that increases their risk during the pandemic.
Local pulmonologist Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang said lung diseases like asthma and chronic bronchitis restrict airways that can become further inflamed by coronavirus.
Join us for a frank conversation about the dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes with pulmonologist and Director of Pulmonary Integrative Medicine, Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang. Learn the dangers and how to talk to your kids about the risks.
Pulmonologist Ni-Cheng Liang takes a look at how the breath—a common anchor of attention in meditation—can be triggering. Explore her masking practice to calm feelings of anxiety and stress when we’re unable to comfortably connect with the in or out breath.
