Recently, Yang Lele, the wife of the well-known variety show artist Wang Han, shared a series of beautiful seaside photos on her social media. Yang Lele, swinging in the gentle sea breeze, shined radiantly, making people sigh at the beauty of time. However, there are always some inappropriate comments, with netizens in the comment section pointing out that she looked old, even comparing her to an auntie.
In response, Yang Lele retorted strongly: “If I cared about discussions on aging, why would I post these photos? They were taken casually without makeup.” She candidly said that there is a common problem among Chinese men, which is an inability to accept the natural aging of women. Her reply resonated with many, after all, everyone ages with time, and those who can accept this fact with composure are undoubtedly strong inside. Public figures like her openly sharing their bare faces and everyday states, confronting the reality of aging, undoubtedly sets a positive example for society.
In this day and age, whether celebrities or ordinary people, many resist the reality of natural aging in women. Consequently, various beauty treatments, makeup, the use of filters, and photo retouching have become routine. Some people even spend up to an hour retouching an image before posting it on social media, in pursuit of perfect appearance, trapped in appearance anxiety. Artist Yang Tianzhen once complained: “Many artists around me who already look handsome or beautiful continue to suffer from appearance anxiety.”
The quest for a perfect appearance, such as plastic surgery and beauty treatments, comes at a high price. Yet for most people, the best way to enhance their appearance is still everyday efforts. There is a certain degree of asymmetry between the left and right sides of our bodies, this imbalance can affect our daily posture, and subsequently our physique and appearance, and may cause long-term damage to our health. Therefore, it is crucial to adjust the body’s internal imbalances, which can significantly improve both our external appearance and internal health.
So, how to adjust this internal imbalance? The answer is to start with breathing. The 3D breathing method can be regarded as a beauty breathing technique. Research indicates: “Every breath you take sends a message to your body.” Only by breathing properly at the right moment with the right method, sending out the right signals, can we achieve the desired effect. Every kind of movement or tutorial has its specific breathing pattern. The so-called 3D breathing refers to the conscious expansion and contraction of the body in six directions during the breathing process, thereby activating our body’s GPS positioning system.
The body’s GPS system can be considered as a system that helps us perceive our surroundings in an unconscious state of the brain, maintaining balance and stability of the body. Understanding and adjusting the positions of various parts within the body is key to avoiding and correcting those imbalances. However, before we start practicing 3D breathing, we must first ensure that each joint in our body – like satellites – can accurately receive signals. We can confirm this with a simple self-check: Lie down on your back, close your eyes, and naturally place your hands at your sides with your palms facing up.
No need to deliberately adjust your body, concentrate your mind on sensing the different parts of the body. Start with the head and neck, feel the neck hanging without tension, the part of the head touching the ground is right behind the nose. Then pay attention to the trunk of the body, the ribs should naturally cling to the ground, are both sides of the back balanced in contact with the ground? Are the two sides of the shoulder blades consistent? Move down to the pelvic area, feel whether the buttocks are symmetrically touching the mat, and whether the tailbone feels compressed. Continue to the legs, are the back of the thighs, calves, and heels balanced in contact with the ground? Do both legs feel the same touching the ground? Now sense the left and right sides of the body, is one side feeling more pronounced, while the other is relatively vague?
Breathe deeply a few times, observing the body’s expansion and contraction in breathing, whether it is in a state of tension or relaxation? Through this series of bodily perceptions, we can discover that our bodies are not as balanced and symmetrical as we imagine, and we need our own adjustments.
Scientific research indicates that the body is composed of multiple centers of mass concentration and many spatial parts. Long periods of poor posture and repetitive incorrect movement habits can cause these mass centers to compress each other, making the spatial parts smaller. For example, the chest and pelvis are two important centers of mass in the body. If one maintains a slouching, hunchback posture for an extended time, the chest will continue to approach the pelvis, and the body’s positioning system will take this posture as the norm. Over time, the body becomes accustomed to this twisted posture. Due to this improper adaptation, joints may be under constant compression, and muscles that were not originally used for maintaining balance need to make extra adjustments to help the body balance, leading to muscle stiffness and pain, joint degeneration, and an imbalanced overall posture.
The benefits of 3D breathing are manifold, and it can help you achieve an ideal posture and facial aesthetics. Below is an introduction to a 3D breathing exercise method. You first need to prepare a soft foam roller, or if not available, a large towel rolled up can be substituted, ensuring its length. Place the foam roller or towel roll on the mat, sit at one end and slowly lie back, so that the spine is right on the roller, supporting the head.
Next, with feet touching the floor and hands at your sides, integrate your body with the foam roller or towel roll and gently rock for about 30 seconds. Feel whether there are different sensations on either side of the body, whether one side rocks more easily, or feels more resistance. After rocking, become still and return to the lying down position.
Then begin the breathing exercise, imagine your body as a three-dimensional rectangle, place your hands on your abdomen and chest, and focus your attention on the front and back sides of the body. While inhaling, allow both the front and back sides to expand outwardly, and while exhaling, let them contract inwardly. Breathe deeply in a normal, natural, and prolonged manner. After fully focusing on the front and back sides, take at least five deep breaths.
Step four: As the guide indicates, place your hands on both sides of your ribcage, shifting your full attention to the left and right sides of the trunk. With each inhalation, feel your body expanding in the direction of your hands. With each exhalation, feel the body retract in the same direction. Maintain a natural and sustainable depth of breathing. Concentrate fully on the breathing process of your body, and continue to do this for 5 minutes.
Step Five: Place one hand near the collarbone and the other above the sacrum. Focus all your attention on the area where your hands touch. With each inhalation, feel the expansion of your body towards your hands. With each exhalation, feel the contraction of your body in the direction of your hands. Maintain a natural and deep breathing rhythm. Under the guidance of this sensation, continue for 5 breaths.
Step Six: After completing the above exercises, your body has now experienced breathing in three different dimensions. It is now time for 3D breathing. As guided, place your hands naturally on your abdomen. With each breath in, feel the expansion of your body at the six orientations where your hands were previously placed. With each breath out, let the body contract from these six directions, focusing on the sensations each contraction brings. Then, proceed with 5 breaths, repeating for three sets.
With this, the learning of 3D breathing comes to an end. Have you mastered it? If you have any questions, feel free to let us know in the comments section. With persistent practice of these techniques, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that your body feels lighter and more sensate than before. Keep it up, and you will become even more beautiful.
