return to your natural state
ARE YOU BREATHING PROPERLY?
Did you know that your regular breathing pattern
is very likely interferring with your bodies functions in
many different ways? Without knowing it you might be
negatively affecting your sleep, mood, digestion, heart,
nervous system, muscles and brain.
On the flip side there are benefits to be gained from
learning a few simple proper breathing techniques.
More energy, improved health, greater harmony, less
anxiety, less fear, better relationships and just a happier
life in general to name a few.
We cannot go without water for three days, food
maybe three weeks, oxygen maybe three minutes.You
may not think about it but you know it is important,
but did you know if done properly it can even prevent
cancer.
How Does Oxygen Affect Cancer?
Healthy cells thrive in oxygen-rich environments,
while cancer cells prefer oxygen-poor environments.
other wise known as (aka) “hypoxic” or “anaerobic.” In the 1930s, Nobel Prize winner Dr. Otto Warburg hypothesized,
“Cancer has only one prime cause.The prime cause of
cancer is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of body cells by an anaerobic (oxygen-less) cell
respiration.” When the body has sufficient oxygen, cells remain healthy. However, when the body is deprived
of oxygen, disease can set in. Optimum oxygen levels
prevent toxic build up and keep bacteria, viruses, and
cancer cells in check.
So, what is correct breathing anyway? In short,
it means breathing in a way that is physiologically
optimal for your body. It’s the way you’re designed to
breathe, only you were never taught how to.
Some examples of improper breathing include
over-breathing, holding our breath and/or shallow
breathing.These breathing patterns are very stressful
for the body and lead to a shortage of oxygen and
energy. The solution to these issues is to become
highly conscious of the way you breathe and reshape
your habitual way of breathing.
The nose is for breathing, the mouth is for eating.
-Proverb
Here’s how to make more of the 25.000 breaths you
take every day more relaxed and harmonic while
reducing breaths that are stressed and/or tense. It’s
quite easy once you get the hang of it:
Breathe through the nose
The breath should go in and out through the nose.
Your nose is kind of like a factory that refines and
prepares the air coming in to be used by the body as
effectively as possible.
When you breathe through your mouth the lungs
get a lot more “unfiltered” air that is raw, cold, dry
and full of viruses and bacteria. Be kind to your lungs
and breathe through your nose.
If you feel like your nose is way to stuffy to close
your mouth that’s most likely because you’ve been
breathing through your mouth for so long that your
nose has adapted. Usually it won’t take more than
a couple of days of nose breathing to open up your
nostrils again.
Breathe with the diaphragm
The air you breath in through your nose should
go all the way down to your belly.Your breathing
muscles consist of the diaphragm and muscles in the
abdomen, chest, neck and shoulders. 70-80% of the
inhaling should be done by the diaphragm so that
your breathing is nice and deep. This has a couple of
advantages:
It helps your lungs with the gas exchange which is
much more effective way down in the lungs.
The diaphragm massages your liver, stomach and intestines and gives these organs a rhythmical balance.
The lymphatic system, which is important for our
immune system, gets the help it needs to get rid of
the waste products from the bowels.
The pressure in the chest and belly is decreased so
that the heart won’t have to work as hard. More effective muscle work as the wrong breathing muscles
won’t have to do unnecessary work.
As the chest gets more relaxed so does the neck
and shoulders and as a result the likelihood of pain
in these areas go down.
Breathe relaxed
No matter what we want to do, we do it better
if we are relaxed. Since our breathing reflect our
thoughts, feelings and physical body it means that
situations that have us feeling tense also lead to
tense and stressed breathing. This way of breathing
then leads to a lack of oxygen which in turn makes
the body and brain even more stressed.
By taking control of our breathing and making it
more relaxed, our body tunes in and becomes
relaxed as well which leads to better functioning in
general.
Breathe rhythmically
Everything has a natural rhythm – the ocean waves,
the seasons, the moon.Your body is no different. The
rhythm of the heart is measured in EKG and the
brain in EEG. The hormones in the body follows our
natural rhythm. One example the melatonin that is
released when we’re going to sleep.
Optimal breathing is no different, it’s in the rhythm
we find well-being. When everything is in tune the
body functions at it’s very best.
Breathe silently
Coughing, snoring, sniffling and so on are suboptimal breaths in disguise. Before we sigh or cough we
usually take a big breath which leads to irregular
breathing. Snoring means we have to compensate
through breathing faster.
A lot of us breathe quickly and even loudly when we
talk. All these noises and talking lead to incorrect
breathing.
Conscious breathing
Become aware of how you breathe during different
parts of the day. A practical tip for this is to let your
phone alarm go off every hour or so and check
your breathing each time it does. Are you breathing
relaxed, rhythmically, silently and deeply through
your nose? Is there room for improvement in this
particular situation?
Extended exhale
An extended exhale increases the relaxation and
makes the inhale deeper and more rhythmical. For
optimal breathing the inhale should be 2-3 seconds,
exhale 3-4 seconds followed by a pause for 2-3 seconds. The extended exhale also has a positive effect
on the inhale which gets deeper.
Straight posture
An upright posture gives a deeper breathing where
the diaphragm gets more space to work.Your
thoughts and feelings are affected in a positive
way and at the same time it gets easier to breathe
through the nose.
This article was written with information gathered
from the following professionals:
Steve Scott
Dr. Chakravarty
Dr. Mark Vettraino