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Breathing – It’s Good For You
Take a breath, a deep breath. When was the last time you did that? Not respiration. Respiration is the unconscious exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide that goes on about every 5 seconds, day and night. Breathing is the thoughtful inhale that you consciously control. Our breathing and respiration are unique in that it occurs both with and without conscious control. Try to tell your heart to beat NOW, and again NOW. Or tell your kidneys to filter more blood for the next 5 minutes. Now take a shallow breath, then a deep breath. But why should that matter?
Controlled breathing exercises have been shown to relieve symptoms of fibromyalgia(1), low back pain(2), blood pressure and perceived stress(3). Breathing exercises stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, the antithesis of our constant over stimulated world in which we are immersed. Lowering stress hormones, that break down our bodies, and stimulating the immune system, that heals our bodies, is a prime benefit of breathing exercises. So how do you do them?
First we need to determine how we normally breathe. You need to stand in front of a mirror, but first here’s what to look for. Take a deep breath and what do you see move? Chest and shoulders raise? Ribcage widens? Stomach protrudes? Go look, I’ll wait….
Most people breathe top down. A deep breath raises the shoulders towards the ears. Like that quick breath when you watch a movie and the bear jumps out from behind the tree. Top breathing stimulates the fight or flight response, raising blood pressure and heart rate. Glucose pours into the blood stream because…BEAR! Breathing exercises teach you to breathe bottom up, rather than top down. Ready to relax?
Lie down, one hand on your chest, one hand on your abdomen. Breathe deep and feel which hand(s) move. Now try to keep the hand on your chest still while the other moves with every breath. I picture my abdomen as a balloon that I try to inflate until my belly button reaches toward the ceiling. When you are comfortable with that, now comes the exercise.
Four Count Breathing – Slowly inhale, bottom first, while you count four seconds. Hold your breath for four seconds, then slowly exhale for four seconds. When there’s no more air to blow out, hold for four seconds. Repeat three more cycles. When it becomes easy, do the same exercise seated. Feel the stress of the world wash away. Congratulations, you have passed Breathing Exercises 101. Stay tuned for level 2 in the near future.
Move well, live well,
A. E. (Tony) Le Cara, Jr.
LMT, LMTI, CPT
LMT TX126005
LMTI TX3487
- Tomás-Carús et.al., Journal of Alternative Complementary Medicine, 2018 April 13
- Naik et.al., International Journal of Yoga, Jan-Apr 2018
- Janssens et.al., Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
© 2018
