Let’s read about breathing. Sounds pretty boring, right? It’s perhaps the one thing we intuitively know how to do! Why on earth should we read about it? After all, oxygen is something we take for granted; we don’t have to pay for it; we can’t even see it.
Well, while we breathe without giving it any thought, we may have unknowingly trained our bodies to breathe, improperly, over the years.
All through my young adult life, I recognized that friends and family consistently made the comment to me, “What’s wrong? Is something the matter?” when nothing was wrong. I would respond by saying, “No, nothing is the matter… what made you think there was?” The answer was always that I’d taken some deep sigh (that apparently resembled exasperation).
Recognizing that there was a consistent pattern with this question, I began to take stock of my breathing, and came to the loose conclusion that I was a “breath holder.” I had never read anything about breathing, and at the time did not consider my unusual breathing pattern to be unhealthy; but I did recognize that I wasn’t breathing consistent breaths; thereby necessitating the occasional deep breath.
Now I know that my self-taught breathing patterns were not promoting health in my body, and that I needed to be more mindful of providing deep, oxygenating breaths to my body. Now I know that there is a name for this type of breathing, it is called “futile breathing,” whereby I was only taking in a quarter to a fifth of the oxygen my lungs were designed to hold. Unbeknownst to me, I was practicing “oxygen interruption.”
What is the difference between futile breathing and proper breathing? Glad you asked. Futile breathing involves taking in air only to your chest; proper breathing takes in air all the way to your belly. It is a common misconception that our lungs begin at the top of the chest and end just beneath the breasts, but your lungs actually extent all the way down to your naval! So, the next time you take a deep breath, make sure your belly is expanding outward and downward, a sign that you are filling the bottom of your lungs to capacity!
How did I learn about this?
It often seems that some of the best health advise comes from your friendly, holistic health practitioner – your chiropractor. Yep. That’s who recommended to me a book about proper breathing. The book is called “Jump Start Your Metabolism – How to Lose Weight by Changing the Way You Breathe,” by Pam Grout.”
This book is an easy, fascinating read. I read it, cover-to-cover, on an airplane trip across country (deep south to San Francisco). While vacationing in SF I put what I had learned into practice, and immediately began enjoying the benefits of deep breathing! I can remember commenting to my husband how “addicting” it was to take deep breaths! They just feel good!
A funny aside: on this same trip to SF we came across a for-real Oxygen Bar at Fisherman’s Wharf! We had never heard of such a thing but given that I’d just read the breathing-book, and the topic was at hand, we had to give it a try!
As it turns out, an oxygen bar it a boutique where you pay to breathe “hits” of 40% oxygen via a mask worn over the face. Proponents of “oxygen therapy” say it boosts energy levels, increases your endurance during exercise helps you bounce back more quickly from physical exertion, provides relief from stress and pollution, increases your concentration, helps you relax, and eases headaches and hangovers. Naturally (or is this some sort of backwards pun!), the medical community claims that taking this type of additional oxygen has no proven medical benefits. Be your own judge…
Back to the book… wherein Pam Grout sites several endorsements from the medical community as to the benefit of deep breathing…
In her book, Pam lays out the foundation for why deep breathing is important and gives readers thirteen powerful breathing exercises that you can incorporate into your daily routine.
She outlines these eleven benefits of increased oxygen:
Increased energy – oxygen supports cell detoxification. If there’s not enough oxygen to support this function, they “spin their wheels” trying to get this important job done, utilizing whatever oxygen they can get, which make you tired, because there’s not enough energy left over for other bodily functions.
Increased Metabolism – Deep breathing transforms your cells from fat storers to fat burners. Oxygen provides the fuel transform food into energy. Without enough oxygen, your cells are forced to resort to storing food as fat.
Mindfulness – deep breathing promotes mindfulness, which promotes wholeness and wellness. When you connect your mind and your body, you can create outcome you desire.
Reduced Stress – Slow, deep breathing will calm your mind and assist in keeping anxiety at bay.
Mental Clarity – The brain uses 20% of the oxygen you take in. It stands to reason that deep breathing will assist in increased brain power and mental clarity, especially in any stressful situation.
More Positive Outlook/Better Self Esteem – Breathing increases the amount of endorphins (the feel-good hormones) released into your system, which, in turn, improves your mood and outlook.
Athletic Performance – When you breath deeply through your nose, your muscles relax, your nerves are calmed, and your blood pressure drops. Therefore, you have more endurance. I don’t consider myself an “athlete,” but I can remember my PE coach in junior high teaching us to breath in this manner for endurance as we did laps around the track.
Better Sex – Breathing right enhances the body’s ability to connect with positive energy. Not to mention the role of the previously mentioned outcomes play in our ability to enjoy sex.
Improved Skin Tone – Your skin (your body’s largest organ) plays a key role in detoxification; so, when oxygenation breaks down, your skin must work harder and thus, shows signs of suffering.
Vibrant Health – By replacing normal oxygen respiration with oxygen deficient respiration we are setting the stage for illness. When your cells are deprived of oxygen, you cannot properly break down toxins, which causes your kidneys to work overtime, as well as your heart and other organs.
Reduced Hot Flashes – Studies have shown that deep breathing exercises have been shown to reduce hot flashes in 50% of perimenopausal women.
In her book, Pam also outlines a test you can give yourself to determine whether or not you have a “breathing problem” that needs improvement.
Okay, what do one (or two) breathing exercises look like?
Geometric Breathing (for those of you who like a visual assist)
Triangle: visualize the three sides of a triangle while you practice this breathing technique. Breath in through your nose to the count of two (one leg of the triangle). Hold that breathe (In your lungs! Not in your chest!) for the count of eight (the second leg of the triangle). Release the breath to the count of four (the last leg of the triangle). When releasing your breath, purse your lips nearly together so that you have to squeeze the air out. This will ensure that you are emptying your lungs of toxins. The breathing ratio is always 1-4-2. You mind find it easier to begin with smaller numbers and increase as your lung capacity increases with practice.
Square: visualize the four sides of a square while you practice this breathing technique; just add a fourth step to the triangle by pausing for the count of eight (after your out-breath) before beginning the square again.
The reason you hold the breath inside you is that it floods your cells with health-giving energy. The extra-long exhale squeezes out toxins.
These exercises force you not only to breathe properly, but to mindfully focus on breathing, which, in itself, is beneficially for the mind-body connection – especially if you’re about to head into an important meeting or interview, or you’re about to take that important call or perform an athletic feat!
So, let’s consider Vitamin-O as a vital addition to our supplement list! Take it in, it’s free! And check out Pam Grout’s book for more insight into how breathing impacts our metabolism, weight, and overall health; also glean more helpful breathing techniques!
“If You Greet the Air with Gentleness, it will Share with You the Magic of its Power.”
-Rumi, Persian Poet 1207-1273
