Breathwork, yoga, meditation, breath awareness, pranayama, diaphragmatic breathing, whatever you call it. Some form of intentional breathing has been shown in texts as early as the 5th century BCE. Breathing. In and out. This act performed by nearly all species profoundly affects our well-being. From reducing stress and improving immune health to reducing sports-related injuries, how we breathe can significantly impact our mental and physical health. But to receive these incredible benefits, we must take a moment away from the unconscious cycle of life and focus inward. Taking a moment to analyze how we breathe, when, and why. This blog will highlight critical patterns in our breathing habits and provide practical tips and techniques for improving our breathing for optimal health.
Breathing For Mental Health
These next 3 exercises will be aimed at those who have not yet considered breathing for health. However, the exercises are still used by yoga practitioners and mediators today for a reason. One breathing technique doesn't necessarily mean better or worse. Certain breathing exercises simply have specific intentions.
Breath Awareness
To start, the introduction to breath control, or pranayama, begins with mindful breathing. This is considered the foundation of all other yoga practices, as without breath control, the body cannot fully engage in the movements and postures of different practices. To start with mindful breathing, take note of your breath in your natural state. Not engaged in activity and without trying to alter your breath. Are your breaths shallow? How long is each breath? Are you breathing up to your chest or down to your belly?
In his book "Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art," James Nestor explores just how important something often thought of as automatic can truly enhance and rejuvenate one's life experience. We will explore some of James's book in the next section, but the key to natural breath is awareness.
A question often asked with meditation is, "How do I know if I'm doing it right?". And while there may not be a defined "right," what is considered sound advice is returning to that breath awareness. Regardless of how often you are distracted by other thoughts, bring your focus back to your breath, and you are doing it "right." There is one thing that all living beings share: our breath. Whether it be the air passing by your nostrils, your belly lifting and relaxing, or a simple whisper in your head of "In and Out," coming back to breathe awareness is the foundation to start with.
Box Breathing
This breathing practice is as simple as its name. Box breathing, also called square breathing or equal breathing, originated in India. It has been shown to improve focus and concentration, enhance relaxation and sleep quality, and aid with stress reduction.
To start this breathing technique, find a quiet place to practice your breath awareness.
Take a breath through your nose for a count of 4, staying mindful of how that breath feels, how easy or hard it is to take, and the feelings associated with it.
Gently hold your breath for a count of 4.
Gently exhale your breath for a count of 4.
Finally, hold your breath for a count of 4, and repeat the process four times.
As with many forms of breathwork and meditation, the effects of this technique may not be instant. However, with the consistent practice of breath awareness, you will develop further insights into the feelings and benefits of each session.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Our next breathing technique is one you've certainly done at one point or another, perhaps not even realizing it. We will come back to this same technique in our physical section, but here, diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing, is a technique that can increase blood oxygen levels, reduce blood pressure, and decrease heart rate. This technique, in particular, is beneficial for those with COPD, asthma, and other conditions with impaired total lunge usage. This is because diaphragmatic breathing allows you to use your lungs at 100% capacity, increasing lung efficiency compared to breathing normally. As mentioned before, the benefits of diaphragmatic breathing will not be immediately apparent, as your digraph has yet to adapt to this tension.
To start this breathing technique, find a comfortable starting position, such as lying down or sitting in a chair.
Place one hand on your chest and the other on your lower abdominals by your belly button. This hand positioning will allow you to feel if you are breathing up to your chest or correctly diaphragmatic breathing.
Next, inhale through your nose, ensuring your top hand remains still and your bottom hand elevates.
Keep your top hand still. Exhale through your mouth with pursed lips to keep the speed slow and controlled.
Meditation and concentrated breathing techniques are discussed extensively in Bessel van der Kolk's "The Body Keeps the Score." Bessel goes on to say that, throughout his research on PTSD and how it relates to the body, talk therapy, yoga, and intentional breathing with body awareness are just a few ways to reconnect with your mind and emotions.
Breathing For Physical Health
The past three techniques have primarily focused on mental health, but as we've mentioned, breathing has two benefits. The following breathing techniques, starting with nose breathing, can provide physical benefits, including lunge capacity, increased sports performance, and circulation.
Nasal Breathing
"You're such a mouth breather!"
Have you ever heard of that insult? Its origin comes from the plentiful benefits of nasal breathing, instead of over-breathing through the mouth only. These benefits range from things as simple as better morning breath to more critical factors like teeth alignment and germ filtering. The more important question is how?
The nose is designed to help you breathe as efficiently and safely as possible. It's one reason newborns default to this breathing method over mouth breathing. As we grow up, however, things like congestion issues, deviated septums, and asthma can contribute towards a leaning tendency to mouth breath. As someone who has previously suffered from a deviated septum, I can confirm that this made things like restful sleep, nose breathing, and meditation nearly impossible, which led me to ultimately get things checked out by my ENT and a surgery scheduled. A look at today, and I am enjoying the benefits listed below.
Improved sleep quality
Though the evidence is inconclusive, some have found nasal breathing during sleep to aid in snoring and sleep apnea. One conclusion, however, is that nasal breathing during sleep can reduce the tendency of morning sore throats, dry mouth, and bad breath. This is due to how the nasal passages filter germs and humidify air. Unlike mouth breathing, air inhaled through the nose passes through a protective barrier, down your throat, and into your stomach to be dealt with. Meanwhile, mouth breathing sends whatever's in the air directly into your lungs, which could raise your risk of infection.
As mentioned before, breathing through my nose was, at one point, nearly impossible due to a deviated septum. After addressing this, I used mouth tape to help focus on nasal breathing during sleep. As mentioned previously, James Nestor, author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, says (referring to nasal breathing at night with mouth tape), "One of the many benefits is that the sinuses release a huge boost of nitric oxide, a molecule that plays an essential role in increasing circulation and delivering oxygen into cells. Immune function, weight, circulation, mood…"
Improved Sports Performance
Intentional primary nasal breathing during physical activity has been shown to significantly reduce the chance of exercise-induced asthma, improve blood oxygen delivery, decrease the effort needed to breathe during physical activity bouts and increase VO2 Max.
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Next, we are returning to diaphragmatic breathing and its relationship to sports activities. In professional weightlifting, you may notice athletes wearing a weight belt around their waists. But have you ever wondered why? What athletes are doing is enhancing their body's natural weight belt. That's right. We all have one of those weight belts on us right now. We just have to learn how to utilize it. A weight belt allows an athlete to create greater intra-abdominal pressure, meaning better utilization of your abdominal muscles during a heavy lift. But even without the weight belt, athletes and regular fitness goers must utilize proper diaphragmatic breathing to maintain a stronger posture, prevent injury, and ensure correct form during exercises.
So, how is this done? Similar to our diaphragmatic breathing exercise before, this requires you to expand your diaphragm with the inhale without lifting the chest in the process. As you practice this technique, you will notice that pressure on the sides of your abdominals, the obliques, can be created from the breath, creating a solid foundation for a heavy lift.
Begin Breathing
If you’ve yet to start thinking about how each and every breath can affect your health, now is the time to start. With a quick breath awareness exercise, you can gain more insight than most of those around you and gain understanding of your inner emotions and current state of mind.
With intentional changes, you can feel the full body difference of breathing with intention and mindfulness. From reducing stress and anxiety to increasing focus and energy, the power of the breath is truly remarkable. So, take a deep breath, slow down, and tune into the rhythm of your breath. Your mental and physical health will thank you for it. Start today and watch as the benefits of conscious breathing unfold in your life.
