Here are some common questions about breathing that people ask us at Mountain Wind. We will continue to expand this list as time goes on. If you have a general question about breathing or breathing exercises that is important to you and relevant to others, please let us know. We may include it here. Click here to send us e-mail.
Natural breathing is whole-body breathing--the way a healthy baby, young child, or animal breathes. Natural breathing involves the harmonious interplay of the lungs, diaphragm, belly, chest, back, and other parts of the human body. In natural breathing, the depth and speed of the breath is appropriate to the actual demands of the moment, as long as those demands are not being conditioned by unnecessary tensions, contractions, or restrictions in the body.
During inhalation, the diaphragm moves downward massaging, either directly or indirectly, all the organs, and the energetic wave of breath moves upward through entire body, opening the belly, chest, back, and lungs. During exhalation, the diaphragm moves upward massaging the heart, and the wave of breath moves downward closing the lungs, chest, back, and belly. In human beings, natural breathing occurs mainly through the nose. This not only ensures the natural filtering, warming, and moisturizing of the air, but it also helps ensure that we don't release carbon dioxide too quickly. (See the question about chronic hyperventilation.)
Because of the constant pressure of stress in our inner and outer lives, many of us do not breathe naturally. We have become upper chest breathers. This causes us to breathe faster than we should, often bringing about a chronic state of hyperventilation, a state in which we breathe too fast for the real demands of the situation. Those of us who breathe too fast often find ourselves holding our breath in moments of stress and fear. This is a natural momentary response to the presence of danger (it often signals the beginning the "fight or flight" reflex, a reflex which we especially needed in our early history on this earth). In a society in which stress has become the norm, however, our fight or flight response in turned on many hours each day, and we find ourselves either breathing very fast or holding our breath. In addition, since childhood,we've learned to use breathing to cut ourselves off from uncomfortable feelings and sensations. By breathing less, in more-shallow way-- we generally feel less. Another important factor is the growing lack of daily exercise, stretching, movement, and so on, in our daily life. Many of us sit more or less immobile at desks for many hours each day. This gradually conditions our breathing to a very narrow range of movement. Still another factor is the prevailing image of the hard, flat belly that we see in fashion magazines and health clubs. To be sure, the belly needs to be strong, but it also needs to be flexible for deep, natural breathing.
Learning how to breathe more naturally, the way our bodies were designed to breathe, can have a powerful influence on our overall health, including our metabolism. Depending on the kinds of problems we have, better, more authentic breathing can influence the amount of exercise we get, the way we feel about ourselves, the kinds of food we eat, the amount of energy we have, and so on. All of this can result in losing (or even gaining) weight naturally and appropriately.
Breathing exercises undertaken directly to lose weight, however, even when they might be effective in the short term, can cause many problems for the future. Our breath is an incredible gift, a fundamental force that has subtle interrelationships with all the different sides of ourselves--body, mind, emotions, spirit, and so on. In my opinion, to use forceful breathing activities and exercises as a shortcut to lose weight can not only have a negative impact on our breathing in the long term, but can also disharmonize these interrelationships and lead to serious physical, psychological, and spiritual problems for the future.
Physiology books tell us that the average rate of breathing while at rest is approximately 12 to 14 times a minute (a rate which qigong and yoga practitioners, breathing therapists, and others have demonstrated is faster than it needs to be). In observing our breath, many of us may notice that we breathe even faster than this so-called average rate. Many of us, without knowing it, habitually "hyperventilate"—that is, we take quick, shallow breaths from the top of our chest. These quick, shallow breaths sharply reduce the level of carbon dioxide in our blood. This reduced level of carbon dioxide causes the arteries, including the carotid artery going to the brain, to constrict, thus reducing the flow of blood throughout the body. When this occurs, no matter how much oxygen we may breathe into our lungs, our brain and body will experience a shortage of oxygen. The lack of sufficient oxygen switches on the sympathetic nervous system—our "fight or flight" reflex—which makes us tense, anxious, and irritable. It also reduces our ability to think clearly, and tends to put us at the mercy of obsessive thoughts and images. Some researchers believe that hyperventilation can actually magnify our psychological problems and conflicts, and that chronic hyperventilation is intimately bound up with our anxieties, apprehensions, and fears. For many of us this is a chronic condition. Those who work seriously with yoga, qigong, or natural breathing, however, find that their breath rates slow dramatically, in some cases down to a resting rate of three or four breaths per minute. This has many benefits, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Yes, when possible. When we breathe through our nose, the hairs that line our nostrils filter out particles of dust and dirt that can be injurious to our lungs. If too many particles accumulate on the membranes of the nose, we automatically secret mucus to trap them or sneeze to expel them. The mucous membranes of our septum, which divides the nose into two cavities, further prepare the air for our lungs by warming and humidifying it.
There is, however, another very important reason for breathing through the nose. This has to do with maintaining the correct balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in our blood. When we breathe through our mouth we usually inhale and exhale air quickly in large volumes. This often leads to a kind of hyperventilation (breathing excessively fast for the actual conditions in which we find ourselves). It is important to recognize that it is the amount of carbon dioxide in our blood that generally regulates our breathing. Research has shown that if we release carbon dioxide too quickly, the arteries and vessels carrying blood to our cells constrict and the oxygen in our blood is unable to reach the cells in sufficient quantity. This includes the carotid arteries which carry blood (and oxygen) to the brain. The lack of sufficient oxygen going to the cells of the brain can turn on our sympathetic nervous system, our "fight or flight" response, and make us tense, anxious, irritable, and depressed. There are some researchers who believe that mouth breathing and the associated hyperventilation that it brings about can result in asthma, high blood pressure, heart disease, and many other medical problems.
To breathe naturally and authentically, our belly needs to be supple. It needs to be able to expand on inhalation and retract on exhalation. This bellows-like movement of the belly supports the downward and upward movements of the diaphragm. When the belly expands on inhalation, the diaphragm can move farther downward into the abdomen, allowing the lungs to expand more fully. When the belly retracts on exhalation, the diaphragm can move further upward, helping the lungs to expel gases more fully. The increased downward and upward movements of the diaphragm, along with the outward and inward movements of the belly, not only help to slow down our breath rate and to take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide more efficiently, but they also help to massage all our internal organs, including the heart. This "internal massage" has a healthful impact on digestion, elimination, blood flow, the immune system, and the nervous system. People who are shallow breathers either by habit or by design lose these many benefits of deep breathing, or what we sometimes call "belly breathing."
Yes, there can be, especially for people who don't already breathe naturally, who generally carry a great deal of tension in their chests, backs, and bellies. People who practice pranayama exercises without good teachers or much experience can easily hurt their diaphragms and other breathing muscles. The key to transforming one's breathing in a safe and effective way has to do with relaxing and opening up all the breathing structures of the body. This requires deep relaxation, not tension.
"The great spiritual pathfinder G. I. Gurdjieff ... warned that without complete knowledge of our organism, especially of the interrelationships of the rhythms of our various organs, efforts to change our breathing can bring great harm. It is clear that work with breathing, especially some of the advanced yogic breathing techniques (pranayama) taught in the West through both classes and books, is fraught with many dangers. In his book Hara: The Vital Center of Man, Karlfried Durckheim—a pioneer in the integration of body, mind, and spirit—discusses some of the dangers of teaching yogic breathing techniques to Westerners. He points out that most of these exercises, which "imply tension," were designed for Indians, who suffer from 'an inert letting-go.' Westerners, on the other hand, suffer from 'too much upward pull … too much will.' Durckheim states that even though many yoga teachers try to help their students relax before giving them breathing exercises, they do not realize that the 'letting-go' required for deep relaxation can be achieved 'only after long practice.' At best, says Durckheim, giving breathing exercises prematurely grafts new tensions onto the already established ones, and brings about 'an artificially induced vitality … followed by a condition of exhaustion and the aspirant discontinues his efforts, his practice.'" (From the introduction to The Tao of Natural Breathing, by Dennis Lewis.)