Breathing Exercises: Good Ones, Bad Ones; Which is Which and Why?

Breathing is so natural and involuntary that often we take it for granted. This is a wake up call for all those who are not using their breathing to its full potential. This blog talks about breathing exercises and aims to re-educate you correctly, optimally and to your full potential. It is rather unusual to many of us in the Western world to consider the importance of good breathing techniques and breathing development. 

After all, we are always breathing, aren't we?

Doesn't it seem a little silly to pay extra attention to something we do naturally? Notice your own breathing. Isn't each breath actually very shallow? Well, they may or may not be appropriate depth, balance, and ease. Like the taste of chocolate, if you have never experienced optimal depth, balance, and ease of breathing, how will you know whether you have it or not?

The magnitude of the crisis in modern medicine demands immediate and broadly pervasive consumer action to enhance health and curb medical spending. Simple but appropriate breathing development practiced vigilantly and on a daily basis, can precipitate an absolutely remarkable revolution in our personal lives as well as influence the history of human health care and medical evolution.

The presence of special breathing practices in ancient cultures has always been a mystery to people in the Western world. There are numerous beneficial physiological mechanisms that are triggered when we turn our attention to the breath and then increase its ease, depth, volume, and balance. 

Taking a leaf from the ancient scriptures and techniques, here’s an interesting read:

"Cautions to be judicious and respectful of breathing exercises abound in the literature on hatha yoga. And it does indeed seem from anecdotal reports of explorers in this field that the rhythm and record of our respiration resonates throughout the body. It seems to accentuate whatever is in the mind, whether it be benevolence, or malevolence, harmony or disharmony, virtue or vice. 

On the negative side, experienced teachers report that quirkiness of any sort, gets accentuated in students who go too far. 'It might be an abusive streak, laughing inappropriately, speaking rudely, flightiness, twitchiness, or nervous tics. Right to left physical imbalances also become exaggerated. Unfortunately, novices often close their ears to warnings; having become addicted to their practice, they will not be denied. Competent teachers of hatha yoga will be watchful of these simple matters and wary of tutoring refractory students. Even the beginning exercises discussed in this chapter should be treated with respect.

Apart from psychological concerns, the special physiological hazards of bad breathing techniques are that they can cause problems without giving us traditional signals warning us against doing something harmful. In athletics, the practice of asana, experiments with diet, or just tinkering with any subject in the physical world, we depend on our senses to tell us that we are exceeding our capacity or doing something inadvisable. 

But breathing exercises are different. In that realm we are dealing with phenomena that our senses, or at least our untutored senses, are often unable to pick up, even though they can still affect the body. And because of this, advanced exercises should be undertaken only by those who are adequately prepared."

 H. David Coulter, Anatomy of Hatha Yoga p 131.

The breathing diaphragm is much more than a mechanical shifter of air. It is, above all, a muscle of emotional expression. Most people have had experiences of just how infectious it can be when someone nearby suddenly and spontaneously laughs or yawns. We usually laugh or yawn right along with them. 

Why? 

Because there is both a physiological and energetic response in the diaphragm that causes it to react in sympathy with what is being expressed by someone else.

Singing for instance, relies on the importance of wanting to express emotion. If the diaphragm is thought of only as a pump, then such thinking will greatly diminish the function of it and limit its invaluable contribution to vocal expression. At that point one's personal vocal expressions will have to develop a good breathing technique to compensate for the lack of spontaneous and reflex action in the diaphragm. 

Bad breathing techniques not respecting this are often limiting and counterproductive. Firstly see the lungs below and notice how they are mostly in the sides and back and not very much in the front.

This means that it is inefficient to breathe just into the belly because the rear half of the lungs is almost twice as large as the front half.

The mid chest and lower rear lobes are where the major volume is. The back of the trunk from mid back to waist is where the lower lobes most often allow for the most expansion. But tensions in the low back restrict expansion so we must both access and challenge the area in the following way.

This is not exactly true but for now just imagine they wrap around your chest, sides, and back from the armpits to right above the bottom of your second to the lowest rib. Like a very thick short-waisted vest hanging from your collar bones.

When breathing volume, rate and awareness are all optimized, dramatic physiological, and even emotional, changes can occur. As it turns out, unknown to science until very recently, the action of the lungs, diaphragm and thorax are a primary pump for the lymph fluid and heart. In addition, the breath is the source for oxygen which is the key element in the body's ability to produce energy.

A huge aspect of certain breathing exercises. Under the guidance of a skilled practitioner they can be most beneficial and inconceivably powerful. A word of caution here: I have also seen many of those altered states turn into erratic or weird behavior including what may inaccurately be classified as psychosis. 

A friend took a pranayama class. Spaced out and energized, he came out to drive his car and steered it in front of another car and wound up in intensive care for 8 days.

Patients and those with performance or personal development goals who have learned and used our breathing development practice as a part of their daily personal system progress more quickly, no matter what their health or performance goals.

Individuals who are well are able to remain well, adapt to greater stress, and have greater endurance when they keep a breathing development practice in their daily self-care ritual.

At Optimal Breathing, we have a step-by -step , highly customizable plan to develop correct breathing for you. We have honed and perfected these steps over the years while advising thousands of people from diverse fields like athletics, scientists, sportspersons, critically ill patients, and regular as well as essential workers like firefighters and emergency response team members. 

We begin with counselling to develop the fundamentals first. These are easy to learn, easy to apply, require no special knowledge or training, and can be practiced by most people (sick or well) daily with very little impact on time or energy. They are a great way to recharge your cellular batteries.

Irrespective of your current state of health, here are three most common and safe breathing exercises that you can start right away.

Much like one needs to taste chocolate to really know what it tastes like, the OSB gives one the proper kinesthetic/proprioceptive/sensing of optimal abdominal breathing. This is far superior to any so-called Abdominal Breathing Technique (ATB) as there is just not enough "feel" back to do ABT properly. The more it is practiced, the more natural it will become, improving the body's internal rhythm. Practice it hourly.

Benefits/Goals:

Position:

For breathing that is quieting, calming, centering and energizing all at once, Practice these 25 repetitions every 30 minutes or hour.

Supported by a small round pillow or a NADA Chair from Relax the Back Stores Nationwide, sit out near the edge of a fairly hard surfaced chair, stool or arm of a couch with feet flat on the floor, or stand. 

Both of these positions need an erect but not stiff posture. Be "tallest" with your chin slightly above the horizon. If you stand, bend your knees slightly so as to unlock them.

Let your tongue lightly touch the roof of your mouth and your jaw relax. Relax your belly. Let it hang down. Let go of any fear of having a "pot belly" or not having "washboard abs". 

Place your thumbs over your kidneys (below your back ribs and above your pelvis). Wrap your fingers around your sides, towards your belly button.

Squeeze gently as you nose-breathe long slow deep breaths into your squeezed fingers forcing them apart with your in-breath in your belly back and sides against their will. In other words, using the force of your breathing-in to widen your fingers and thumbs against their attempt to stay tensely closed. Simultaneously take 4 deep in-and-out breaths while trying to match the breathing cycle of the animated logo for a timing reference.

To deepen your experience although it does not really get larger, imagine feeling your pelvis expanding and contracting with each inhale and exhale along with your belly and sides.

In any event, make sure the exhale is twice as long as the inhale. It may work better for you to use silent number counting (one thousand one, one thousand two, etc.) to gauge that, again just make sure the exhale is twice as long or even more than twice as long as the inhale.

NEVER tighten the belly to extend the exhale. Simply slow the speed of the out-breath. ALWAYS keep the belly relaxed.

Now, using the animation or a number count or both, take 10 complete in and out breaths, making sure to squeeze and breathe simultaneously.

If you felt anxious it was probably too fast for you or you did not squeeze in the right place or strongly enough and then breathe into the squeezed thumb and fingers to separate them against their will.

Try it again. 

This time following this breathing pattern

Place your thumbs over your kidneys (below your back ribs and above your pelvis). Wrap your fingers around your sides, towards your belly button.

Squeeze gently as you nose-breathe long slow deep breaths into your squeezed fingers forcing them apart with your in-breath in your belly back and sides against their will. Simultaneously take 4 deep in and out breaths while trying to match the breathing cycle of the animated logo for a timing reference.

Feel better? Calmer? Energized? Calm and energized at the same time?

In any event try the next one remembering to coordinate it with the squeezing. Squeeze gently and breathe in through the nose, long slow deep breaths, breathing into your squeezed fingers and thumbs, widening them with your breath slightly against their will. If it feels good then do it 5 times more

If that is not the right feel of timing then go on to the next one.

Now, just observe what is happening in your mind, your feelings, your emotions and your body sensations. Look at your thoughts, feelings, emotions and body sensations that are passing by as you would observe clouds in the sky. Just observe what is happening. Meanwhile you are breathing deeply and slowly.

There are better exercises for increasing energy but you may get real energized from this one. Dizziness, spaciness or otherwise confusion means you should stop and continue your day or stop and recommence in a minute or two after the energy has subsided or integrated within you. Watch this video for the correct OSB technique for breathing.

Benefits/Goals:

As you breathe deeply into your side ribs raise your arms straight overhead and let forearms come to rest on your head. Grab your left elbow with your right hand and your right elbow with your left hand and vigorously without pain slowly pull the right elbow towards the left as far as it will go while you slowly exhale.

If you are still having lots of breath left, pull the left elbow towards the right side as far as it will go while you slowly exhale more air. Still exhaling slowly, come upright and lower your arms and hands to your sides while you release the balance of air. Repeat 10-20 times as often as you need a lift. I often do this between exercises in the gym. Watch this video to learn breathing side by side in the correct manner.

This westernized yogic technique can be used to help stimulate energy when needed. It is a good thing to use before reaching for a cup of coffee.

Sit in a comfortable up-right position with your spine straight. With your mouth gently closed, breathe in and out of your nose. To give an idea of how this is done, think of someone using a bicycle pump (a bellows) to quickly pump up a tire. The inspiration pulls the plunger out, the exhalation sees the plunger go all the way into the pump housing—both directions in equal length.

The rate of breathing is two cycles of inspiration/expiration per second if you can. You may want to build up from 1 in and out cycle per 2 seconds to one cycle per one second then two cycles per one second. Take your time if you need.

Do this until you feel buzzing, currents, breeze-like sensations throughout your body, or tingling in your fingertips. There is a risk for hyperventilation that can result in loss of consciousness if this exercise is done too much in the beginning. For this reason, it should be practiced in a chair or bed.

Sometimes the breathing exercise that seems easy is not the one that would bring you the most benefit. Just as it is easier to do pushups if you have been doing them everyday, the patterns of muscle use resulting in taking a breath that are likely to be most comfortable are the patterns you already practice in your current breathing style. To reach your long-term goal of improved breath conditioning, you need to practice all of the exercises, including the ones that are not so easy to master.

There are several steps to follow if you want to overcome some common breathing errors and work on breathing-re-education. Take a look:

However, all such exercises are just part of the story. To actually transform our breathing and bring about a lasting change, the re-education exercises we do must be based on the laws and principles of natural breathing, and must be carried out in such a way the body/mind can either "remember" these laws or learn them anew. To gain optimal benefit from these exercises, we must learn to be conscious of their influence not just on our body, but also on our mind and emotions.