How and Which Body Systems Are Influenced by The Way We Breathe?

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How and Which Body Systems Are Influenced by The Way We Breathe?

dEC 27, 2023, By Michael Grant White

When it comes to improving our health, we often pay attention to easily quantifibale aspects. But have you ever considered the profound impact of breathing on your health—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually?

Steady energy throughout the day
Great positive mood(s)
Freedom to breathe deeply and easily
Waking up clear-headed and refreshed
A Clear mind and good memory
A strong vocal expression

Health Benefits of Optimal Breathing

Consider this:

Our very lives begin and end with the breath. Between the two sacred moments of birth and death, most of us will take countless breaths and rarely give it a moment's notice.

Scientists have observed that wild animals instinctively know how to "shake off" the high stress of life-threatening situations and return to a relaxed state where they are alert and aware without sacrificing their health and survival needs. They are still able to stay healthy, breathe properly, procreate, eat and socialize.

This ability to maintain balance is an inborn trait. While humans have the same instinct within, our modern lifestyles, which include unnatural living conditions, high stress, environmental pollutants, dishonoring social conditioning and poor food quality, usually serve to keep us out of touch with our natural ability to maintain proper equilibrium.

We do manage to procreate, socialize, eat and survive, but for many people, our lives are not realized at a satisfying level, and recurring health and emotional issues constantly hinder our quality of life. Traumas, including subtle prolonged emotional neglect, violent abuse or physical injury, can separate us from our instinctive selves for years.

Usually, the breath is the first physiological response to be affected by trauma. The change in breathing patterns is rarely noticed, especially when the trauma begins at a young age, yet the resulting effects on body, mind, emotions and spirit are ultimately profound.

Here are just a few of the ways healthy breathing affects our lives:

Immune System Function

Increases vital energy so the body has more energy to put towards its constant process of self-healing and detoxifying
Lessens stress responses by regulating the nervous system, which staves off diverting energy from healthy immune system function.
Accelerating regeneration of tissues by allowing the regenerative systems of the body to heal/regenerate instead of fight off invaders.
Speeds recovery from trauma and disease
Partially compensates for inherited limitations and genetic weaknesses

The Respiratory System

Dramatically aids in relief of many long-term respiratory difficulties such as asthma, bronchitis, COPD
Reduces chest pains due to tight muscles thus, the tension causing anxiety of "heart attack potential" is reduced
Opens up the chest to make breathing easier and fuller, which facilitates the strengthening of the life force, emotional stability, and mental clarity to feel more energetic
Maintains body balance, which supports ease of breathing, including the proper CO2 elimination

Circulatory System

Improves blood circulation and relieves congestion
Increases flow of oxygen to oxygen-loving organs such as the brain and eyes
Eases the strain on the heart by increasing oxygen to the heart

The Nervous System

Calms a chronic "fight or flight" anxiety state by reversing the breathing patterns which began at the time of the original trauma
Healthfully stimulates the nervous system where fatigue is present
Depending on the technique used, healthy breathing can balance brain hemispheres

The Digestive System

Proper diaphragmatic action acts as a pump to massage the internal organs, significantly aiding their function
Calms the emotions which directly affect the parasympathetic nervous system of rest, digestion and healing

Urinary System

Helps eliminate excess fluids through the breath
Reduces swelling of the body (edema)
Decreases stress on organs of elimination, thus helping the body to naturally cleanse and tone up.

The Lymphatics System

Increases depth and continuity of lymphatic fluid circulation which helps speed recovery after major illnesses

Muscular / Ligaments

Upper body strength is directly affected by proper breathing
Feeling better and more present in your body naturally leads to a greater desire to exercise for health and enjoyment
Improves coordination and grace via greater relaxation and self-awareness

Structural

Releases and reduces the muscular tension that eventually may cause structural problems
Helps increase the flexibility and strength of joints; when you breathe easier, you move easier

Physical Appearance

Reduces wrinkles due to improved circulation and blood oxygen flow
Results in radiant skin at any age
Replaces energy lost during the natural process of growth and aging
Deep breathing can also help with hair growth

Mental

Improves the power of mental concentration and observation
Lower stress levels lead to higher productivity, greater learning capacity, better decision making

Emotional

Increases feelings of safety, nurturing and self-acceptance
Produces profound relaxation and inner peace (think: grace under pressure and courage under fire)
Reverses effects of stress related to self-defeating habits and tendencies, including childhood traumas, religious programming, and cultural conditioning
Strengthens coping skills
Enhances a sense of self and inner power
Produces heightened self-awareness and self-love, which leads to a healthier life.

Spiritual

Deepens meditation or spiritual connection
Heightens intuition
Balances subtle energy systems affecting all the bodies: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual
Enhances creativity

Interpersonal Relationships

Relaxation, self-love, and self-acceptance lead to greater compassion for others
Helps clarify and strengthen boundaries and take responsibility for their role in relationships
Increases awareness and management of subtle energies within and around you and others

Sexual Enjoyment

Regulates intensity of orgasm
Higher relaxation levels and self-love lead to more compatible partner choice

Re-learning to breathe the way nature intended from the beginning is a significant portion of anyone's overall holistic wellness program.

Welcoming and accepting higher levels of health, pleasure, power, and love is a gradual process for most people, but many clients find that breathing techniques facilitated by Optimal Breathing Practitioners often bring on immediate, dramatic results. The continued practice serves to strengthen and build upon your foundation.

Originally designed as a personal growth development technique, Optimal Breathing realizes a much wider potential for accelerating many self-healing processes as well as being an important adjunct to almost any wellness or therapy program.

Just as Optimal Breathing removes the barriers that prevent vocalists from reaching their performance potential, it can help remove barriers in all of us, helping us to achieve our maximum potential in whatever it is we do. Optimal Breathing has shown astonishing healing factors in various health conditions. Further studies are being conducted utilizing Optimal Breathing.

"Your breathing will be stronger, smoother, bigger, greater, deeper, easier, and better coordinated. You will become stronger, more clear headed, relaxed, and energetic. Breathing really is a metaphor for life"-

Mike White, Optimal Breathing Specialist

View our most comprehensive Self-Help Optimal Breathing Development Program

New Age Applications of using the breath as a vehicle to:

Remove painful, energy-depleting effects of fear, including those related to the fear of death, disease, the body, foods, parents and other people, lack of abundance, impoverishment, phobias, environmental threats, the future and the past, unstable economic trends, political unrest, etc.
Neutralize pain from current hurt, disappointment or anger resulting from past emotional trauma or negative experiences in life.
Cleanse energy-depleting fearful elements, including our original separation from Spirit or Higher Self.
Improve the possibility that karmic issues no longer need to be resolved through pain and suffering but through creativity and joy.
Reduce or remove effects due to improved adrenal function, allergies, and intolerances to foods, chemical substances, pesticides, herbicides, air pollutants, radiation, medical drugs, pharmaceutical by-products, etc.
Undo the root causes of some chronic illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, MS, diabetes, arthritis, brain disorders, depression, etc.
Remove any self-perpetuating obstacles to fulfilling your desires, such as selling a house, getting a dream job (provided this is in your highest interest) or enhancing your gifts and spiritual development.
Eliminate or minimize many difficulties or barriers in life.
Allow you to let go of resistance? the root cause of much pain and suffering in life.
Safeguard businesses, corporations, organizations, governments, countries, etc., from potentially harmful influences.

Note from Mike:

Although the above 1-10 is quite a mouthful, anecdotal evidence supports it. It can not be replicated but it DOES happen, and often enough to at least allude to the possibility. Probability??

NO.

Possibility above average to allude to a significant cause-effect relationship?

YEP!!

Sadly, hyperbole is too often included, so this "new age" movement suffers when its proponents become too willing to add "poetic license" and not label it as such.

More simply stated by Danielle Rose, MD. It provides space in the body and autonomic nervous system to allow a better balance between parasympathetic and sympathetic as well as a release of pent-up energies from past trauma and stress that bind up the communication between body and mind.

From Candace Pert

The peptide-respiratory link is well documented: Virtually any peptide found anywhere else can be found in the respiratory center. This peptide substrate may provide the scientific rationale for the powerful healing effects of consciously controlled breath patterns.

The mind doesn't dominate body; it becomes the body. Body and mind are one. I see the process of communication we have demonstrated, the flow of information throughout the whole organism, as evidence that the body is the actual outward manifestation in the physical space of the mind. Bodymind. At this molecular level, there really was no distinction between the mind and the body.

Molecules of Emotion, Candace Pert

From Dr. Erik Peper

Dr.Erik Peper of San Francisco State College has discovered that the most effective way for people to learn to breathe better is through modeling of the action by a skilled therapist or coach (11). In the forward (8), Chandra Patel, M.D. of the University College London states that "the two components subjects feel they have benefited from most, and that they are willing to continue using, are aware of stress and breathing exercises. Human nature makes it unlikely that most people, except those strongly motivated, will comply with a time-consuming practice in the long term."