BREATHING
It is so simple, and we take it so much for granted that most people never give it a thought except when they are struggling to do it. What? – The basic process of giving the body the oxygen and carbon dioxide it needs to fulfil what is needed.
The process of taking air into the lungs and expelling what is not required will take place however much we try to stop it, or indeed to pump the body with too much air. This is reassuring because it means that we do not have to be thinking consciously about every breath we need to accomplish. That frees up an awful lot of energy and mental processing for the greater challenges we face every day – what to wear, what to have for dinner etc etc.
However as is so often the case in nature evolution has refined the process so that several things can happen in the course of one breath. The equipment we have been provided with is not there just for vain facial appearances. The nose begins and ends the vital actions. The lungs do not work in isolation from the rest of the body, mind complex. The diaphragm is not just a belt of muscle dividing the abdomen and the thorax.
The ancient yogis, perhaps over thousands of years of sensitive awareness, may not have been able to explain in modern scientific terms the value of breathing control to achieve their aims, but breathing was a central element of their system to reach the state they called samadhi (bliss), or Self Realisation. On a basic level the human body is incapable of living for ever. One aim of yoga was to extend life, not just for the sake of it, or because they feared death, but long enough to achieve oneness with creation, or God.
The many forms of yoga breathing were essentially for pranayama, control or the extension of breaths to maximise their efficacy. We find that the majority of forms of pranayama sought to balance, or slow and extend each breath. Just a few were to stimulate the body. Either way their aim was affect mental and hormonal processes as much as physical by affecting the Autonomic Nervous System.
Today we can support the aims of these breathing techniques using modern methods to measure the relative effects in the brain of O2 and CO2 exchange and muscular toning in the thorax and spine. This knowledge for instance has shown that the most important aspect of a breath is not to get more oxygen into the body but rather to give the body more time to balance the carbon dioxide level. When CO2 levels are optimal the brain is allowed to move into a relaxed mode of operation. Hyperventilation is not a condition of absorbing too much oxygen into the blood and tissues, but of reducing the CO2 level too much. Many of the yogic, and modern forms, of breathing pay particular attention to the stages of exhalation and the holding of the breath, the kumbhakas; extending these to well beyond the time allowed for inhalation.
Common to both phases are certain basics related to the process of breathing. The first is the paramount importance of using the nostrils for both inhaling and exhaling. The mouth is for feeding, speaking or singing, and yawning. The nostrils are the route for breathing. On the way to the lungs they prepare the air and add Nitric oxide which in the air sacs relaxes the tissues to give maximum efficiency to the air exchange. Prolonged exhalation gives the body time to absorb CO2 efficiently and effectively.
At the other end of the system the diaphragm is the giant pump which by contraction and relaxation draws air into, and pushes air out of, the lungs. Through slumped posture, prolonged sitting and restricted tense breathing the diaphragm loses tone, and range of movement, and its ability to draw air into the deepest parts of the lungs. Failing to expel stale air fully allows it stagnate in the lungs with associated dangers of disease to developing. The practice of conscious breathing techniques reawakens the natural physical and physiological processes in the body promoting good health in body and mind.
There are so many techniques, hence the courses, books and videos, teaching us how to breathe that they can become obsessive. In the first instance try to develop small regular exercises focusing on:-
Breatheing in and out using the nostrils
Being conscious of breathing into the belly and not just the upper lungs
Trying to develop 4-part breathing. Breathe in without strain, hold for a few seconds. Try to breathe out fully for X2 the time spent inhaling. Feel the diaphragm pulling up under the ribs and the abdomen being drawn up a little with it as you breathe out. Pause with empty lungs for a little while before inhaling again.
Five minutes of conscious breathing practice every day will quickly develop into a strong, healthy and unforced breathing pattern which the body uses all the time.
It is so simple, and we take it so much for granted that most people never give it a thought except when they are struggling to do it. What? – The basic process of giving the body the oxygen and carbon dioxide it needs to fulfil what is needed.
The process of taking air into the lungs and expelling what is not required will take place however much we try to stop it, or indeed to pump the body with too much air. This is reassuring because it means that we do not have to be thinking consciously about every breath we need to accomplish. That frees up an awful lot of energy and mental processing for the greater challenges we face every day – what to wear, what to have for dinner etc etc.
However as is so often the case in nature evolution has refined the process so that several things can happen in the course of one breath. The equipment we have been provided with is not there just for vain facial appearances. The nose begins and ends the vital actions. The lungs do not work in isolation from the rest of the body, mind complex. The diaphragm is not just a belt of muscle dividing the abdomen and the thorax.
The ancient yogis, perhaps over thousands of years of sensitive awareness, may not have been able to explain in modern scientific terms the value of breathing control to achieve their aims, but breathing was a central element of their system to reach the state they called samadhi (bliss), or Self Realisation. On a basic level the human body is incapable of living for ever. One aim of yoga was to extend life, not just for the sake of it, or because they feared death, but long enough to achieve oneness with creation, or God.
The many forms of yoga breathing were essentially for pranayama, control or the extension of breaths to maximise their efficacy. We find that the majority of forms of pranayama sought to balance, or slow and extend each breath. Just a few were to stimulate the body. Either way their aim was affect mental and hormonal processes as much as physical by affecting the Autonomic Nervous System.
Today we can support the aims of these breathing techniques using modern methods to measure the relative effects in the brain of O2 and CO2 exchange and muscular toning in the thorax and spine. This knowledge for instance has shown that the most important aspect of a breath is not to get more oxygen into the body but rather to give the body more time to balance the carbon dioxide level. When CO2 levels are optimal the brain is allowed to move into a relaxed mode of operation. Hyperventilation is not a condition of absorbing too much oxygen into the blood and tissues, but of reducing the CO2 level too much. Many of the yogic, and modern forms, of breathing pay particular attention to the stages of exhalation and the holding of the breath, the kumbhakas; extending these to well beyond the time allowed for inhalation.
Common to both phases are certain basics related to the process of breathing. The first is the paramount importance of using the nostrils for both inhaling and exhaling. The mouth is for feeding, speaking or singing, and yawning. The nostrils are the route for breathing. On the way to the lungs they prepare the air and add Nitric oxide which in the air sacs relaxes the tissues to give maximum efficiency to the air exchange. Prolonged exhalation gives the body time to absorb CO2 efficiently and effectively.
At the other end of the system the diaphragm is the giant pump which by contraction and relaxation draws air into, and pushes air out of, the lungs. Through slumped posture, prolonged sitting and restricted tense breathing the diaphragm loses tone, and range of movement, and its ability to draw air into the deepest parts of the lungs. Failing to expel stale air fully allows it stagnate in the lungs with associated dangers of disease to developing. The practice of conscious breathing techniques reawakens the natural physical and physiological processes in the body promoting good health in body and mind.
There are so many techniques, hence the courses, books and videos, teaching us how to breathe that they can become obsessive. In the first instance try to develop small regular exercises focusing on:-
Breatheing in and out using the nostrils
Being conscious of breathing into the belly and not just the upper lungs
Trying to develop 4-part breathing. Breathe in without strain, hold for a few seconds. Try to breathe out fully for X2 the time spent inhaling. Feel the diaphragm pulling up under the ribs and the abdomen being drawn up a little with it as you breathe out. Pause with empty lungs for a little while before inhaling again.
Five minutes of conscious breathing practice every day will quickly develop into a strong, healthy and unforced breathing pattern which the body uses all the time.
