Conscious Breathing Is Not a Myth, It’s Real

The Power of Deep Breathing

Do you know how many breaths you take daily? Approximately (depending on how healthy your breath is) 25,000 breaths. And every single one of them matters – more than what you could imagine. That’s a huge amount of breaths, and it can work for or against you if the breathing pattern is not correct. Slow breathing is about breathing in a way that is physiologically optimal for your body. Our breath is a barometer of our feelings and emotions. Therefore, the way you breathe works in relation to how you feel. The breath is a tool that connects body and mind, mind and body. A calm, slow and relaxed breath will lead to a strong, balanced and conscious mind. Deep breathing is one of the body’s strongest self-healing mechanisms. Now think about it. If you breathe as you feel, you can feel as you breathe, and that’s the real power fo Conscious Breathing.

Conscious Breathing is a take-away tool, which brings your awareness to the moment of now, every single time. Mind and body works together connected by the breath

 

Reduces the effects of stress, anxiety, PTSD, and pulmonary diseases

Conscious Breathing directly influences the nerve system by rewiring and rewriting new cell connections. When you breathe through your nose, you produce a gas NO, Nitric Oxygen, a vasodilator. In other words, more blood circulating along arteries will travel, allowing more oxygen to be delivered to the cells, producing higher levels of energy. This gas also purifies blood vessels from plaque and regulates blood pressure. It stimulates the brain, like a brain fertiliser.

Deep breathing directly affects the autonomous nerve system, the Parasympathetic System also called “Rest and Digest”. It reacts in the opposite of the Sympathetic System, also called “Fight and Flight”. Parasympathetic System is in charge of sending a signal to the heart, lungs and internal organs to relax, to slow down the metabolism, and reduce heart rate and blood pressure. Now relaxation starts kicking in, as well as improving the digestion of food. Your internal pharmacy starts to work for you.

Just like other muscles of the body, your respiratory muscle, the diaphragm, can be trained and has to be trained for a better and stronger breathing rhythm. It helps to regulate and create healthy breathing patterns especially for individuals suffering from respiratory issues such as asthma or bronchitis¹.

Better mood

Have you noticed how your breath patterns change depending on your anomic state? When you are sad, you sigh. When you are stressed or anxious, your breath is short, unstable and shallow. When you are angry, it is fast and furious. By managing your breath, you manage your emotions too, in the same way.

Conscious Breathing activates the production of happy hormones like dopamine or serotonin, activating your immune system². When the rhythm of the breath is reduced, so is one’s blood pressure and the nervous system. As a consequence, the rhythm of your brain and of your mind automatically slows down too. A calm and deep breath will lead to a balanced and harmonious mind.

Stronger Immune System

Cortisol is often called the body’s stress hormone. It performs many functions, too many to go into here, but do know that high cortisol levels are a bad thing. High cortisol is associated with auto-immune diseases, poor sleep, hormone imbalance and so much more. A good enough reason to keep this stress hormone in check.

Not breathing properly can result in health problems, like stomach and digestion issues, tireless and chronic fatigue, high blood pressure and heart disease

The point is that stress is another trigger for autoimmune disease activation. In times of stress, our body releases more inflammatory chemicals around the body such as histamine. This starts a chemical cascade in our protection system and the body and brain have to try and work out what defence system is required to stop an attack on the body³.

Keeping stress under control is important for your long-term health. Activating what’s called the Parasympathetic (relaxation) response of our nervous system and turning off the Sympathetic (stress – think fight or flight) response is key here. The parasympathetic system kicks in when we are not stressed. It’s the system that works to control digestion, rest and can help slow down breathing, and heart rate.

It creates a strong immune system, sell-functioning digestion & circulatory system, longevity, high energy levels, enhanced productivity and stress resilience

Higher CO2 tolerance

Science is on our side. This is not “mumbo-jumbo”. Clinical studies have been proving with objective data, that controlled breathing has a direct and enormous beneficial effects in our health, physical and mental health. Too much oxygen can kill you. You read that correctly. Don’t get confused about deep breathing with breathing in more oxygen as it’s just the opposite.

The optimal pattern is one that keeps O2 (Oxygen) and CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) levels in balance. That’s the key. In fact, without CO2, oxygen can not be delivered to the cells to produce energy. Last October, three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize for their studies on Hypoxia, lack of oxygen in the body, and the positive effects related to it. The purpose of breathing is not about how much O2 we intake, but how much CO2 our body can tolerate.

CO2 is, in fact, our ally as it helps lower one’s blood pH, which then signals our blood vessels to dilate, allowing more oxygen to be transported to all our cells and therefore, enabling your body to create more energy. Your internal pharmacy starts working now, sending messages through the Vagus Nerve to the heart, lungs and internal organs to decrease heart rate and lower down the blood pressure. No, it’s not magic, it’s science. We are not only blood and flesh. We are energy. You will be able to find yourself in ways that are unknown to you, showing you your real self.

Have a beautiful day, and keep breathing.

 

Contributed by Carlos de la Rua. He currently conducts weekly classes at Core Collective at Anson Road, Singapore. Corporate and private sessions are available. 


References:

  1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237844791_A_clinical_study_on_effect_of_breathing_exercises_on_bronchial_asthma_A_controlled_trial
  2. https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.11040090#B48
  3. https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/04/30/1322174111
  4. https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/the-yogi-masters-were-right-breathing-exercises-can-sharpen-your-mind/

Images: unsplash.com

 

Crocs Singapore

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