Do You Even Breathe Bruh?!
Chances are if you’re reading this then you are breathing…because well otherwise you would be dead right; but how often are you actually aware of your own breath? If I were to ask you if you breathed through your nose or your mouth, would you have to think about it? If you’re wondering does it matter, the answer is yes it does.
As a certified yoga teacher, I have been trained and educated in the power of breath. In yoga we refer to breath as ‘prana’ life-force, and the control of our breath as ‘pranayama’, which is one of the eight limbs of yoga. As B.K.S. Iyengar stated “Pranayama is thus the science of breath, the hub round which the wheel of life revolves. The yogi’s life is not measured by the number of his days, but by the number of his breaths.”^
Shallow Breathing vs Diaphragmatic Breathing
Diaphragmatic breathing uses the diaphragm (a large muscle located between the chest and the abdominal cavity) on inspiration the diaphragm descends like and upside down umbrella allowing the lungs to ‘inflate’ and take in a greater volume of air. By using the whole lung capacity the air that we take in is able to actually reach the lower lobes of the lungs, where there is greater blood supply which enables for a more efficient chemical exchange (O2 into the bloodstream and CO2 out).**
Most people experience what is called shallow breathing (chest/clavical breathing), which only fills up the top lobes of our lungs. Chest breathing uses just the intercostal muscles to lift the rib cage which requires more effort and increases the heart rate. Shallow breathing lets stagnant air and pollutants accumulate in the depths of the lungs and may lead to fatigue, respiratory sluggishness, and diminished tissue function.*
Nasal Breathing and Mouth Breathing
“The nose is for breathing, the mouth is for eating” – Proverb
Through my yoga practice I learned the importance of nasal breathing. When starting out the effort to breathe through my nose during vigorous vinyasa yoga seemed impossible. I needed more air than I could inhale through just my nose and was left gasping at times. It takes time for us to re-learn nasal breathing (which is the only way newborns breathe)**. The noses only function (besides being a lobe to pierce) is the inhalation and exhalation of air between our bodies and the environment yet so many of us fail to use it as our primary airway. Breathing through the mouth is actually the first indicator to the mind (subconscious) that our body is under stress. Our stress response is a blanket all-encompassing primordial response, there are no levels of stress (refer to Stress - From Tigers to Deadlines). Nasal breathing keeps the mind and the body in a more relaxed state, keeping the heart rate lower allowing the body to function at a higher level with less effort requiring less energy.
Nasal breathing produces NO2 (nitric oxide) which is a gas that acts as a neurotransmitter, immunoregulator and nasodilator in the body. NO2 helps regulate blood pressure, increasing blood supply to the cells and boosts the immune system. NO2 is primarily produced and absorbed in the nasal pathways**. Breathing through the mouth bypasses all of the filters that are associated with the nose as well as bypassing the olfactory nerve which is linked to the brain.
Lift With Your Breath
We see it daily in the gym, people just mindlessly lifting weights, face red, with chipmunk cheeks holding in that precious breath; waiting until the body’s exertion is over to exhale with absolutely no attention paid to inhale.
As personal trainers we are taught (hopefully) about the importance of breath in relation to the exercise being performed. With every full rep of and exercise there is an associated exhale and inhale. Typically when the work is being performed and the muscle is shortening (concentric muscle action) we exhale and when the muscle is lengthening (eccentric) we inhale. Not only are we trained about when to inhale and exhale but also depending on the goals and condition of the client - the tempo of the exercise should change. Bringing more attention to the breath should bring more attention to the exercise being performed which theoretically should increase neuromuscular efficiency thereby enabling the body to recruit the associated muscle fibers in a more timely manner. When breath and tempo are linked, the mind is more aware of the action being performed, which should lead to an increased awareness of effort, range of motion and form.
Next time you take a breath, stop and really take the time to breathe, close your mouth, shut your eyes and put all of your attention into just one long deep inhale and exhale.
““To inhale is to inspire, when we become more connected to our intake of air we become more connected to our own inspiration.””