Health Boomers Seniors: Breathing, Respiratory Conditions, Respiratory Health, Allergy, Breathing Exercises.

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Deep Breathing Exercises: Relaxation, Heart Health.

Breathe Right:

| by Kristi Nielsen

Most of us breathe shallow and quick - causing hyperventilation. The quality of the air we breathe is not the only aspect that matters when it comes to health. Breathing exercise and becoming aware of our breathing habits can improve our health and decrease pain and other symptoms we often do not attribute to the way we breathe.

There is so much we take for granted about how we breathe. Did you know that we only breathe through one nostril at a time? If we are not congested, we tend to switch nostrils about every ninety minutes, and tend to have one nostril we use more predominately than the other.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the right nostril is positive and related to yang, while the left nostril is negative and related to yin. Right nostril breathers are said to be quick tempered, nervous, irritable and are quite driven. Left nostril breathers are said to feel lethargic and lazy, and lacking in ambition. The theory is that people who use both nostrils more equally are more balanced, confident and calm, yet full of energy. According to this TCM principle you can synchronize the brain to balance your emotions by altering the nostril you are breathing through. Completing several cycles of breathing through the left nostril is believed to calm down anger, for instance.

Breathing is a function controlled by the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and we breath 5,000 to 30,000 times a day or 2 to five hundred million times in a lifetime. Although breathing functions to balance oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body, poor breathing habits alter energy levels and ultimately alter our Deep breathing - Heart Health, Disgestive Health state of being in this life. It is your internal ability to get what you want out of life and whether or not we are in touch with our feelings that result in us feeling fulfilled in life.

Hypervitalization for instance, results in an imbalance in the body and results in dizziness, spaceyness, confusion, fear, and anxiety or other hyper arousal and distress. Unresolved emotional problems impact the hypothalamus, the regulating center of the ANS which in turn activates the limbic system, via the limbic-hypothalamus axis. Therefore, if we alter our breathing patterns by becoming intentional in the way we breathe we can change the end result—bringing calm and relaxation to the body.

How you breathe has an impact on the chemistry of your body. Over-breathing or frequent hyperventilating causes loss of carbon dioxide in the body and makes the blood more alkaline. If blood is too alkaline, the hemoglobin, which transports the oxygen we breathe, has a harder time releasing the oxygen to the cells.

As a result, the cells get less oxygen, and then the ANS assumes you need more air, resulting in the perpetuation of hyperventilating. An alkaline environment also causes more calcium to enter muscles and nerve tissue making them more reactive and as a result sends messages to the brain and heart to constrict the blood flow to these tissues, to deal with the imbalance.

This can produce headaches, muscle tension, chest tightness, cold hands and feet, digestive issues, shortness of breath, anxiety, fatigue, dizziness and lack of ability to concentrate, and even low back and pelvic pain. Poor breathing patterns result in added stress on core muscles and in turn causes more stress to the pelvis and vertebrae. The body attempts to balance the blood pH and medical conditions such as diabetes and kidney disease are more likely in a body with an acid environment.

Upper back pain can be reduced by learning to breathe more deeply into the lower ribs. The increased and natural movement of the ribs reresults in proper lubrication and flexion of the thoracic spine. Shallow short breathes on the other hand increase the tension in the back and can contribute to pain in the back between the shoulder blades. Practicing deeper breathing can result in your autonomic nervous system adopting a healthier breathing rhythm.

Similarly some people cause unnecessary stress to their neck, triggered by using their neck muscles to move their rib cage. Observe yourself in a mirror. Do your neck muscles move with each breath? If you can see your neck muscles moving with each breath, practice deeper breathing using a towel as a band around your ribcage to monitor the movement of your ribs. Learning to use your diaphragm, a larger muscle intended to move the ribs during breathing, gives the smaller neck muscles the relief they deserve.

When our bodies are relaxed, our breathing massages internal organs such as the heart, and decompresses the spine. It oxygenates every cell and relaxes the mind. If you pay attention to your breathing you will notice you breathe with both your ribs and your belly and you can feel your spine flex with each breath. When we breathe the lungs expand, as the ribs move back to their natural resting state, the breath is forced back out.

Many of us adopt head forward posture, with rounded shoulders and our head so far forward the back of our jawbone is ahead of our clavicle. Bringing the head back to realign the head over the body decreases stress on the neck and increases proper alignment of the spine. Proper posture decreases our tendency to hold upper abdominal muscles so tight that we are unable to use our diaphragm during breathing.

Healthy breathing is usually less than 15 times per minute. Pay attention to your breathing, breathe deeper into your ribs, filling the lungs more completely and allow the air to empty normally. Slowing down in life also reduces the likelihood of over-breathing, breathing in quick shallow breathing patterns or hyperventilating.

Worry, mental rehearsing, physical and mental hurriedness are sources of stimuli that increase the risk of developing unhealthy breathing patterns.

References:

Chek, Paul; Oliver, Clifford, Remsen, Julie; Optimum Health and Fitness Through Practical Nutrition and Lifestyle Coaching Chek Institute, San Diego, CA, 2002.
Dingle, Edwin John; Breaths That Renew Your Life, Institute of
Mentalphysics, 1976
Farhi, Donna; The Breathing Book Henry Holt and Company Inc., New York, 1996.
Sherwood, Lauralee; Human Physiology, From Cells to Systems West Publishing Company, St. Paul MN, 2003.
DeGuire, S. et al. Breathing retraining: a three-year follow-up study of treatment for hyperventilation syndrome and associated functional cardiac symptoms Biofeedback Self Regulation Jun;21(2):191-8, 1996.
Gardner, WN The pathophysiology of hyperventilation disorders Chest
109; 516-534, 1996
Lee, Diane; Lee, Linda-Joy Postpartum Health for Moms - an Educational Package for Restoring Form & Function after Pregnancy
DDVD; Diane Lee and Associates, 2006.
Chek, Paul Scientific Core Conditioning Correspondence Course, Chek Institute, Encinitas CA.

Breathing Tips:

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Breathing exercises can reduce headaches: Air does not move through the nasal passages equally at the same time. The flow of blood shifts back and forth between the nostrils in a rhythm that takes approximately one and a half to two hours. This "ultradian rhythm," is related to the dominant functioning of the brain hemispheres. If you lie down on your side with the congested nostril up and continuing to breathe through the nose. The upper nostril dominates. If you have a headache, trying this for 15 or 20 minutes can often bring relief.

Breathing, Hyper-ventilation and Anxiety Slowing down our breathing and breathing more deeply, using our diaphragm, belly, rib cage, and lower back in the breathing process, reduces anxiety. Many of us, without knowing it, habitually "hyper-ventilate"--that is, we take quick, shallow breaths from the top of our chest. This reduces the level of carbon dioxide in our blood causing the arteries, including the carotid artery going to the brain, to constrict, reducing the flow of blood. When this occurs, no matter how fast we breathe, our brain and body will experience a shortage of oxygen. The brain responds to lack of oxygen by activating the sympathetic nervous system "fight or flight reflex" response. We become tense, anxious, and irritable. We become unable to think clearly.

Diaphragmatic Breathing Can Help Your Heart Research shows that there is a relationship between upper chest breathing and heart attacks. By learning deep, diaphragmatic breathing we can apparently help our heart. Relaxing Your Eyes and Face Muscles for Deeper Breathing and More Energy When our face muscles become tense and our eyes lock onto one focal point too long, diaphragmatic movement during breathing decreases. This results in shallow breathing and means that we're taking in less oxygen. It decreases the lymph flow in our body thus reducing the effectiveness of our immune system.

Conscious Breathing For Relaxation and Pain Reduction Bringing our attention to our breathing during meditation brings many such benefits. Such mindful breathing helps us release peptide molecules from the hindbrain to regulate breathing while unifying body systems. Simply follow your breathing with your attention.

Digestive Breathing Digestive breathing is a simple but effective breathing exercise that can help promote digestion. It is based on breathing deep into your belly. As you breathing in, sense that you are breathing energy gently into your expanding belly. As you are breathing out, sense your belly naturally contracting. Do not use force. Work in this way with your breathing for at least five minutes after each meal, or any time you have digestive problems.

Breathing for Relaxation Some of us try to do deep breathing when we want to relax. Unfortunately, most of us do not really know how to breathe deeply. We do not know how to release the unnecessary tension in our belly, back and ribs. Emphasize and lengthen your exhalation. It's what happens naturally when you sigh. The long exhalation helps turn on your parasympathetic nervous system, your "relaxation response." There's nothing to do except to make sure your exhalation is longer than your inhalation. Don't worry about the inhalation; it will take care of itself. This breathing exercise can be undertaken safely whenever you feel stress coming on.

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