What the bodily form depends upon is breath and what breath relies upon is form. When the breath is perfect, the form is perfect (too).
~Old Chinese adage from 700 AD found in the book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
Suppose I told you that there is an ancient technique, that costs nothing but can activate the release of all sorts of healing and rejuvenating compounds in the body.
Proper daily practice of this technique will not only help you look younger but it will increase your lung capacity, improve your athletic performance, help you sleep more soundly, alleviate pain, realign the spine, heal asthma and autoimmune conditions, regenerate organs and enhance mood.
Sound too good to be true?
So far I haven’t had much luck selling it. Why? Maybe because:
It’s not a magic pill.
It requires daily practice to make permanent.
We can’t rely on anyone else to do it for us.
People are too busy and overwhelmed with conflicting information.
Perhaps this blog will inspire change though. Adding another tool to our self-healing toolbox may come in handy.
Over the past several years, before getting out of bed, I occasionally do some breathwork.
Lying flat on my back I inhale and exhale 30 deep breaths rapidly, not breathing out completely on the last breath.
I hold the breath from 30 seconds up to 2 minutes.
Then I breathe in fully and hold for 15 seconds.
I repeat this three times.
Some days I can hold my breath longer than others. But over time I have been able to increase my breath-hold.
This is not a relaxing exercise. It is Tummo (inner fire) breathing made popular by Wim Hof. It activates the fight or flight arm of the nervous system.
The Wim Hof Method combines the breathwork with gradual exposure to very cold temperatures and mindset training. Wim, aka "The Iceman" can control the part of the nervous system that operates subconsciously, releasing feel-good chemistry throughout his body.
He can immerse himself in ice-water for over an hour, ascend the highest mountains in shorts, run a marathon in the desert without drinking, control his heart rate, blood pressure, circulation and immune system. It is his conviction that what he can do, others can learn. His method has been and continues to be, scientifically validated.
The greatest indicator of life span isn’t genetics, diet, or the amount of daily exercise, as many suspect. It’s lung capacity.
― James Nestor
My objectives for practising the Wim Hof breath method had been to increase my lung capacity and improve breathing efficiency. I’d learned that when we breathe less we improve oxygen absorption and its delivery to body tissue. After all, athletes have trained at high altitudes to enhance performance at sea level. I had not been paying attention to how I was breathing throughout the day though.
Last month I read Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art, a New York Times bestseller by James Nestor. With curiosity and a prepared mind, the author travelled the globe and reviewed thousands of years of medical research to uncover how humans lost the ability to breathe well and how to fix it. Those who take the time to read it will never breathe the same again.
We breathe too much and mostly through our mouths. As a result, we suffer from countless health afflictions, including low endurance, asthma, allergies, autoimmune conditions and misaligned spines.
Learning to breathe less (fewer breaths per minute) and through the nose will increase our health and life span.
Nose breathing filters impurities and germs and warms the air. It increases nitric oxide production, a compound which relaxes and dilates blood vessels and improves delivery of oxygen throughout the body. It lowers blood pressure and heart rate. Nitric oxide also has anti-fungal, antiviral, anti-parasitic, and antibacterial properties.
Using what I have learned from this book, HeartMath, The Buteyko Method, Conscious Breathing and Kundalini yoga, I leave you with some observations to ponder.
Seven key findings:
We’ve become a culture of over-breathers to our detriment. We can train ourselves to breathe less and inhale through the nose. Just google “breathing exercise” and an inflating and deflating bubble will guide you to breathe at the right tempo.
In children mouth breathing causes crooked teeth and facial deformity, increasing the need for orthodontics. It also slows growth, impairs sleep quality, causes irritability and poor concentration at school. Nursing, and later chewing hard foods, exercises the jaw muscles and creates healthier bone structure in the face.
Mouth breathing is very dehydrating. Our teeth need to be bathed in saliva to prevent decay. Snoring is a symptom of mouth breathing. When we wake up dehydrated we suffer more from pain and other adverse health effects.
Eighty-four per cent of weight loss is released through exhalation. The lungs help regulate our weight. Longer, slower exhales help.
Breathing into the belly exercises the diaphragm and other breathing muscles. If we don’t use them we lose them.
To increase lung capacity couple breath work with chest expanding stretches daily. Try The Five Tibetans.
Contrary to popular belief carbon dioxide is not the enemy. We need it to better absorb oxygen. Consider the fact that people have been encouraged to breathe in and out of a paper bag (up to 12 breaths) when experiencing a panic attack (not for an asthma attack). The paper bag captures the exhaled carbon dioxide and it is re-inhaled. Carbon dioxide loosens oxygen from the haemoglobin in red blood cells freeing it for delivery into the lungs and brain producing a calming effect. It is interesting that a culture of over-breathers is suffering from higher rates of anxiety.
I’ve planted seeds. You choose which to water based on what resonates with you and your trusted health care provider. Do your research. What works for me may not work for you.
We can live weeks without food, days without water but only minutes without oxygen. Yet most of us take breathing for granted. Never has there been a better time to be mindful of the breath. Breathing better will inspire and awaken the health guru within.
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