Breath - the new science of lost art - by James Nestor

 Breath - the new science of lost art - by James Nestor

In transporting the breath, the inhalation must be full. When it is full, it has a big capacity. When it has a big capacity, it can be extended. When it is extended, it can penetrate downward. When it penetrates downward, it will become calmly settled. When it is calmly settled, it will be strong and firm. When it is strong and firm, it will germinate. When it germinates, it will grow. When it grows, it will retreat upward. When it retreats upward, it will reach the top of the head. The secret power of Providence moves above. The secret power of the Earth moves below.  He who follows this will live. He who acts against this will die.

—500 BCE ZHOU DYNASTY STONE INSCRIPTION

Breathing, for all these people, for all these cultures, was powerful medicine. Therefore, the scholar who nourishes his life refines the form and nourishes his breath says an ancient Tao text. 

In colder climates, our noses would grow narrower and longer to more efficiently heat up air before it entered our lungs; our skin would grow lighter to take in more sunshine for the production of vitamin D. In sunny and warm environments, we adapted wider and flatter noses, which were more efficient at inhaling hot and humid air; our skin would grow darker to protect us from the sun. Along the way, the larynx would descend in the throat to accommodate another adaptation: vocal communication.

Finding the best heart rate for exercise is easy: subtract your age from 180. The result is the maximum your body can withstand to stay in the aerobic state. Long bouts of training and exercise can happen below this rate but never above it, otherwise, the body will risk going too deep into the anaerobic zone for too long. Instead of feeling invigorated and strong after a workout, you’d feel tired, shaky, and nauseated.

Chew
It was the constant stress of chewing that was lacking from our diets—not vitamin A, B, C, or D. Ninety-five percent of the modern, processed diet was soft. Even what’s considered healthy food today—smoothies, nut butter, oatmeal, avocados, whole wheat bread, vegetable soups. It’s all soft.

Few of us ever consider how the nostrils of every living person pulse to their own rhythm, opening and closing like a flower in response to our moods, mental states, and perhaps even the sun and the moon.

Oral posture - holding the lips together, teeth lightly touching, with your tongue on the roof of the mouth. Hold the head up perpendicular to the body and don’t kink the neck. When sitting or standing, the spine should form a J-shape—perfectly straight until it reaches the small of the back, where it naturally curves outward. While maintaining this posture, we should always breathe slowly through the nose into the abdomen.

The interior of the nose, it turned out, is blanketed with erectile tissue, the same flesh that covers the penis, clitoris, and nipples. Noses get erections. Within seconds, they too can engorge with blood and become large and stiff. This happens because the nose is more intimately connected to the genitals than any other organ; when one gets aroused, the other responds. The mere thought of sex for some people causes such severe bouts of nasal erections that they’ll have trouble breathing and will start to sneeze uncontrollably, an inconvenient condition called honeymoon rhinitis. As sexual stimulation weakens and erectile tissue becomes flaccid, the nose will, too.

What researchers eventually managed to confirm was that nasal erectile tissue mirrored states of health. It would become inflamed during sickness or other states of imbalance. If the nose became infected, the nasal cycle became more pronounced and switched back and forth quickly.

The right nostril is a gas pedal. When you’re inhaling primarily through this channel, circulation speeds up, your body gets hotter, and cortisol levels, blood pressure, and heart rate all increase. This happens because breathing through the right side of the nose activates the sympathetic nervous system, the fight or flight mechanism that puts the body in a more elevated state of alertness and readiness. Breathing through the right nostril will also feed more blood to the opposite hemisphere of the brain, specifically to the prefrontal cortex, which has been associated with logical decisions, language, and computing.

Inhaling through the left nostril has the opposite effect: it works as a kind of brake system to the right nostril’s accelerator. The left nostril is more deeply connected to the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest-and-relax side that lowers temperature and blood pressure cools the body, and reduces anxiety. Left-nostril breathing shifts blood flow to the opposite side of the prefrontal cortex, the right area that plays a role in creative thought, emotions, the formation of mental abstractions, and negative emotions.

Immune function, weight, circulation, mood, and sexual function can all be heavily influenced by the amount of nitric oxide in the body. Nasal breathing alone can boost nitric oxide sixfold, which is one of the reasons we can absorb about 18 percent more oxygen than by just breathing through the mouth.

Starting around 30, we should expect to lose a little more memory, mobility, and muscle with every passing year. We would also lose the ability to breathe properly. Bones in the chest would become thinner and change shape, causing rib cages to collapse inward. Muscle fibers surrounding the lungs would weaken and prevent air from entering and exiting. All these things reduce lung capacity.

The lungs themselves will lose about 12 percent of capacity from the age of 30 to 50 and will continue declining even faster as we get older, with women faring worse than men. If we make it to 80, we’ll be able to take in 30 percent less air than we did in our 20s. We’re forced to breathe faster and harder. This breathing habit leads to chronic problems like high blood pressure, immune disorders, and anxiety.

Moderate exercise like walking or cycling has been shown to boost lung size by up to 15 percent.

Extending those breaths to 50 to 70 percent of the diaphragm’s capacity will ease cardiovascular stress and allow the body to work more efficiently. For this reason, the diaphragm is sometimes referred to as the second heart, because it not only beats to its own rhythm but also affects the rate and strength of the heartbeat.

• BREATHE THROUGH YOUR NOSE

• EXHALE - One of the first steps in healthy breathing is to extend these breaths, to move the diaphragm up and down a bit more, and to get the air out of us before taking a new one in.

• CHEW - The bones in the human face don’t stop growing in our 20s, unlike other bones in the body. They can expand and remodel into our 70s, and likely beyond. This means we can influence the size and shape of our mouths and improve our ability to breathe at virtually any age. The kinds of foods that required an hour or two a day of hard chewing. And in the meantime, lips together, teeth slightly touching, and tongue on the roof of the mouth

• BREATHE MORE, ON OCCASION - Willing yourself to breathe heavily for a short, intense time, however, can be profoundly therapeutic. 

• HOLD YOUR BREATH - 

• HOW WE BREATHE MATTERS - The perfect breath is this: Breathe in for about 5.5 seconds, then exhale for 5.5 seconds. That’s 5.5 breaths a minute for a total of about 5.5 liters of air.

ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING (NADI SHODHANA)

Close the right nostril with the thumb and inhale through the left nostril very slowly. At the top of the breath, pause briefly, holding both nostrils closed, then lift just the thumb to exhale through the right nostril. At the natural conclusion of the exhale, hold both nostrils closed for a moment, then inhale through the right nostril.

Continue alternating breaths through the nostrils for five to ten cycles.

BREATHING COORDINATION

This technique helps to engage more movement from the diaphragm and increase respiratory efficiency. It should never be forced; each breath should feel soft and enriching.

• Sit up so that the spine is straight and the chin is perpendicular to the body.

• Take a gentle breath in through the nose. At the top of the breath begin counting softly aloud from one to 10 over and over (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10).

• As you reach the natural conclusion of the exhale, keep counting but do so in a whisper, letting the voice softly trail out. Then keep going until only the lips are moving and the lungs feel completely empty.

• Take in another large and soft breath and repeat.

• Continue for anywhere from 10 to 30 or more cycles.

• Once you feel comfortable practicing this technique while sitting, try it while walking or jogging, or during other light exercises. 

For classes and individual coaching, visit http://www.breathingcoordination.ch/training.

RESONANT (COHERENT) BREATHING

A calming practice that places the heart, lungs, and circulation into a state of coherence, where the systems of the body are working at peak efficiency. There is no more essential technique, and none more basic.

• Sit up straight, relax the shoulders and belly, and exhale.

• Inhale softly for 5.5 seconds, expanding the belly as air fills the bottom of the lungs.

• Without pausing, exhale softly for 5.5 seconds, bringing the belly in as the lungs empty. Each breath should feel like a circle.

• Repeat at least ten times, more if possible.

Several apps offer timers and visual guides. My favorites are Paced Breathing and My Cardiac Coherence, both of which are free.

Mini Breathholds

A key component to Buteyko breathing is to practice breathing less all the time, which is what this technique trains the body to do. Thousands of Buteyko practitioners, and several medical researchers, swear by it to stave off asthma and anxiety attacks.

• Exhale gently and hold the breath for half the time of the Control Pause. (For instance, if the Control Pause is 40 seconds, the Mini Breathhold would be 20.)

• Repeat from 100 to 500 times a day.

Setting up timers throughout the day, every 15 minutes or so, can be helpful reminders.

Nose Songs

Nitric oxide is a powerhouse molecule that widens capillaries, increases oxygenation, and relaxes the smooth muscles. Humming increases the release of nitric oxide in the nasal passages 15-fold. There is the most effective, and simple method for increasing this essential gas.

Breathe normally through the nose and hum, any song or sound.

Practice for at least five minutes a day, more if possible.

It may sound ridiculous, and feel ridiculous, and annoy those nearby, but the effects can be potent.

Patrick McKeown’s book The Oxygen Advantage offers detailed instructions and training programs in breathing less. Personalized instruction in Buteyko’s method is available through www.consciousbreathing.com, www.breathingcenter.com, www.buteykoclinic.com, and with other certified Buteyko instructors.

Gum

Any gum chewing can strengthen the jaw and stimulate stem cell growth, but harder textured varieties offer a more vigorous workout.

• Falim, a Turkish brand, is as tough as shoe leather and each piece lasts for about an hour. I’ve found the Sugarless Mint to be the most palatable. (Other flavors, such as Carbonate, Mint Grass, and sugar-filled varieties, tend to be softer and grosser.)
• Mastic gum, which comes from the resin of the evergreen shrub Pistacia lentiscus, has been cultivated in the Greek islands for thousands of years. Several brands are available through online retailers. The stuff can taste nasty but offers a rigorous jaw workout.

Weil offers a step-by-step instructional on YouTube, which has been viewed more than four million times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz4G31LGyog.