How should we breathe?
Our breath is determined by our energy output, emotional state, nervous system, posture, blood biochemistry, and our past breathing patterns or life experiences. There are many ways to breathe and survive; the body is incredibly adaptable and robust. Your automatic breathing patterns have evolved based on your experience and have helped you get to where you are right now.
Through my Buteyko Breathing Method and Oxygen Advantage trainings, I have learned that there is a breathing pattern found to be incredibly efficient at oxygenating the body. This efficient breathing pattern leads to increased mental and physical performance. This breathing pattern is called functional breathing and involves breathing in and out through the nose, with the tongue on the roof of the mouth, in a relaxed posture with an elongated spine. The breath itself is slow, goes low into the ribs, and involves a soft, light, and quiet breath. The size of the breath is just the amount of air you need and not too much. I have just created a simple PDF explaining the basics of functional or efficient breathing that you can access from the homepage or at the button below.
Intentional breathing provides an opportunity to reset our attitude, mental or emotional state, physiological condition, and breathing habits. By noticing your breath, breathing patterns, and how you breath, your conscious mind can recognize some potentially unconscious body habits you have. By intentionally breathing a certain way, your conscious mind can influence what is typically unconscious body activity.
Your breath is always with you and is an incredible resource ready for you whenever you need it. If you’d like, take a moment right now to experience the full capacity of your lungs and your breath. Inhale in through your nose, inhale in some more, and then inhale in even more, filling up all the space in your ribs, from your lower ribs to the upper chest. Pause for a second and notice how much air you can hold. Then slowly exhale, letting all that air out. When you think you’ve run out of air, try to exhale a little bit more, and then a little more. Pause for a second, resting in the completely empty space. Repeat or return to normal breathing. Through this exercise, you’re experiencing your maximum inhale and maximum exhale. You are also experiencing your primary breathing muscle, your diaphragm’s full range of movement from it’s lowest position during your maximum inhale to its highest position during your maximum exhale. With practice you can increase the range of motion of your diaphragm and the range of movement within your ribs, allowing your inhale and exhale difference to grow even greater. Below is a simple picture showing the movement of your ribs and diaphragm as you breathe.
