“Breath – The New Science of a Lost Art” by James Nestor
Breathing… powerful medicine to heal (asthma, anxiety, weight loss, blood pressure, scoliosis, autoimmune), reach higher planes of consciousness & athletic performance, balance the nervous system, and to live longer. “The missing pillar of health is breath, it all starts here.”
Worst Breathers in the Animal Kingdom = Humans: lack of chewing stunted our skull & mouth growth & noses (warm and purifies air), leading us to be the worst breathers.
Mouth breathing: is absolutely terrible for anyone as studies have shown it increases blood pressure, decreases heart rate variability, spikes stress cortisol hormones, increases snoring and urination at night, gives you bad breath and poor teeth, decreases focus and attention and mood, increases fatigue and irritability (& you lose 40% more water)
THE LOST ART & SCIENCE OF BREATHING
Nose: Our nose is crucial because it clears air, heats it, & moistens it for easier absorption. But it also can trigger hormones and chemicals to lower blood pressure and regulate heart rate and ease digestion and store memories, & it plays a role in problems of erectile dysfunction… The inside of the nose is blanketed with erectile tissue & mirrors states of health (inflamed in sickness). The right & left nasal cavities work like an HVAC system, controlling temp & BP, and feeding the brain chemicals to alter our moods, emotions, and sleep states. The right nostril is the gas pedal: if you are primarily breathing through it (and air going more to your L brain) then you are activating your sympathetic “flight or fight” system with a more elevated state of alertness or readiness. Inhaling through the left nostril has the reverse effect, as it is more deeply connected to the parasympathetic system (rest & relax, lower BP and anxiety cooling). Our bodies operate most efficiently in a balance, and this balance can be helped by the yoga “alternate nostril breathing.”
There are many alternate nostril breathing techniques. To aid digestion & heat up your body: place index finger over left nostril and breath only through the R nostril 24 times after each meal… Or anytime you want to relax, you can switch sides repeating the same exercise with the L nostril open. Surya bheda pranayama is a technique to gain focus & balance in body and mind, which involves taking 1 breath into the R nostril then exhaling through the L for several rounds.
Ancient Native Americans in Southern US had great health, long lives, and perfect teeth. They taught their babies healthy breathing, nose breathing, from birth: closing the babies lips with their fingers after each nursing, gently closing babies lips if they open while sleeping, and kept them from overheating (to then keep baby from panging when too warm).
Health benefits of nose breathing are tremendous, & it alone can boost nitric oxide six fold, which is one of the reasons we can absorb 18% more oxygen than just by breathing through the mouth. Immune function, weight, circulation, mood, and sexual function can all be heavily influenced by the amount of nitric oxide in the body. Nose breathing is an example of use it or lose it (then have chronic nasal congestion & sleep apnea). To improve/heal this (rather rushing to surgery), try mouth taping: keeping on as long as you can 1at night and then extending it each consecutive night. You can order mouth tape on Amazon. The author likes a postage-sized piece of tape at the center of lips (like Charlie Chaplin mustache moved down an inch)), & uses 3M Nexcare Durapore “durable cloth” tape (all-purpose surgical tape with a gentle adhesive).
“And the most important Motto is three words – SHUT YOUR MOUTH. I would engrave it in every nursery & on every bedpost in the universe. Andi its importance would soon be realized!”
Exhale: Increasing exhalation can increase lung capacity and extend your life, and significantly help emphysema and scoliosis.. Lungs lose 12% of capacity from 30 to 50, and continue to decline faster as we get older, with women faring worse than men. Breathing exercises can increase capacity, & moderate exercise (like walking and biking) can boost lung size by 15%. The key to breathing, lung expansion, and long life is on the other end of respiration - the transformative power of full expiration.
The typical adult engages as little as 10% of the range of the diaphragm when breathing, which overburdens the heart, elevates blood pressure and circulatory problems. Extending breaths to 50-70% 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.
Harness the power of the full exhalation and achieve breathing coordination (http://www.breathingcoordination.com/Principles.html): Do several rounds of deep breaths to open your ribcage. Then do rounds (10-15 minutes) of a deep breath followed by exhaling as long as you possibly can, counting out loud as you can or mouthing it from 1 to 10 as many times as you can with each exhalation – keep you lips moving and get out the last molecule of air. After a period of time you stop and breath calmly, feeling your diaphragm chugging away like a piston, radiating fresh blood from the center of your body, and achieving what Stough calls, Breathing Coordination, harnessing the power of full exhalation.
Slow: Paced slow breathing relaxes the body and calms the mind, & results in more carbon dioxide, which sharpens the mind, dilates blood vessels (the effect of more carbon dioxide on blood vessels) burns fat (we lose weight through exhaled breath – for every 10 # of fat loss, 8.5 # comes out through the lungs in carbon dioxide mixed with water vapor), and heals disease – to balance oxygen & carbon dioxide we need to learn to inhale and exhale slowly = SLOW BREATHING. By taking longer breaths, we allow our lungs to soak up more in fewer breaths. Breathing is like rowing a boat: taking a zillion short strokes will get you where you are going, but they pale in comparison to the efficiency and speed or fewer longer strokes. With a slow breathing pattern, blood flow to the brain increases & the systems of the body enter into a state of coherence and peak efficiency. MOST EFFICIENT BREATHING RHYTHM occurs when the length of respirations and total breaths per minute are locked into a symmetry of: 5.5 second inhales, followed by 5.5 second exhales, which works out to 5.5 breath per minute (medicine feels normal is 12 – 20 breaths/minute). This is the same pattern as the rosary. The results are profound, even when practiced for just 5-10 minutes/day (even for 911 survivors who suffered from chronic painful cough caused by the debris, called ground glass lungs). In many ways this resonant breathing offers the same benefits as meditation for people who don’t want to meditate. Prayer heals, especially if it is practiced at 5.5 breaths a minute!
Less: Just as we have become a culture of overeaters, we have become a culture of over-breathers. The fix is easy: breathe less. But it is harder than it sounds. We’ve become conditioned to breathe too much, just as we are used to eating too much. With some effort and training, however, breathing less can become an unconscious habit.
To be clear, breathing less is not the same as breathing slowly. The key to optimum breathing, & all the health endurance and longevity benefits that come with it, is to practice fewer inhales and exhales in smaller volumes. To breathe, but to BREATHE LESS. Train by walking or jogging and inhaling for 3 seconds and exhaling 4 (and then 5 to 6) seconds. Longer exhales means higher carbon dioxide levels, and increases VO2max, which can boost athletic stamina and help us live longer healthier lives (and improve inflammation, heart disease and ulcers). You need to get more comfortable with higher levels of carbon dioxide (and it isn’t pleasant as you train yourself), so we will breathe less during our resting hours. Breathing less delivers the benefits of high altitude training at 6500 feet, reduces trunk fat, improves cardiovascular function, and boosts muscle mass.
The key is to finding a rhythm that works for you – the author finds a practice of inhaling for 2 steps and exhaling for 5 (similar to competitive cyclists) works for him, & isn’t exactly comfortable but is tolerable. Within a few sessions of practicing these techniques, patients report tingling in their hands and toes. Their heart rates slow and stabilize, and hypertension and migraines and asthma begin to disappear and they feel better and gain in athletic performance (and over-breathing increases pH to become more alkaline which weakens the bones and causes osteoporosis by dissolving mineral stores into the bloodstream). This is by decreasing the volume of air in their lungs and increasing the carbo dioxide in their bodies.
The optimum amount of air we should take in t rest is 5.5 liters per minute. And the optimum breathing rate is 5.5 breathes per minute = 5.5 second inhales ad 5.5 second exhales. This is the perfect breath, and to just keep breathing, less.
Chew: Industrialized soft food is shrinking our mouths (and dental extractions) and destroying our breathing (and leading to sleep apnea, snoring, ADHD, and asthma). Palates of ancient skulls are much larger than ours. The constant stress of chewing is lacking from or diets, as our ancestors chewed for hours every day. You can expand our too small mouth by “mewing’ (watch on YouTube, but gist is to push the back of the tongue forward, like a wave, until the tip hits just behind the front teeth) or a Homeoblock. Also, there is a lower incidence of crooked teeth and snoring and sleep apnea in infants who were breastfed longer over those who were bottle-fed.
BREATHING
More, on Occasion: Parasympathetic nervous system stimulates relaxation and restoration. The deeper and more softly we breathe in, and the longer we exhale, the more slowly the heart beats and the calmer we become. Sympathetic has an opposite role = increase heart rate and adrenaline so we can fight harder or run faster when confronted with danger. Although sympathetic stress takes just a second to activate, turning it off and returning to a state of relaxation and restoration can take an hour or more.
Stress-inducing breathing method called Inner Fire Meditation or Tummo – Navy SEALS, professional surfers or Martial arts fighters use Tummo-style breathing to get into a zone before a competition or mission, OR middle-age people who suffer from low grade stress and aches and pains (or ED or diabetes or fast heart rate – problems along the vagal and autonomic network) can use it to get a fraying nervous system back on track and keep it there. Sometimes the body needs more than a soft nudge to get realigned. Sometimes it needs a violent nudge – that’s what Tummo does.
Willing ourselves to breath slowly will open up communication along the vagal network and relax us into a parasympathetic state. Breathing really fast and heavy on purpose flips the vagal response the other way, shoving us into a stressed state (and allow you to keep warm in freezing temperatures, or like Wim Hof run a half-marathon through the now in the Artic circle shirtless and in bare feet). You are not the passenger, you are the pilot! Tummo heated the body and opened up the brain’s pharmacy, flooding the bloodstream with self-produced opioids, dopamine and serotonin. All that, with just a few hundred quick and heavy breaths. This can help autoimmune illnesses like type 1 diabetes, hypertension, psychiatric illness and pain. (Holotropic Breathwirk by a Czech psychiatrist Stanisloz Grof to help rewire the mind in psychiatric illnesses.)
To start Wim Hof’s breathing method, start by finding a quiet place and lying flat on your back with a pillow under your head. Relax your shoulders, chest and legs. Take a very deep breath into the pit of your stomach and let it back out just as quickly. Keep breathing this way for 30 cycles. If possible, breathe through the nose, if the nose feel obstructed try pursed lips. Each breath should look like a wave, with the inhale inflating the stomach, then the chest. You should exhale all the air out in the same order. At the end of 30 breaths, exhale to the natural conclusion, leaving about a quarter air in the lungs, then hold that breath for as long as possible. Once you’ve reached your breath-hold limit, take one huge inhale and hold it another 15 seconds. Very gently move that breathe of air around in your chest and to the shoulders, then exhale and start the heavy breathing again. Repeat the whole pattern 3 or 4 rounds and add in some cold exposure (cold shower, ice bath, naked snow angels) a few times a week.
This flip-flopping – breathing all-out, then not at all, getting really cold and then hot again – is the key to Tummo’s magic. It forces the body into high stress one minute, a state of extreme relaxation the next. CO2 levels in the blood crash, then they build back up. Tissues become oxygen deficient and then flooded again. The body becomes more adaptable and flexible and learns that all these physiological responses are under our control. Conscious heavy breathing allows us to bend so we don’t get broken.
Hold It: The nagging need to breathe is activated from a cluster of neurons called the central chemoreceptors, located at the base of the brainstem, & monitor the CO2 to determine how fast we breathe. Chemoreceptor flexibility is part of what distinguishes good athletes from great ones – training to withstand extreme fluctuations in carbon dioxide without panic. And this also helps people with anxiety and ADHD and asthma – teaching anxious and ADHD and asthmatic people the art of holding their breath.
Panic and asthma attacks are usually preceded by an increase in breathing volume and rate and a decrease in carbon dioxide. To stop the attack before it struck, subjects breathed slower and less, increasing their carbon dioxide (and reversed dizziness, shortness of breath and feelings of suffocation). It can effectively cure a panic attack before the attack came on. Instead of take a deep breath, HOLD YOUR BREATH is much better!
Fast, Slow, & Not at All: The most powerful technique was to inhale prana: to breathe. Breathing techniques are so fundamental to prana (life force) that chi and ruah and other ancient terms for energy are synonymous with respiration. When we breathe, we expand our life force. Breathing slow, less and through the nose balances the levels of respiratory gases in the body and send the maximum amount of oxygen to the maximum amount of tissues so that our cells have the maximum amount of electron reactivity. The earliest yoga was a science of holding still and building prana through breathing (and holding poses for an excruciatingly long time). The key to breathing practice is to be patient, maintain flexibility, and slowly absorb what breathing has to offer. “This gives us the means to stretch our lungs and straighten our bodies, boost blood flow balance our minds and moods, and excite the electrons in our molecules. To sleep better, run faster, swim deeper, live longer, and evolve further. They offer a mystery and magic of life that unfolds a little more with every breath we take.”
A Last Gasp: Like all Eastern medicines, breathing techniques are best suited to serve as preventative maintenance, a way to retain balance in the body so that milder problems don’t blossom into more serious health issues. Should we lose that balance from time to time, breathing can often bring it back. Breathing is a missing pillar of health, and learn how to breathe better. One of the 1st steps in healthy breathing is to extend breaths, to move the diaphragm up and down a bit more, and to get air out is us before taking a new one in.
The author has been practicing Tummo with dozens around the world on Monday nights. McGhee hosts a free online session open to anyone who wants to become the eye of the storm. Willing yourself to breathe heavily for a short intense time can be profoundly therapeutic. “It’s only through the disruption that we can be normal again,”Mcghee says. It stresses the body on purpose, snapping itself out of its funk so that it can properly function during the other 23.5 hours a day. Conscious heavy breathing teaches us to be pilots of our autonomic nervous systems and our bodies, not the passengers.
The perfect breath: Breathe in for 5.5 seconds, then exhale for 5.5 seconds, that’s 5.5 breathes a minute for a total of 5.5 liters of air. The wave comes, washes over and runs up, then turns around and recedes, back to the ocean.
BREATHING METHODS (video & audio tutorials available at mrjamesnestor.com/breath)
Alternate Nostril Breathing: Improves lung function & lowers heart rate, blood pressure, and sympathetic stress. Great to do before a meeting, an event, or sleep. Place thumb of R hand over R nostril & ring finger on L nostril (forefinger & middle finger rest on eyebrows).
· Close R nostril w thumb and inhale through L nostril very slowly. At top of breath pause briefly holding both nostrils closed, then lift the thumb to exhale through the R nostril. At natural conclusion of exhale hold both nostrils closed for a moment, then inhale through R nostril. Continue alternating breaths for 5-10 cycles. I Dr. Lisa like to think of inhaling the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control, Galatians 5:22) and true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). Then think of exhaling out stressors.
Breathing Coordination: Engages more movement from the diaphragm & increases respiratory efficiency. Never force the breath, as each should feel soft & enriching. Sit up straight.
· Take a gentle breath through the nose. At the top of the breath begin counting softly aloud from 1 to 10 over and over. As you reach the natural conclusion of the exhale, keep counting now in a whisper letting the voice softly trail out. 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 10 to 30 or more cycles. Once you feel comfortable doing this technique while sitting, try it while walking or jogging or other light exercise.
Resonant (Coherent) Breathing: A calming practice that places the heart, lungs & circulation into a state of coherence, working at peak efficiency. There is no more essential technique, and none more basic, & try to practice this technique as often as possible. (Several apps offer timers and visual guides, like free My Cardiac Coherence and Paced Breathing.)
· Sit up straight, relax the shoulders and belly, and exhale. Inhale softly for 5.5 seconds, expanding the belly as air fills the bott0m 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 10 times, more if possible.
Buteyko Breathing: This is training the body to breath in line with its metabolic needs, & for most of us this means breathing less. There are many methods, & almost all of them are based on extending the time between inhalations or exhalations, or breath-holding (do not do these while driving or conditions where you may injure yourself if you become dizzy). Patrick McKeown’s book, The Oxygenation Advantage offers many instructions on these techniques, and also www.consciousbreathing.com and www.breathingcenter.com.
CONTROL PAUSE (a diagnostic tool to gauge general respiratory health and breathing progress): It is important that the 1st breath after the Control Pause is controlled & relaxed. If it is labored or gasping, the breath-hold was too long. Wait several minutes and try again. The Control Pause should only be measured when you’re relaxed and breathing normally, never after strenuous exercise or during stressed states.
· Place a watch with a second hand or mobile phone with a stopwatch nearby. Sit up straight. Pinch both nostrils closed the thumb and forefinger of either hand, then exhale softly out of your mouth to the natural conclusion. Start the stopwatch and hold your breath. When you feel the 1st potent desire t breathe, note the time and take a soft inhale.
MINI BREATH-HOLDS: A key component of Buteyko breathing is to practice breathing less all the time, which is what this technique trains the body to do. Thousands swear by this to stave off anxiety and asthma attacks. And setting up timers throughout the day, like every 15 minutes or so, can be helpful reminders.
· Exhale gently and hold the breath for half the time of the Control Pause (so if your Control Pause is 40 seconds, the Mini Breath-hold would be 20). Repeat 100-500 times a day.
NOSE SONGS: Nitric oxide is a powerful molecule that widens capillaries, increases oxygenation, & relaxes smooth muscles. Humming increases the release of nitric oxide in the nasal passages 15-fold. This is the most effective method for increasing this essential gas. It may sound ridiculous, but its effect can be potent.
· Breathe normally through the nose and hum, any song or sound. Practice for at least 5 minutes a day, more if possible.
WALKING/RUNNING: This offers many of the benefits of high altitude training & are easy and can be practiced anywhere. Walk or run for a minute or so while breathing normally through the nose. Exhale and pinch the nose closed while keeping the same pace. When you feel a palpable air hunger, release the nose and breathe very gently, at about half of what feels normal for about 10-15 seconds. Return to regular breathing for 30 seconds. Repeat for about 10 cycles.
DECONGEST THE NOSE: Sit up straight and exhale a soft breath, then pinch both nostrils shut. Try to keep your mind off breath-holding: shake your head up & down or side to side; go for a quick walk, or jump or run. Once you feel a very potent sense of air hunger, take a slow and controlled breath through the nose. (If the nose is still congested, breathe softly through the mouth with pursed lips.) Continue this calm controlled breathing for least 30-60 seconds. Repeat all these steps 6 times.
Chewing: Hard chewing builds new bone in the face and opens airways, but most of us can’t gnaw for 2 hours a day, so try these. GUM: Chewing gum can strengthen the jaw and stimulate cell growth, & harder textures are best – like Falim (author likes sugarless Mint to be the most palatable), or Mastic Gum (can be nasty but offers rigorous jaw workout). ORAL DEVICES: Preventive Oral Device (POD) www.discoverthepod.com and www.drtheodorebelfore.com. PALATAL EXPANSION: Devices to expand palate and open airways, see specialist like www.inifinityspecialists.com.
Tummo: There are 2 forms of Tummo – one that stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, and another which triggers a parasympathetic response. Both work, but the former (popular by Wim Hof) is much more accessible. These must be practiced in a safe environment and consult your doctor/provider if you are pregnant or have a heart condition. Tummo takes some practice, and learning from written instructions can be confusion and difficult. Chuck McGee, Wim Hof Method instructor, offers free online sessions Monday evenings at 9pm pacific time (https://meetup.com/Wim-Hof-Method-Bay-Area) or personalized instruction, https://www.wimhofmethod.com/instructors/chuckmcgee-iii. Instructions for the calming version of Tummo meditation can be found at www.thewayofmeditation.comau/revealing-the-secrets-of-tibetan-inner-fire-meditation.
· Find a quiet place & lie flat on your back w a pillow under head (relax shoulders, chest, legs)
· Take 30 very deep very fast breaths into the pit of your stomach & let it back out (try breathe through nose, but if feels obstructed purse lips) – movement of each inhalation should look like a wave, filling up the stomach & softly moving through the lungs. Exhales follow same movement, 1st emptying stomach then chest as air pours through nose or pursed lips.
· At the end of 30 breaths, exhale to the natural conclusion, leaving about a quarter of the air in the lungs. Hold that breathe for as long as possible.
· Once you’ve reached your absolute breath-hold limit, take 1 huge inhale and hold for another 15 seconds. Very gently, move that fresh breath around the chest and to the shoulders, then exhale and start the heavy breathing again.
· Repeat the entire pattern at least 3 times.
Sudarshan Kriya: The most powerful technique the author has learned & one of the most involved and difficult to get through. It consists of 4 phases: Om chants, breath restriction, paced breathing (inhale 4 sec, hold 4 sec, exhale 6 sec, holding 2 sec), & finally 40 minutes heavy breathing. www.artofliving.org
Other Breathing Techniques that the author practices regularly.
YOGIC BREATHING (3 part): Phase 1
· Sit in chair or cross-legged & uprights in floor and relax shoulders
· Place one hand over navel & slowly breathe into belly. Feel the belly expand with each breath in, deflate with each breath out, & practice a few times.
· Next, move the hand up a few inches so is covering the bottom of the ribcage. Focus the breath into the location of the hand, expanding the ribs with each inhale, retracting them with each exhale. Practice for 3-5 breaths.
· Move the hand just below the collarbone. Breathe deeply into this area & imagine the chest spreading out and withdrawing with each exhale. Do this for a few breaths.
Phase 2
· Connect all these motions into one breath, inhaling into stomach, lower ribcage, and then chest.
· Exhale in the opposite direction, first emptying the chest, then the ribcage, then stomach. Feel free to use a hand and feel each area as you breathe in and out.
· Continue this same sequence for a dozen rounds. (AT 1st these motions seem awkward, but will quickly get easier.)
BOX BREATHING: Navy SEALS use this technique to stay calm and focused in tense situations. It’s simple.
· Inhale to a count of 4; hold 4; exhale 4; hold 4. Repeat.
Longer exhalations will elicit a stronger parasympathetic response. A variation of Box Breathing to more deeply relax the body that is especially effective before sleeping is:
· Inhale a count of 4; hold 4; exhale 6’ hold 2. Repeat
BREATH-HOLD WALKING: You can use this technique to increase carbon dioxide and thus increase circulation in the body. It’s not much fun but the benefits are many. The more you practice, the higher the count (author’s record is 45, but Anders Olsson’s record is 130.)
· Go to a grassy park, beach, or anywhere the ground is soft.
· Exhale all the breath, then walk slowly counting each step.
· Once you feel a powerful sense of air hunger, stop counting and take a few very calm breaths through the nose while still walking. Breathe normally for at least a minute then repeat the sequence.
4-7-8 BREATHING: This technique places the body into a state of deep relaxation. The author uses it on long flights to help fall asleep. (Dr. Andrew Weil offers a step by step instructional on YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz4G31LGyog)
· Take a breath in, then exhale through your mouth with a whoosh sound.
· Close the mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
· Hold for a count of 7.
· Exhale completely through your mouth, with a whoosh, to the count of 8.
· Repeat this cycle for at least 4 breaths.
