Do you run out of breath or feel weak or hot while doing daily activities? Do you think that you can control your breathing? Would you like to know what breathing is all about? If so, maybe this pearl can help you breathe a little easier.
A Breath of Fresh Air:
Holding your breath is not a good idea! When you breathe in you supply your red blood cells with the oxygen. When you breathe out you remove the carbon dioxide byproduct from our lungs and heat from our body. There are many theories on how to breath properly, but the best approach is to just let your body decide and augment it when necessary.
In the past I have tried to rationally control my breathing, according to the “breathing gurus”, but to no avail. I finally realized that my breathing is usually under control whether I rationally think about it or not. The fact is that our body naturally controls our breathing and doesn’t need rational control under normal circumstances. It is only when we: physically overdo it, emotionally react, or shallow breath that we need rational control. This pearl’s purpose is to help you realize that your breathing is just fine and doesn’t need much rational control—but it does need some, which can make a huge difference in the way you feel.
Types of Breathing:
NOT; holding your breath: You shouldn’t hold your breath unless you’re under water. Most people hold their breath when lifting something, are stressed out or when doing strenuous exercises—not helpful.
SHALLOW breathing occurs when we take a series of short breaths that makes us feel weak, lightheaded or overheated—it takes 1.5 to 2.5 seconds per breath.
PANTING is just fast shallow breathing—it takes 1 to 2 seconds per breath.
NATURAL breathing is when our body is in control and we get sufficient oxygenation—it takes about 4 seconds per breath.
DEEP breathing is when we naturally (yawning/sighing) or consciously fully breathing in to fully expand our lungs followed by fully breathing out; there are two types:
LONG DEEP breathing is when we take in a deep breath in, which fully expands our lungs followed by a slow exhale—it takes 5 to 7 seconds per breath. It is helpful when exercising and after realizing that we’ve been shallow breathing.
SHORT DEEP breathing is the same as long deep breathing, but with a quick exhale—it takes 3 to 4 seconds per breath and can be used when doing anything that natural breathing can’t support.
Being Mindful of your Breathing:
You can’t be mindful of your breathing 24/7, but it is important to breathe mindfully. For example, breathe OUT, not in, when using your legs to lift something heavy—making a sound as you breathe out makes the lift seem easier. And when exercising, you should time the exercise with long deep breaths to keep your muscles oxygenated and strong. Mindful breathing also includes taking a few long deep breaths before walking up a hill or a flight of stairs or doing anything strenuous.
When Breathing NATURALLY, breathe in and out through your nose to keep the air in your lungs and sinuses moist and warm. Breathing in and out through your mouth exposes your throat and lungs to cooler drier air causing breathing difficulties while awake and can cause sleep apnea when asleep—also, avoid sleeping on your back to avoid sleep apnea.
Bottom Line: To get enough oxygen, breathe naturally most of the time, including yawning or sighing and rationally take a deep breath when needed, especially if you are shallow breathing.
When SPEAKING, we should breathe in through our nose and out through our mouth. Avoid breathing in through your mouth because it interrupts the flow of your speech and dries you out. Speaking also expels body water through your lungs; so it is best to replenish that water for long speeches.
When EXERCISING, synchronize it with your breathing by taking a long deep breath with each step of the exercise. This is the basis for healthy exercising in the “Productive Lower Body Exercises” and “Productive Upper Body Exercises” later in this series. When doing aerobic exercises, don’t do a strenuous exercise for more than 30 seconds. If you do, your muscles will throw off free radicals, which are negatively charged, highly reactive atoms or compounds that can make you age faster and promote heart attacks, stroke and cancer. Use a 3-step approach when doing aerobic exercises: 1) run at a fast pace for 30 seconds (hopefully taking short deep breaths); 2) jog at a moderate pace for 30-60 seconds; and finally, 3) walk naturally (arms swinging naturally at your sides) for the next 30-60 seconds—repeat these three-stage aerobics as many times as desired. Also, if you pant when you run, you are overdoing it and weakening instead of strengthening your muscles—use 3-step approach.
STOP SHALLOW Breathing: Shallow breathing limits your oxygen intake throughout the day. Thus, it is important to be mindful of your when you are shallow breathing—just be aware of feeling weak or lightheaded. You need to identify when and where you do shallow breathing and replace it with deep or natural breathing. For example, I shallow breathe when washing the dishes, entering data into my computer, or doing anything tedious.
Keep Your LUNGS Healthy by avoiding breathing in smoke or dust of any kind—wear a mask when working with harsh chemicals or dusty materials or when with smokers. Get your two lung pneumonia shots if you tend to get pneumonia, bronchitis, etc. If you tend to pant after walking up hills, stairs, etc., try taking 2-3 long deep breaths before ascending and during the ascent. If this doesn’t help your lungs are in need of repair, which is accomplished by taking the “Pneumotrophin” protomorphogin—refer to “The Wonderful World of Protomorphogins” pearl for specifics.
Bottom Line on Breathing:
Be ware of when you shallow breathe and instead, take one or two long deep breaths followed by natural breathing.
Don’t overly exert yourself when exercising and synchronize each exercise with a long deep breath.
Don’t do a strenuous aerobic exercise for more than 30 seconds and follow it up with less and less strenuous exercises—use the 3-step approach.
Take a long deep breath when you are about to strain yourself, walk up stairs or hills, pick up something heavy, etc.
Do whatever is necessary to make your lungs healthier, especially if they are in need of repair.
We can’t be mindful of our breathing 24/7, especially if we shallow breathe or overly exerting ourselves. But it is important to breathe mindfully so that we have plenty of energy and avoid harming our bodies.
I hope that this pearl on mindful breathing has given you some helpful information on how to better oxygenate your body and live a healthier, more energetic, less fatigued life. The next part of this series discusses “Productive Lower Body Exercises” using synchronized breathing to maintain a strong, healthy lower body with improved balance and stamina with less pain.