A Breath of Fresh Air: Which Way and Why?
If you were reading yesterday you would have taken a moment to notice the breath. Do you remember how you were breathing? How are you breathing as we speak today? Is your breath the same as yesterday? Perhaps you notice a little slower or faster breathing today?
I wonder, when noticing your breath as you were reading yesterday, and then again today, were you aware of any differences? Once again I wonder: were you mainly nose breathing or mouth breathing?
Why? As Patrick McKeown of Butekyo Clinic states, “The way we breathe influences functioning of airways, blood circulation and oxygen release to the cells…”
As an expert in the Buteyko Method McKeown acknowledges that over-breathing and prolonged increased breath volume over the life span effects our health in ways that can be overtly expressed as:
Furthermore, over a lifespan consistent or chronic mouth breathing can alter the facial structure. If we are to look at the faces of our clients, friends, families, most importantly in ourselves, we can read the structure to allow better understanding of ones habitual breathing patterns. This in turn allows us to deepen our understanding of Pranayama practice necessities.
When interviewed earlier this year McKeown acknowledged,
If the mouth is hanging open, the tongue is not able to rest in the roof of the mouth. Chronic mouth-breathers have a low resting tongue posture which leads to narrow jaws and overcrowding of teeth. It is even important to recognize that mouth breathing during childhood causes the face to sink downwards, meaning the jaws don’t develop adequately on the face. The result is increased risk of lifelong sleep-disordered breathing (including obstructive sleep apnea), poor academic performance, behavioural issues and a less attractive face….
Mckeown provided us with some of the science behind the breath and why it is imperative to make the change to nose breathing,
In 1995 it was discovered that nitric oxide (NO) production takes place in the paranasal sinuses, a group of four air-filled spaces surrounding the nasal cavity. As we breathe in through the nose, large amounts of NO are released within the nasal airways. Nitric oxide then follows airflow to the lungs where it helps to increase oxygen uptake in the blood.
It is also important to note the way we breathe will determine how well our bodies are oxygenated (according to the Bohr Effect, discovered in 1904). The heavier you breathe, the less oxygen is actually delivered throughout your body. Softly and gently breathing through the nostril’s is ideal for asana practice as well as pranayama.
Thus, when we are habitual mouth or over breathers, our holistic wellbeing is adversely affected. This pertinent to our discussion on Pranayama practice and the extension of energy for without acknowledging every aspect of breathing – whether consciously in practice or subconsciously in daily life (which affects the habits of sleep breath) – we are unable to holistically reverse the adverse effects of maladaptive breathing.
Watch As Patrick McKeown in his TEDx Talk discussing why “shutting your mouth can save your life”
The Question Remains: How?
Change is not as simple as the common discourse of “taking a deep breath”, however healthy functioning can begin to emerge by incorporating aspects of the Buteyko Method:
- Learning how to unblock the nose using breath hold exercises
- Switching from mouth breathing to nasal breathing
- Relaxation of the diaphragm and creating a mild air shortage
- Making small and easy lifestyle changes to assist with better long-term breathing methods
- Measuring your breathing volume and tracking your progress using a special breath hold test called the Control Pause
The goal of the Buteyko Method, and indeed that of Pranayama practice is:
“to bring your breathing back to basics and to incorporate the wisdom and time-tested principles of ancient man that are enshrined by authentic teachers…Learning slow, quiet, calm breathing allows operating systems to restore towards normal. This is the opposite to the commonly held belief of taking the “deep” (big) breath.” (McKeown, 2017)
The Practice of Pranayama: Breathing Your Way to Good Health
Once again we turn to world-renown breather Patrick McKeown of Butekyo Clinic as he reminds us that it is vital to pay attention to the understanding of the science and physiology of breathing. To know that although “many postures for Yoga emphasize restriction and retention of breath… Yogis understood the importance of very light breathing.” The light breath, often achieved through Nadhi Sodhana Pranayama, or alternate nostril breathing,
…concentrates the airflow to a small area. Slowing down and softening the breath as it is drawn through each nostril can create an air hunger… Slowing down the breath to create air hunger anchors the mind on the breath and activates the relaxation response.
To further our understanding of Nadhi Sodhana, if we understand alternate nostril breathing as:
Nadi = pathway through which the energy flows
Shodhana = cleansing
Pranayma = extending energy
We begin to understand that in the process of Nadi Sodhana we are cleansing the pathways, eliminating physiological toxins (i.e. cortisol) and thus extending all energy avenues.
The process of Nadi Sodhana Pranayama:
DO:
- Remember correct posture to open the diaphragm
- Use gentle hand mudras to control the opening of nostrils
- Only partially close the nostrils – mudras held to tightly will affect the nervous system and brain poorly (read why below)
- Block the flow of air by occlusion (by gently blocking the outside of the nostrils)
- Repeat cycles allowing your mind to follow the inhalation and exhalation process:
- Breathe in through partially closed left nostril
- Breathe out through partially closed right nostril
- Breathe in through partially closed left nostril
- Breathe out through partially closed right nostril
DON’T:
- Press the nare (side of the nose) into the septum in order to block the flow of air in that nostril. The problem is that pressure on the nerves inside the nostrils competes neurologically with the effect that the flow of air is meant to have on the nerves in the opposite nostril.
- Practice if your nostrils are blocked or if you have a cold. Nothing should ever be forced. So if they are blocked, practice Ujjayi instead.
Tomorrow we will discuss how the process of extending energy is also seen through other Pranayama Practices such as Ujjayi and Bhastrika. Though both of these practices have similar attunement and integrative benefits as Nadi Sodhana. Ujjayi offers a basis for noticing and coming back from the wandering mind to the breath whilst reducing heart rate when practiced correctly, while Bhastrika increases muscle strength, resilience and endurance.
