You have likely heard the quote, “Breath is life”…
What if I told you that your breathing ways are at least part of the reason why you feel gassy, bloated, anxious, depressed, out of sync with life, have brain fog, headaches, or even postural deficits?
I understand this. As a young child, I had mold sensitivities and allergies and suffered many horribly stuffy days and sleepless nights.
Growing out of allergies as a dancer and athlete, for years, I had breathing issues. I frequently felt a need to take a big inhalation. This kept me in a state of un-ease and on-going anxiety.
Hence, my interest in breath and breathing. And understanding the power of the “exhale”.
Do you have sleep apnea, asthma, CPOD, allergies, or just breathe “oddly” sometimes?
I really should ask you if you “breathe”. Because if you do, you want to read this book!
I can’t put, Breath,The New Science of a Lost Art, by James Nestor down. This book is chock full of incredible phenomenons and teachings!
And while I’m only half way done, I wanted to share the power that your breathing has on your physiology.
Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Pexels.com
Nestor explores the hidden science behind humans and their lost ability to breathe correctly. (For his research on this book he agreed to have his nostrils temporarily obstructed).
Hint: Are you a “mouth” breather?
Not optimal.
He tracks down a ton of research from pulmonary experts, as well as travels around the globe following those practicing ancient breathing techniques like pranayama, Tummo, and Sudarshan Kriya.
Very cool reading this after having my guest AJ teaching and practicing some of these same techniques at our live “Stress & Anxiety” group workshop a few days ago.
Some of my really cool learnings so far:
-The majority of the population suffers from some kind of breathing difficulty or resistance.
-90% of kids have acquired some degree of mouth and nose deformity.
-45% of adults snore occasionally.
-25% of the population snores constantly.
-25% of American adults over 39 choke on themselves because of sleep apnea (80% of moderate or severe cases are undiagnosed)
-A typical adult engages as little as 10% of the range of the diaphragm when breathing, which overburdens the heart, raises blood pressure and causes a rash of circulatory problems.
-Our lungs will lose about 12% capacity from age 30 – 50 and will continue to decline even faster as we get older than that. (women fare worse than men)
Our breathing effects all parts of our physiology:
-The right and lest nasal cavities work like an HVAC system, controlling temperature and blood pressure and feeding the brain chemicals to alter our moods, emotions, and sleep states.
-When you’re inhaling primarily through the right nostril (this one is the gas pedal or sympathetic nervous system), circulation speeds up, your body gets hotter, and cortisol levels, blood pressure and heart rate all increase.
-Inhaling through the left nostril has the opposite effect. It works like a brake system to the right, and connected to the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest side) that lowers temperature, blood pressure, cools the body and lowers anxiety. Left nostril breathing shifts blood flow to the opposite side of the prefrontal cortex where creative thoughts, and emotions live.
-The lungs are the “weight-regulating” system of the body. For every ten pounds of fat lost in your body, eight and a half of it comes out through the lungs; most of it is CO2 + water vapor. The rest is sweated or urinated out.
-The key to breathing, lung expansion and longevity is in the transformative power of a full exhalation.
Our internal organs are malleable and we can change them at any time!
Our breath has the power to change and to change our “way of being”.
If you have on-going issues with breathing and your health and healing, I may be able to help.
——–>>CLICK ON THIS LINK HERE<<——–
to hop on a call with me, so I can point you in the right direction.