The Correct Breathing Technique

Breathing Basics by Mark Webster

Pause. Recover. Introduction. In this eBook  you can learn about better breathing. Breathing is a behaviour, and a simple way to in uence your health. Breathing mechanics evolved many, many thousands of years ago so there is a right way to breath, and a wrong way to breath. Wrong breathing affects you in a negative way, producing unwanted symptoms such as:    • Stress   • Worry   • Chest Pain   • Tension If you learn to breathe in the right way then these problems will go away. It just takes 10 minutes practice per day to start with. Are you ready? Body Fuel. You can look at breathing in a similar way to a car engine. Fuel goes into the engine, which is combusted and then blown out of the exhaust. In the case of humans the fuel we breathe is oxygen and the exhaust we breathe out is carbon dioxide (CO2). Our lungs have evolved to extract oxygen from the inhalation and to exhale CO2. Combustion Your muscles work when engaged in activity or exercise. Oxygen is then combusted, and converted into CO2. If you start to exercise more then more CO2 is created. Normally speaking it is the detection of the CO2 that makes you breath in more oxygen and start breathing faster and more deeply. A part of your brain keeps this in balance, making sure you have the right amount of energy that you need. If it gets out of balance either way then problems start to develop. Breathing Basics

Pause. Recover. Breathing Mechanics. Stressful situations can interfere with normal breathing mechanics. In normal or healthy breathing then the diaphragm lifts the ribcage sideways and up. Air is drawn down into the bottom of the lungs, and the shape of the lungs creates a natural circulation of air. The energy conversion takes place in small air pockets dotted around the outsides of the lungs, called alveoli. Effects of Stress In stressful situations something else happens. Stress creates muscle tension in the xed diaphragm. Then, instead of the ribcage lifting from the bottom and opening, it stays and static. Air is pulled into the top of the lungs instead of the bottom and does not circulate well. This means that good air does not reach the alveoli and so less fuel is available. The whole cycle of oxygen and CO2 gets interrupted. Without the  correct balance of fuel  your system does not function properly and symptoms start to show up. Fight or Flight. If the situation is stressful enough then it might lead directly into a ght or ight reaction. This takes everything to a whole other level and is covered in a separate eBook. In simple terms ght or ight is the arousal response to the presence of a predator, as in hunter/gatherer times. The body instantly prepares for sudden action, with a rapid increase in breathing rate to provide the energy needed. It would have been an adaptive reaction in the past, however in the present there is no predator so your body is put into a massive imbalance. Either you will be heavily over breathing, but not from the diaphragm, or hardly breathing at all as in the freeze response. Both ways are bad for your energy balance, and  your breathing needs to be remedied. Breathing Basics

Pause. Recover. Techniques. We are going to look at 3 techniques to develop your breathing in a progressive way. You will need to practice 10 minutes a day for this to work. Safety Note Before you start to practice please understand that these exercises are perfectly safe. There is a very, very small chance that you might feel panic symptoms when you practice, or other physical symptoms. If the practice becomes too dif cult then you are advised to stop and speak to a quali ed person before trying breathing exercises again.  This is, however, very rare and if you are able to stay with the exercises they will only bene t you, in the same way that eating a good diet does: Breathing Basics

Pause. Recover. 1 . Correct Breathing Mechanics. Since so many of us lead stressful lives in the modern world then it is helpful to practice correct breathing.  Diaphragm Movement The diaphragm operates like a set of bellows, which is manipulated by the stomach muscles all the way down to the lower abdomen. Therefore the belly expands, like a balloon, on the in breath and contracts on the out breath. A simple way to practice this is by placing your hands on the very bottom of the ribcage, half holding your belly area. Simply just notice the movement on the inbreathe, feeling the rise and expansion of the area as you breath in, and feeling it contract as you breath out. Posture Adjust your posture so that you are sitting up straight. Lying down at is ne too. You don't have to sit cross legged on the oor but really make sure that your diaphragm is free to move. Just experiment for a few minutes with sitting up straight and slowly allowing yourself to breathe from the belly area. Just imagine that this area is like a balloon which lls up on the in breath and then de ates on the out breath. Follow the rhythm of the breath.  Breathing Basics

Pause. Recover. Nose Breathing Once you have got going with that and your breathing has settled into a rhythm then see if you can breathe in and out through the nose, or even just in through the nose. This is like the tip of the bellows and optimises your breathing mechanics, drawing more breath into the bottom of your lungs and creating better circulation. Practice Time Feel free to practice with this until you get the hang of it. If you feel a bit light headed then that is perfectly natural as you are now getting more oxygen to your body and nding a better balance. It’s good to practice for at least ve minutes and preferably 10, even at this stage. Use a timer to help with practice and build up slowly. Start using a Timer You will bene t from having a timer with a sound which you feel ok with. This might be a ticking clock, though these can be a bit feint. I use a free metronome app and set it to 60 beats per minute. These usually allow you to control what type of sound that you have and also the tone. Having it on the smart phone makes it portable, and you can practice with earphones on when in public without being noticed.  Check List   • Practice Space    • Belly Movement   • Nose   • 5 minutes   • Timer Breathing Basics

Pause. Recover. 2. Balanced Breathing. Once you have learned to breathe with the correct mechanics then it is time to create a balanced breathing pattern. In the main this means breathing in and out for the same length of time. I recommend 6 seconds in and 6 seconds out as a good standard to aim for. Research shows this is very near the optimum, which is 5.5 seconds (hard to time!). Timing As before you need to nd a time and place where you can do the practice for up to 10 minutes. With this exercise you will need a way of hearing the seconds so you can count. Metronome apps are free. There are also clock apps and timer apps, so just choose what is best for you. From here in a good timer is essential.  Twelve Second Cycle Once you are sat down with a sound to help you keep time then just start breathing in to the count of 6 seconds, then breathing out to the count of 6 seconds. if 6 seconds is too much to start with then adjust down to the number you can comfortably do (say 4 seconds each way, even 3) and then wait until you are settled at that rate. As time goes by, and using your own intuition, then increase the cycle length by one second and repeat (settle at 6 seconds). Start with a 3 minute practice minimum and build from there. The most important thing is to complete the practice period. Adjusting Your body will get used to the new rate of breathing if you allow yourself to settle. There is no need to ‘try’ anything as your body has natural mechanisms developed over thousands of years and will be perfectly ne on a 6/6 cycle. It's also a good practice to take a really deep breath every now and then. If you want to stop at any time, just stop but see out the practice period so you get used to it. You might need to experiment whilst your body adjusts.  Breathing Basics

Pause. Recover. Lag It may not feel easy or balanced straight away as there is a ‘lag’ whilst your body recognises that you are breathing in a different way. Usually the lag takes at least 2 minutes before you adjust to the new level. As you practice and gain more experience then you will see how predictably this happens. Build up to 10 minutes before trying the next exercise. It will get easier the more that you practice. Daily Practice You are re-training your breathing so this needs to be a daily practice. See if you can nd a regular place and time in your daily routines so that you have the best chance of bene tting. When you practice set the time in advance and sit still in silence for whatever you decide to do. It does not matter how little you begin with so long as it is consistent. Improvement will naturally follow practice, and there is no hurry. Think of this whole process as taking up to 3 months for your body to adjust back to healthy breathing. However you breathe now has become a well established habit, and change like this takes time.  Check List   • Ticking App   • 6 in, 6 out   • Aim for 10 Minutes   • Build Slowly Breathing Basics

Pause. Recover. 3. Breathing for Calm. You may experience a calming effect as you extend the balanced breathing to 10 minutes. This next exercise is really way of taking the previous exercise and working on the calming response mechanism more directly. Please make sure you are comfortable with 10 minutes of balanced breathing on a 6 second cycle before moving on to this one. Box Breathing This exercise is sometimes called ‘box’ breathing and if you look it up on the Internet you will be able to see how it is being used to help military personnel stay calm under pressure. I learned this  from one of my patients over 20 years ago. The exercise comes from a person who was a singer, and is used to develop diaphragm control in singing (I am told). Inhale and Hold, Exhale and Hold Basically it is counting as before except over a cycle of 8 seconds inhale and 8 seconds exhale. The difference this time is that you inhale for a count of 4 then hold for 4, then exhale for 4 and then hold for 4. Hence the box. Once you can do this for 10 minutes then move up to a 5 count for each phase of the box. This is breathing at 3 breaths per minute. Now build up to 20 minutes per day and your body will be there! Building Up You can ease yourself into the practice by starting with a longer breath and a shorter hold, say 6/2 and 6/2. Make sure you are happy with the 6 count in exercise two before you start the breath hold, as it is harder with the hold.  Once you start box breathing you may notice at times that you want to breath more, or to breath less. It's important to follow your intuition on this one, and then come back to the chosen cycle when you feel ready. It is ne and normal to want to take a deeper breath, and if that feels right then just do it. Deep breaths are a normal part of the adjustment process. Breathing Basics

Pause. Recover. The BOX Calming Down Breathing in this way evokes the para-sympathetic nervous system which is the opposite of the ght or ight system (sympathetic). It basically says to your body that you are safe. It is time to rest, digest and repair yourself. It is sometimes called the soothing response, and is hard wired into you from evolution.  Even More Soothing If you want to make it even more soothing then make a small smile by crinkling the corners of your eyes, and gently lifting the corners of your mouth. These are more signals to the body that you are safe, and everything is ok. Your body will take care of the rest, and ‘trying’ will not help. Just allow your physiology to do the work. Learning to let go and trust your body is really important, and over time your results will improve.  Breathing Basics

Pause. Recover. Practice with a Warm Up The rst few times you try this exercise I suggest that you start with 2 or 3 minutes of exercise two like a warm up. Then feed in the ‘hold’ part of the breathing exercise. As you get used to this then increase the overall length of the practice up to 20 minutes and you will really start feeling the effects of the soothe response. 20 minutes with the full 20 second box is the gold standard. This will train your body so that you will be ready to use your new skills in combat. Prepare for Combat In kayaking when people learn to roll  back up then the skill needs to be done without thinking (otherwise you swim). Practice at rst takes place in a nice comfortable environment like a pool, then moves on to a lake. Roll practice is done every time you go out so that when you capsize on a really nasty white water river the skill is automatic- no thinking required (no swims). We call this being able to do a 'combat' roll meaning in dif cult circumstances. It is the same with your breathing practice. Don't think this will work in combat when you have panic feelings in a real life situation. If you haven't done the work, then it won't work! Check List   • Warm up with 6/6   • Hold for 4 then 5   • Adjust the Hold   • Wait to Settle   • Gentle Smile   • Prepare for Combat Breathing Basics

Pause. Recover. Informal Practice. You can practice parts of these exercises during the day for shorter times. If you are sitting on a bus or standing in a queue then merely focusing on the breath through your nose is a simple, short moment to return to awareness of the breath. You can do that almost anytime or anywhere. Practice does not have to be formal. Paying attention to your posture and sitting up straight only takes a moment but with practice will turn into a good habit for your diaphragm. With a few seconds more you can rest your hand on your stomach and notice the rise and fall of the breathing. It’s always there. Improved Health.  Breathing in the right way will improve your health at all levels. It is helpful for your physical wellbeing and also for your mental wellbeing. If you practice then the bene ts will come, and your life will improve as your breathing improves.  Breathing Basics