Breathing Exercises
Everyone knows that breathing is essential to life but did you know that not everyone does it correctly? There is a tendency among many people to take small, rapid breaths using the muscles of the chest instead of breathing slowly and deeply with the muscles of the abdomen. This type of shallow chest breathing can cause a wide range of physical and mental symptoms.
Are you breathing properly?
The quality of your breathing can have an enormous effect on your physical and mental wellbeing. Here is a quick test you can do to determine if you are breathing correctly.
Sit up in a chair with your back straight. Place one hand on your chest and other on your abdomen. Breathe normally. Which hand rises up and down the most as you breathe? If your abdomen rises and your chest stays relatively flat, you are breathing properly, bit if your abdomen barely moves and your chest rises, then your breathe is too shallow.
Buteyko Breathing
I’ve tried many breathing techniques on myself and my patients and settled on the Buteyko method for four reasons: (1) it’s very easy and intuitive to do, (2) it’s backed up by solid scientific theory and research, (3) it’s effective for physical complaints such as pain and sleep disorders, and (4) it calms the mind.
Konstantin Buteyko commenced his medical training in Russia in 1946 at the First Medical Institute of Moscow. While at University Buteyko was diagnosed with malignant hypertension and was given a life expectancy of just 12 months. One evening in 1952 after suffering an anxiety attack he began wondering whether his deep breathing might be the cause of his condition. He checked this by slowing down his breathing. Within minutes his pain ceased. To confirm this he took five deep breaths and the pain returned. He again slowed down his deep breathing and the pain disappeared.
He did not appreciate it at the time, but this was one of the greatest, although as yet largely unacknowledged, medical discoveries of the twentieth century. Buteyko had realized that breathing was the cause of many of diseases of civilization, and thus could also be the cure.
He spent the rest of his life working on the theoretical aspects of his discovery at the Central and Lenin Medical Libraries where he devised a program to recondition patients to breath correctly. This involved:
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Switching from mouth breathing to nasal breathing.
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Relaxation of the diaphragm until an air shortage is felt.
Three breathing exercises
One. The Control Pause
Sit down with your back straight. Breathe normally for a few minutes. After a relaxed exhale, hold your breath. Use your index finger and thumb to plug your nose. Hold your breath until you feel the urge to breathe and then inhale. Breathe normally for at least 10 seconds. Repeat several times.
Two. Abdomen breathing
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Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor
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Place your hands on your abdomen
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Breathe in through your nose, counting to four. Picture a balloon in your belly that you're inflating with the air you are inhaling. Your hands should rise as your abdomen fills with air
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Hold the breath for a few seconds
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Exhale slowly through your nose counting to four. Picture letting the air out of your belly balloon. Your hands should go down as your abdomen deflates
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Practice this exercise for a minimum of five minutes at a time, at least two or three times a day.
Three. The Maximum Pause
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After a relaxed exhale, hold your breath
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Use your index finger and thumb to plug your nose
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Retain your breath for as long as possible (usually twice as long as the Control Pause)
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Once you’ve reached the point of moderate discomfort, inhale
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Breathe normally for at least 10 seconds
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Repeat several times
When practicing Buteyko breathing always breathe in and out through your nose. If at any time you experience anxiety, shortness of breath, or intense discomfort, discontinue the practice and breathe normally. As you progress, you may be able to hold your breath for longer periods. Over time, you may be able to hold the Control Pause for 1 minute and the Maximum Pause for 2 minutes.
Tummo Breathing
Dive into the ancient Tibetan practice of Tummo breathing, and discover how harnessing your inner fire can ignite mindfulness and transform your well-being. Explore its history, benefits, and the step-by-step method to get started on your journey to inner balance and tranquility.
How to perform tummo
Sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed and your hands on your stomach. Sit quietly for a few minutes relaxing your mind. I suggest starting
Visualize your navel as being a hollow balloon with a ball of fire inside. Continue this visualization throughout the meditation.
Inhale deeply through the nose, leaning backward slightly and expanding the torso and chest. Imagine the oxygen in the breath fuelling the fire inside, causing it to become bigger and hotter.
Exhale forcefully through the mouth while pursing the lips, as though blowing through a straw. Curl the spine forward and imagine the flame spreading its heat through the body.
Repeat this pattern five times imagining the heat building. After the fifth inhalation, swallow gently and focus on how that holds the breath below the diaphragm.
Contract the pelvic floor muscles, holding the breath between the diaphragm and the pelvic floor. Hold this breath for as long as possible, then exhale and relax the muscles.
Repeat this pattern a few times.
The benefits of tummo breathing
One of the goals of tummo is to raise body temperature, and this may or may not be important for you. Tummo breathing has other benefits too. From the view of someone with fibromyalgia, the main thing about tummo breathing is a deeper appreciation of the mind-body connection. It can also help us cultivate clearer thoughts, boost learning and memory, reduce stress, depression, anxiety, and insomnia.
I’m Dr. Rodger Douglas, DMH, a South African-born homeopath now based in Osaka, Japan. With a psychology degree from Nelson Mandela University and a diploma from the Hahnemann College of Heilkunst, I specialize in holistic care for fibromyalgia. I serve clients by phone or video across the US, Canada, the UK, and beyond.