THE THE ART OF BREATHING WELL 

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“Breath inhaled through the nose kept the body strong, made the face beautiful, and prevented disease.” —James Nestor

ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE HELPS MODERN CITIZENS  

It’s June 1997, and I’m with a group of eight other adults in our teacher’s basement in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where we’ve gathered after work for our weekly yoga class. Over the next ninety minutes, our teacher, JoHanna, leads us through an excessive number of sun salutations, head (or shoulder) stands, fast nasal breathing, and slow belly breathing before we finally get to Śavāsana—the pose of the dead and my favorite posture of the class. In Śavāsana, we lay still for ten minutes, allowing no movement of the mind or body. “This conscious relaxation invigorates and refreshes both body and mind,” writes yoga master B. K. S. Iyengar. He goes on to say, “It is harder to keep the mind still than the body. Hence this apparently easy posture is one of the most difficult to master.” For us the difficulty begins with our unsuccessful attempts to prevent falling asleep.

Just before Śavāsana, we practiced Prānāyāma, the rhythmic control of the breath, which according to Iyengar keeps internal systems of the body “in a state of health and perfection.” It would take me decades of experimentation with various breathing methods—recommended primarily for quieting the mind—before I would begin to understand the full spectrum of benefits that breathing well confers. 

BREATHING WELL LEADS TO IMPRESSIVE BENEFITS

It turns out that I was not alone in not appreciating the power of breathing well. Writer and author of Breath, James Nestor, spent a decade researching and writing about the “lost art of breathing” upon noticing the significant mental and physical improvements he experienced after taking an introductory breathing class.

As Nestor learned early on, breathing is involuntary. If we try to hold our breath for more than a few seconds, an overpowering force compels us to breathe. Our breathing is also autonomous. It operates without direction, automatically speeding up when increased activity demands more oxygen and slowing down when inactivity requires less. This phenomenon enables us to live our entire lives without paying attention to how or how well we breathe. But what the yogis discovered and perfected 5,000 years ago, and what modern science has confirmed, is that the practice of Prānāyāma—conscious prolongation of inhalation, retention, and exhalation of the breath—develops a steady mind, increased energy, and optimally functioning bodily systems for respiration, circulation, and nourishment.

Unfortunately, in modern times, 90 percent of us take shallow, unconscious breaths when we breathe. It takes the average person just 3.3 seconds to inhale and exhale rather than a fuller 11 seconds when inhalation and exhalation is prolonged. The short, shallow cycle causes us to inhale small volumes of oxygen and exhale small volumes of carbon dioxide. Shallow breathing also suppresses blood circulation by reducing the pressure used to propel blood from the chest cavity to the rest of the body. Contrast that with deep breathing, where oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide release, and chest cavity pressure are five to seven times greater than that of shallow breathing—an increase that favorably boosts gas exchange and circulation throughout our entire body.

We assume that breathing is a passive action—just something that we do. Most medical professionals believe that autonomous bodily processes like breathing can’t be intentionally changed. But as Nestor and others discovered, we can use specific breathing techniques to train our breathing and learn how to breathe well intentionally.

There are many ways to accomplish this. Three foundational techniques for breathing well are described in the chart below. These three techniques alone—when used regularly—have the power to transform our breathing, improve our minds, and significantly increase our health.

FUNDAMENTAL TECHNIQUES FOR BREATHING WELL

MASTERING THE ART OF BREATHING WELL

It would be exceedingly nice if we could master 5,000-year-old breathing techniques by taking a class or two, but we can’t. Iyengar noted that without good guidance in his own Prānāyāma training, “Failures and errors taunted my body, mind, and self for a number of years.” Yet as Nestor discovered, the benefits of breathing well—such as positive moods, increased energy, and pain relief—can be experienced soon after training begins.

As with other advanced health-building techniques, accessing the information and support needed to master the art of breathing well can be difficult and expensive, but the High Health Network makes it easy and affordable. As James Nestor notes, breathing well is a force, a medicine, a mechanism through which superhuman power can be obtained. If you want to master these and other extraordinary health-building methods, contact us to find out how.

Joyce M. Young, MD, MPH
Managing Director, Advanced Wellness Systems
Lead Expert for the High Health Network

 Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels

Sincerely,

Your colleagues at Advanced Wellness Systems