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Why Is Breathing Important?

Breathing is essential to sustaining life. We can live for weeks without eating, days without drinking but only minutes without breathing. Yet how many of us breathe properly? A vital flow of oxygen into the body and the immediate expulsion of waste gases via the lungs make breathing the simplest and fastest way to positively change your physiology and mental state.

Breathwork (our ability to voluntary control and work with the breath) is used in a variety of different health promotion systems.

In the orthodox medical system breathing techniques are used to help people control anxiety states and help with respiratory disorders.

Complementary approaches, such as the Buteyko Method, can help alleviate symptoms of respiratory disease.

Breathwork is an integral part of traditional medical systems such as Ayurveda, whilst a whole arm of yoga is dedicated to ‘pranayama’ which is believed to clear and cleanse the body and mind. Indeed in this tradition it is believed that ‘prana’ (life force) is carried by air and therefore enters the body through the breath.

We often tell ourselves and others to, “Take a deep breathe” prior to, or after being in, a stressful or emotional situation. Therefore whether we are conscious of it or not breathing is commonly used to help us control our minds and our feelings.

How Do I Breathe More Effectively?

When we were babies we all naturally breathed well. If you watch an infant you can see their abdomen rise as they inhale and fall as they exhale. This is what is referred to as ‘abdominal breathing’. If you watch an adult you are unlikely to see much movement and if you do it’s likely to be the upper chest or shoulders that move with inhalation. Somehow we seem to move from being full breathers to becoming shallow ones.

For many people changing the way they breathe requires retraining the body. For everybody it certainly requires some level of focus and attention. Anyone who has taken the time to consciously breathe and retrain how they do it will tell you how much better you feel if you simply breathe well. Below is a simple breathing exercise. If you would like to be taught many therapists in many modalities can help you learn to breathe more effectively, including physiotherapists. Pranayama is often taught in Hatha Yoga classes and breathing is always an integral part of any relaxation class.

There are also many books containing breathing exercises.

Exercise: Start by looking in the mirror. Is the only part of you that moves as you breathe are your shoulders? If so you are breathing into the upper lungs only.

Now place your hands on your abdomen. As you breathe in and out observe your hands. Are they moving? Are they moving outwards with the in breathe and inwards with the out breathe? If so you are breathing effectively into the whole of the lungs. Most people need to train their abdomens to extend with inhalation and contract with exhalation. If this is you use your muscles as you inhale to consciously push your abdomen out and as you exhale consciously pull in and contract your muscles.

Try this for 10 cycles of breathe.

To retrain yourself this exercise needs to be done little and often. I often ask clients to use abdominal breathing to take a break from any stressful or emotional situations. Taking yourself to the loo, shutting your eyes and breathing is one of the most marvellous ways you can rebalance yourself. This technique works equally well to energetically prepare yourself (on a mentally and emotional level) for the day or any potential stressful event.

My favourite book contains simple and effective calming and energising exercises.

“The Little Book of Yoga Breathing- Pranayama Made Easy” by Scott Shaw.