Breathe Well

Join me for a complimentary Yoga Class & Nidra
Tues 6:00-7:30pm pdt
All Levels are welcome Here is the zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/284954703

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Welcome to week 4 of the Be Well Series – Breathe Well. 

Normally, we breathe without thinking about it. Most people don’t really give much thought to breathing, unless of course if they are all stuffed up with allergies, have asthma or some respiratory illness. Breathing obviously is important and HOW we do it can make a big difference in the quality of our health. COVID-19 is a respiratory illness, and since the virus firsts infects our nasal and throat cavities, I thought we should talk a little about our breath. 

Thank goodness our autonomic nervous system takes care of breathing for us so it happens automatically. If we had to remember to breathe for each breath we take, it would be a full-time job! The average person takes 15,000-20,000 breaths a day!  Just think, if we can bring a little attention to our breath, with a little bit of consciousness and training, we have 15,000-20,000 opportunities to improve our health. Wow! What a difference that could make! 
 
There are a few key ideas that I want to share, to inspire you to breathe well.

• Breathe through your nose, not your mouth.  The nose is not just for decoration! The mouth is designed for eating and speaking, but not breathing. While you can obviously breathe through your mouth, its not its primary function. The nose on the other hand is optimally designed for breathing. 
  • The nose filters and warms the air before it reaches the lungs, so when the air reaches your lungs it is clean and warm.
  • The nose also filters out many viruses before they have a chance to enter your body and cause illness.  When you are in public places, make a special effort to breathe through your nose so your body has a chance to filter out bad viruses.
  • As you breathe through your nose, nitric oxide is mixed with your breath. Nitric oxide is a smooth muscle dilator, which aids in opening up the upper airways and increasing the absorption of oxygen.  This action, increases circulation throughout the entire body as well. A well-oxygenated body with healthy circulation will be more resilient against infection. In addition, there is some research that may suggest that nitric oxide can also aid in fighting off viruses like SARS. Here is a link with more information. https://buteykoclinic.com/corona-virus/
• Breathe less – skip the big breath.  We have been taught to take a big breath in yoga and in life with the idea that breathing in more air brings more oxygen to the tissues. Ironically, science shows otherwise! Breathing is a delicate chemical process. When you take a big breath it’s like flooding your engine. You get the oxygen but lack the right combination and ratio of CO2 and Nitric Oxide to carry that oxygen to the cells in your body, unless of course if you are running sprints. Overbreathing can exacerbate and even cause health issues.
  • While in public areas, slowing down your breathing will aid your body’s ability to fight off infection.
• We can use our breath to calm our minds. Yoga Sutras say:  where the breath goes, the mind follows. So, if your mind is overactive with worry and stress, check your breathing! Is your breathing shallow and fast?  Is your breath in your upper chest?  If we calm our breath and slow it down, the mind will follow.
• You can improve your breath!  Whether you are concerned about your respiratory health due to COVID-19 or you have asthma or some other respiratory challenge, know that you can improve your breath by using the Buteyko Method.  We’ll be practicing some of these techniques in class on Tuesday night. You can also access a great primer video by going here: https://buteykoclinic.com/corona-virus/

 
There is so much more to explore about the breath and pranayama than I have time to cover in this brief newsletter.  If you are interested in learning more please visit: https://buteykoclinic.com/.  Also, Robin Rothenberg, founder of Essential Yoga Therapy (https://essentialyogatherapy.com/about) has a brand new book, Restoring Prana, which goes into great detail regarding proper breathing and yoga. 

Shut your mouth :)
 
May you be at peace and healthy,
Andrea