Why is Breathing Important?

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Misty L. Trepke

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Why is Breathing Important?

 

http://www.healingfidylyoga.com/articles/breathing.htm

 

Breathing is important for two reasons. It is the only means to

supply our bodies and its various organs with the supply of oxygen

which is vital for our survival. The second function of breathing is

that it is one means to get rid of waste products and toxins from the

body.

 

Why Is Oxygen So Vital?

 

Oxygen is the most vital nutrient for our bodies. It is essential

for the integrity of the brain, nerves, glands and internal organs.

We can do without food for weeks and without water for days, but

without oxygen, we will die within a few minutes. If the brain does

not gets proper supply of this essential nutrient, it will result in

the degradation of all vital organs in the body.

 

The brain requires more oxygen than any other organ. If it doesn't

get enough, the result is mental sluggishness, negative thoughts and

depression and, eventually, vision and hearing decline. Old people

and those whose arteries are clogged often become senile and vague

because oxygen to the brain is reduced. They get irritated very

quickly.

 

Poor oxygen supply affects all parts of the body. The oxygen supply

is reduced to all parts of the body as we get older due to poor

lifestyle. Many people need reading glasses and suffer hearing

decline in old age.

 

When an acute circulation blockage deprives the heart of oxygen, a

heart attack is the result. If this occurs to the brain, the result

is a stroke.

 

For a long time, lack of oxygen has been considered a major cause of

cancer. Even as far back as 1947, work done in Germany showed that

when oxygen was withdrawn, normal body cells could turn into cancer

cells.

 

Similar research has been done with heart disease. It showed that

lack of oxygen is a major cause of heart disease, stroke and cancer.

The work done at Baylor University in the USA has shown that you can

reverse arterial disease in monkeys by infusing oxygen into

the diseased arteries.

 

Thus, oxygen is very critical to our well-being, and any effort to

increase the supply of oxygen to our body and especially to the

brain will pay rich dividends. Yogis realized the vital importance

of an adequate oxygen supply thousands of years ago. They developed

and perfected various breathing techniques. These breathing

exercises are particularly important for people who have sedentary

jobs and spend most of the day in offices. Their brains are oxygen

starved and their bodies are just `getting by'. They feel tired,

nervous and irritable and are not very productive. On top of that,

they sleep badly at night, so they get a bad start to the next day

continuing the cycle. This situation also lowers their immune system,

making them susceptible to catching colds, flu and other `bugs'.

 

Oxygen Purifies the Blood Stream

 

One of the major secrets of vitality and rejuvenation is a purified

blood stream. The quickest and most effective way to purify the

blood stream is by taking in extra supplies of oxygen from the air

we breathe. The breathing exercises described in here are the most

effective methods ever devised for saturating the blood with extra

oxygen.

 

Oxygen bums up the waste products (toxins) in the body, as well as

recharging the body's batteries (the solar plexus). In fact, most of

our energy requirements come not from food but from the air we

breathe.

 

By purifying the blood stream, every part of the body benefits, as

well as the mind. Your complexion will become clearer and brighter

and wrinkles will begin to fade away. In short, rejuvenation will

start to occur.

 

Medical Science Verifies Oxygen's Importance

 

Scientists have discovered that the chemical basis of energy

production in the body is a chemical called Adenosine Triphosphate

(ATP). If something goes wrong with the production of ATP, the

result is lowered vitality, disease and premature ageing.

 

Scientists have also discovered that oxygen is critical for the

production of ATP; in fact, it is its most vital component.

 

Yoga permits us to tap into this vital nutrient.

 

Importance of Healthy Breathing

 

We know how to breathe. It is something that occurs to us

automatically, spontaneously, naturally. We are breathing even when

we are not aware of it. So it seems foolish to think that one can be

told how to breathe. Yet, one's breathing becomes modified and

restricted in various ways, not just momentarily, but habitually. We

develop unhealthy habits without being aware of it. We tend to

assume positions (slouched positions) that diminishes lung

capacities and take shortened breaths. We also live in social

conditions that is not good for the health of our respiratory

system.

 

As discussed above, scientists have known for a long time that there

exists a strong connection between respiration and mental states.

Improper breathing produces diminished mental ability. The corollary

is true also. It is known that mental tensions produce restricted

breathing.

 

A normally sedentary person, when confronted with a perplexing

problem, tends to lean forward, draw his arms together, and bend his

head down. All these body postures results in reduced lung capacity.

The more intense the concentration, the more tense the muscles

become. The muscles in the arms, neck and chest contract. The

muscles that move the thorax and control inhalation and muscular

tenseness clamp down and restrict the exhalation. The breaths become

shorter and shorter. After an extended period of intense focusing,

the whole system seems to be frozen in a certain posture.

 

We become fatigued from the decreased circulation of the blood and

from the decreased availability of oxygen for the blood because we

have almost stopped breathing. As our duties, responsibilities and

their attendant problems become more demanding, we develop

habits of forgetting to breathe.

 

Try an experiment suggested by Swami Vishnudevananda. Focus

attention upon the ticks of a clock placed at a distance of about

twelve feet. If you get distracted, try concentrating harder until

you experience the ticking with undivided attention. If you fail at

first, you should try again and again until you succeed in keeping

the ticking clearly in mind for at least a few seconds. What

happened? The majority of persons who took part in this experiment

reported that they have completely suspended the breath. The others,

who had less concentration, reported that they experienced very slow

breathing. This experiment shows clearly that where there is

concentration of the mind,the breathing becomes very slow or even

get suspended temporarily.

 

What's Wrong With The Way We Breathe?

 

Our breathing is too shallow and too quick. We are not taking in

sufficient oxygen and we are not eliminating sufficient carbon

dioxide. , As a result, our bodies are oxygen starved, and a toxic

build-up occurs. Every cell in the body requires oxygen and our

level of vitality is just a product of the health of all the

cells.

 

Shallow breathing does not exercise the lungs enough, so they lose

some of their function, causing a further reduction in vitality.

 

Animals which breathe slowly live the longest; the elephant is a

good example.

 

We need to breathe more slowly and deeply. Quick shallow breathing

results in oxygen starvation which leads to reduced vitality,

premature ageing, poor immune system and a myriad of other factors.

 

Why Is Our Breath Fast and Shallow?

 

There are several reasons for this. The major reasons are:

 

We are in a hurry most of the time. Our movements and breathing

follow this pattern. The increasing stress of modern living makes us

breathe more quickly and less deeply. We get too emotional too

easily. We get excited easily, angry easily, and most of the rest of

the time we suffer from anxiety due to worry. These negative

emotional states affect the rate of breathing, causing it to be fast

and shallow. Modern technology and automation reduces our need for

physical activity. There is less need to breathe deeply, so we

develop the shallow breathing habit. We are working indoors more

and more. This increases our exposure to pollution. As a result, the

body instinctively inhales less air to protect itself from

pollution. The body just takes in enough air to tick over.

As we go through life, these bad breathing habits we picked up

become part of our life. Unless we do something to reverse these

habits, we can suffer permanent problems. The good news is that

these are reversible. The bad news is that before we can change

these habits, we should recognize and accept that our behavior needs

to be changed. This means that we see for ourselves the benefits of

good breathing techniques.

 

The Effects of Shallow Breathing

 

Reduced vitality, since oxygen is essential for the production of

energy in the body. Increased disease. Our resistance to disease is

reduced, since oxygen is essential for healthy cells. This means we

catch more colds and develop other ailments more easily. Lack of

sufficient oxygen to the cells is a major contributing factor in

cancer, heart disease and strokes. With our 'normal' sedentary way

of living, we only use about one tenth of our total lung capacity.

This is sufficient to survive and just tick over, but not sufficient

for a high vitality level, long life and high resistance to disease.

 

The ancient yogis knew the importance of correct breathing and

developed techniques not only to increase health and life span, but

also to attain superconscious states.

 

The Medical Viewpoint on Fast, Shallow Breathing

 

Modem science agrees with the ancient yogis on the subject of

shallow breathing. An editorial in the Journal of the Royal Society

of Medicine suggested that fast, shallow breathing can cause

fatigue, sleep disorders, anxiety, stomach upsets, heart bum, gas,

muscle cramps, dizziness, visual problems, chest pain and heart

palpitations.

 

Scientists have also found that a lot of people who believe they

have heart disease are really suffering from improper breathing.

 

Importance of Breathing Through The Nose

 

The first rule for correct breathing is that we should breathe

through the nose. This may seem obvious, but many people breathe

principally through the mouth. Mouth breathing can adversely affect

the development of the thyroid gland. It can retard the mental

development of children.

 

The nose has various defense mechanisms to prevent impurities and

excessively cold air entering the body. At the entrance to the nose,

a screen of hairs traps dust, tiny insects and other particles that

may injure the lungs if you breathe through the mouth. After the

entrance of the nose, there is a long winding passage lined with

mucus membranes, where excessively cool air is warmed and very fine

dust particles that escaped the hair screen are caught. Next, in the

inner nose are glands which fight off any bacilli which have slipped

through the other defenses. The inner nose also contains the

olfactory organ-our sense of smell. This detects any poisonous gases

around that may injure our health.

 

The yogis believe that the olfactory organ has another function: the

absorption of prana from the air. If you breathe through the mouth

all the time, as many people do, you are cheating yourself of all

this free energy (prana). The yogis say this is a major factor in

lowered resistance to disease and impairs the functioning of your

vital glands and nervous system. Add to this the fact that pathogens

can enter the lungs via mouth breathing, and you can see that it's

impossible to be healthy, not to mention vital, if you breathe

through the mouth.

 

It is easy to break the habit of breathing through the mouth. Just

keep your mouth closed and you will automatically breathe through

your nose!

 

Summary: Benefits of Deep Breathing

 

We will now summarize the benefits of deep breathing. Deep breathing

produces the following benefits:

 

Improvement in the quality of the blood due to its increased

oxygenation in the lungs. This aids in the elimination of toxins

from the system. Increase in the digestion and assimilation of food.

The digestive organs such as the stomach receive more oxygen, and

hence operates more efficiently. The digestion is further enhanced

by the fact that the food is oxygenated more. Improvement in the

health of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord,

nerve centers and nerves. This is due again to the increased

oxygenation and hence nourishment of the nervous system. This

improves the health of the whole body, since the nervous system

communicates to all parts of the body. Rejuvenation of the glands,

especially the pituitary and pineal glands. The brain has a special

affinity for oxygen, requiring three times more oxygen than does the

rest of the body. This has far-reaching effects on our well being.

Rejuvenation of the skin. The skin becomes smoother and a reduction

of facial wrinkles occurs. The movements of the diaphragm during

the deep breathing exercise massage the abdominal organs - the

stomach, small intestine, liver and pancreas. The upper movement of

the diaphragm also massages the heart. This stimulates the blood

circulation in these organs.

 

The lungs become healthy and powerful, a good insurance against

respiratory problems. Deep, slow, yoga breathing reduces the work

load for the heart. The result is a more efficient, stronger

heart that operates better and lasts longer. It also mean reduced

blood pressure and less heart disease. The yoga breathing exercises

reduce the work load on the heart in two ways. Firstly, deep

breathing leads to more efficient lungs, which means more oxygen is

brought into contact with blood sent to the lungs by the heart. So,

the heart doesn't have to work as hard to deliver oxygen to the

tissues. Secondly, deep breathing leads to a greater pressure

differential in the lungs, which leads to an increase in the

circulation, thus resting the heart a little. Deep, slow breathing

assists in weight control. If you are overweight, the extra oxygen

burns up the excess fat more efficiently. If you are underweight, the

extra oxygen feeds the starving tissues and glands. In other words,

yoga tends to produce the ideal weight for you.

 

Relaxation of the mind and body. Slow, deep, rhythmic breathing

causes a reflex stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system,

which results in a reduction in the heart rate and relaxation of the

muscles. These two factors cause a reflex relaxation of the mind,

since the mind and body are very interdependent. In addition,

oxygenation of the brain tends to normalize brain function, reducing

excessive anxiety levels. The breathing exercises cause an increase

in the elasticity of the lungs and rib cage. This creates an

increased breathing capacity all day, not just during the actual

exercise period. This means all the above benefits also occur all

day.

 

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Augie

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