Anxiety or not breathing properly?

Breathing is a natural phenomenon shared by all living beings and serves as the foundation of life. It connects us to existence distinguishing the living from the dead. We all shared the breath with our mothers before we are born into this world and when one enters the world, one gets his own unique breath but paradoxically shares it at the same with other nature, animals and all living beings.

If breath is the life force, then it is might be wise to bring attention to the factor that keeps us alive. Maybe the attention is not much because its atomatic function of the body. In most cases it’s not until we get older that we start paying a closer attention to it: usually when it comes to the consequences of stress, trauma and other challenges. There is a big misunderstanding in the modern yoga world about breathing. Usually teachers tell us to inhale deeply and exhale deeply but they don't teach to how.

After considerable research on breathing in recent years, I’ve come to realize that the way we are taught to breathe — whether in sports, yoga, or life itself — often emphasizes methods that are not necessarily the most beneficial.

If we focus on yoga, it’s commonly preached that one should “breathe deeply.” But the truth is breathing deeply and breathing a lot are not the same thing and more often than not, the latter one (breathing a lot) is what is being preached and often happening in general yoga classes.

What happens chemically in the body when we breathe too much, or enter a state of over-breathing, is that the a substance: carbon dioxide or Co2 is flushed out of the body, i.e. from the lungs, blood, tissues and cells and without sufficient carbon dioxide, the flow of oxygen to the muscles and heart actually decreases.

The ancient yogis studied themselves and seemed to discover that slow, deep breathing was the kind of breath we should strive for — in this sense: less is more. By breathing slower and less, carbon dioxide levels in the body increase, allowing oxygen to travel more effectively to places like the heart and muscles. It sounds paradoxical — but life itself is a paradox. It’s up to us to harmonize it.

to be continued

Slowing the breath down