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Introduction: What makes breathing so important?

 

I shouldn’t really have to explain what makes breathing on its own important. Breathing is life. Breathing is the first you do and the only thing you do continuously from the moment you are born into this world, and so too does your life end with your last breath. It is your proverbial lifeblood, and it is close enough to physical lifeblood as you can get.

A better question might have been: What makes breathing so important that I’d spend the entirety of a week compiling every bit of useful information I can find and make it the first Mastery Section?

That question is best answered by referencing the varied professionals and guru’s and specialists that taught me the value and the art of breathing: Martial artists, Yogi’s, self-help guru’s, prophets, spiritual leaders, scholars and scientists.

It is no surprise that so many teachers of such varied disciplines can be named, because that is precisely what makes breathing so core to any serious effort or aspiration of self-mastery, self-control, and fulfillment. It is at the core of mindfulness, at the core of martial arts, and at the core of every physical state and emotion of everyday living.

Nothing is more important than breathing, precisely because it’s the only thing that applies to every other discipline and every other aspect of life.

Breathing is a completely free tool in your self-improvement arsenal. One that is intuitive to use, has utility in every situation at any time, and can be immediately learned to use by anyone for immediate benefit.

And because of it’s far-reaching effects, Nothing is more important than breathing for self-control, stress management and tension release, improved health and happiness, increased physical comfort and comfort during physical exercise – and through all of these it’ll be invaluable in maintaining and improving your social presence by eliminating discomfort.

Discomfort and anxiety are the bane of a charismatic and sociable person, because it eliminates your presence. When working, they takes away your attention. When emotionally discomforted, they can absorb you completely and lead to further anxious and depressive thoughts.

What you need to know about breathing:

Breathing is not just a mechanical process, it’s a complete physiological and psychological process. You will use it to control and regulate your body, your mind, and the synergy between the two.
At its core, learning to control your breathing is meant to strengthen you psychologically and allow you to suffer minimal impact from your unconscious breathing while maximizing the impact of your controlled breathing during stressful situations, as well as
Enabling you to relax, energize, reduce fear and other negativity, or motivate and empower yourself at will through your breathing.

By mastering breathing, you’ll be:

Understanding how breathing and posture can be used to manipulate hormone balances in your body and evoke comfortable or energetic physical and mental states.
Learning how to move and behave in a way that requires less energy and prevents injury, by tuning into your body’s natural way of regulating its own movement.
Learning how to use simple tension exercises to locate and release tension instantaneously and diminish negative emotions in a targeted way, and energize and awaken your body.
Utilizing simple physical exercises to maximize your breath capacity, lung capacity, your ability to control your breath, and your psychological condition.

 

Science of breathing:

 

Fear is primarily controlled by two organs: our hearts and our brains. When we hold our breath, the brain takes most of our bodies’ oxygen and makes our bodies very tense – that is when fear enters the body and later turns to panic, restricting the body further. We start breathing more hastily to get back that oxygen, and as our bodies fill with oxygen our fear diminishes and we become more relaxed.

– As with posture, remember the evo-background of breathing in heavily: breathing in through the lungs makes you bigger (threat) and serves to prepare you for battle. This means that breathing in through the chest will fill you with the appropriate hormones, primarily adrenaline (fear/anger/energy) and cortisol (stress), as well as dopamine (reward and confidence) and testosterone (confidence).

– However, only one of the two between cortisol and testosterone can have the upperhand, and in many situations stress is more present than testosterone. As such, breathing in this way will negatively affect you much of the time. Short puffs and chest-breathing will make you feel anxious and this may develop or encourage panic or other forms of anxiety, particularly during exercise.

– Breathing into your diaphraghm/belly will cause you to be filled with more oxygen, and requires you to relax all muscles that needn’t necessarily be tensed. It gives you benzodiazepines and calms your nerves.

Powerful Breathing

 

Correct Breathing: Breathing Principles

 

Continuity Principle

Continuity Principle: Your breathing should not be interrupted at any time.
There are two reasons why this is essential:

First, breathing usually halts when we experience a sudden shock or a certain higher level emotion. As a result, our breathing is constantly interrupted during our daily lives. Whether we’re ardently working, or biting our nails in anticipation; whether something of interest catches our eye, or because we are under immediate threat – whether we feel anger, sadness, fear or stress, or pleasant excitement, our breathing interrupts as stress takes our attention and breath away.

By focusing on continued breathing, we aim to become aware when our breathing stops, to mitigate the impact of the emotion we would be experiencing. Additionally, it will make it so that the emotion is not being repressed or buffered (which is the cause of halted breathing), and can successfully be processed without being intensified. [[Wiki] Synthetic Obsession: Unwanted/Intrusive Thoughts]

Remember the [[Wiki] Embodiment-Principle]: One of the fundamental rules of our biology is that the body (whether it be in facial expression, or posture + 2 links) will start to elicit the sensations and feelings that would be natural given what state it is in. If you smile genuinely, you will feel happiness, regardless of whether or not you’re sad. [[Wiki]State Reversal] If you slouch or sit with your face in your hands, you will feel fatigued or depressed.

So, by forcing ourselves to continue breathing (and continue breathing as if calm), we are forcing our body to diminish the sensation that was stopping us from doing so in the first place. Psychologically, that will cause us to not only lessen the impact of the situation and give us a greater ability and sense of control, but it will also mitigate the association between halting breathing and panic or other forms of excitement.

2. Your body has a perfect capacity to understand its own physical limits, linked entirely to breathing. By continuously breathing you can prevent any injury that would occur as a result of physical stress/exercise.
This is a capacity of which the usage we typically unlearn as we develop ourselves during our lives and learn ourselves synthetic rather than natural approaches to performing certain acts. To illustrate, take for instance the simple act of standing up from a chair:

Generally, you, me – we, as people – will start by inhaling and keeping the air trapped in our lungs, putting our arms on the chair rests, stretching our arms while moving forward with our bodies, then pushing ourselves up with our legs before finally standing up and stretching our bodies upright entirely. Then – and only then – we continue breathing.
This is what we see being done everywhere around us, growing more omnipresent as the people around us increase in age and decrease in physical capacity.

On the surface, it seems normal – but normal doesn’t mean natural, and indeed, the body’s natural way of standing up, using the least effort and resistance, and putting the least strain on any individual body part, is entirely different – how can that be? Well, let’s first describe exactly how the natural way of standing up would proceed.

Demonstration exercise

Before I explain, I want you to try standing up from wherever you’re now sitting (and if you’re not sitting at this moment, it would make sense to first sit before attempting to stand up), using the method I’ve just described. Keep in mind the continuity principle, and ___keep breathing___ while you make this attempt.
What do you feel? If your body feels strained or if the act of standing up as you normally would while inhaling seems stressful or unpleasant or more difficult than it usually would be, that’s because it is. The fact is, actions done while holding one’s breath are more difficult .

If this is your normal way of standing up, please repeat the exercise and try to work out what the more natural of standing up would be. When you keep breathing, can you feel your body indicate what would be a more comfortable method? Remember that while people unlearn to use natural methods of standing up, but fortunately, people don’t unlearn their natural way of doing things, and a body can very quickly be retaught to use itself properly again.

Demonstration exercise

Now, try doing things the more natural way. First, assume a natural sitting posture before standing up: sitting up with back straight, bent over somewhat to allow for deep breathing with as much ease of breathing as possible, while having your hands resting on your legs (or a desk). While still breathing you start standing up by leaning forward a bit more (with a slight forward rocking motion for momentum), while the feet initiate the push the legs will provide.

In Systema (a Russian martial art whose fighters use the Systema breathing system) the importance of using momentum and the whole of your body in unity is greatly emphasized, and the sole reason for this is the fact that it’s what your body wants to do.

It might take a few tries, but by tuning in to your body’s motions during your standing up, and following the laws of physics rather than your own programmed routine, you will discover that the movement will become a lot easier and a lot less stressful, both physically and mentally.

Though this is a regularly minor act of movement, it is one we perform often, and it gives a good indication – at least psychologically – of the limitations and failing of our own learnings, some of which we may have been using our entire lives.

A less minor act of movement is one of the most dreaded weight lifting exercises – the deadlift. One of the most core and essential exercises of any work-out routine, and one of the most often avoided. With good reason: the movement seems impractical, it’s easy to learn and perform incorrectly, and it is very likely to lead to injuries, the very least of which is a regular few day’s back-pain.

People get discouraged from the deadlift because it feels so abnormal and unnatural. Which is ironic, because the way we deadlift in our daily lives is the unnatural, damaging one, and the precise reason why the deadlift exercise often ends in misery.

The deadlift can be one of the most rewarding to do, and one of the most empowering to boot. And again, the solution to its problems is built-in to your body. When breathing starts your physical effort is very adaptable. You will not allow your body to overexert itself and you will be forced to move properly. Your breathing is your failsafe!

While breathing, your deadlift will invariably not work if you attempt to lift it via your arms or your back – it just can’t and it won’t. However, when you inhale and exhale, leaving your supplementary muscles relaxed, and you squat down properly, it will feel only natural to arch up your back and lift from your legs first and foremost.

You will also not be able to lift any more than is safe for your body, as moving and exercising in a way that is natural and intuitive to your body will make sure you can’t overexert or injure yourself.

So, remember this as one of the most fundamental principles of self-regulation: Never stop breathing!

Nose and mouth principle

Nose and mouth principle: Without exception, you should inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth.

Regulating body temperature
You keep relaxed, the fear cannot enterExhaling through mouth releases stress and tension. (With progressive relaxation you will tense then release.)

Principle of sufficiency

You should only take as much air as needed for any particular exercise or effort.
If you do need more air, don’t hold back or wait – breathe in as much oxygen as you need.
Take as much air as you can without the tension in your upper-body coming in.

Demonstration Exercise

Stand up, and try to familiarize yourself with how much air you really need. Breathe in regular intervals, say 6 seconds (3 in, 3 out), and breathe in less and less air each time until the point comes where you can no comfortably sustain your breath. That is your lower limit.

Principle of relaxation

Too much air cannot help you. It traps your lungs and restricts upper-body movement. It makes you slower and less mobile and flexible. It limits our ability to physical function.
Relaxing all non-essential muscles (which are a lot more than people realize in practically every movement) means that there is more room for movement, additional stress and breathing room.
In general, breathing in your belly will make you less stressed, which in turn means less tensing, which means less stress, and so on.

Demonstration exercise

Stand up, breathe in as deeply as you can, filling your entire belly and chest with air. Then, try to rotate your upper body from side to side. Notice how heavy it is and how restricted your movement is. Then, exhale and relax the muscles completely, and rotate your upper body again. Feels a lot more comfortable, doesn’t it? You can now move freely.

Tension exercises
About tension exercises

Tension exercises train you bodily and mental control through recognizing tension, activating the involved muscles further while inhaling, and releasing that tension while exhaling. Segmented tension, or the tensing of one muscle or a group of related muscles, is a good tool for learning body control and body awareness.

Wake-Up Exercise: Progressive Activation

Before you move or get up, keep lying down and inhale and exhale smoothly. After a few breaths, speed up your breath. This way, you are preparing your body and raising blood pressure. This way, your circulatory system won’t be damaged. To activate your muscles, inhale and tense up your whole body. Try not to miss anything. Hold it for as long as possible and then release while you exhale. This invigorates your body and energizes you really quickly.

When used as a part of a tension exercise, use this to tense up and release any negative thoughts you may have while lying there while waking up.

Resolving stress

Lots of cognitive tension causes mirroring physical tension in the head, chest, hands and/or feet. Tensing up specifically those muscles that accompany negative thoughts or emotions, and subsequently releasing that tension, will relax you physically and mentally. It is a very powerful tool against the stress of intrusive and unpleasant thoughts, moods and situations.

Progressive relaxation

By going through all muscle groups progressively, you can activate your body and relax to resolve all tension and relax more profoundly and more quickly than you otherwise would be able to. More on this will come when the article on [Wiki: Progressive Relaxation] is written and released.

Standing tension exercise

While standing upright, tense up all muscles individually, and see how tensing and relaxing everything from a standing position influences the manner in which you can manipulate and control your muscles. This will give you a deeper understanding of the way your body works and give you a greater sense of control over their movements.

Principle of Breath Leading

The next exercises are listed as physical exercises, but understand that all these exercises first and foremost are breathing exercises, so they should be performed with that kept as the focus. Throughout all exercises and regular activities, they all begin with breathing, and breathing pushes the activity. However large your exercise or physical effort, your breathing exercise is always more important and has a larger scope. This is the Principle of Breath Leading [the exercise].

Using these easy-to-learn and short exercises, you’ll be maximizing your breath capacity, your lung capacity, your ability to control your breath, and your psychological condition.

Physical exercises

People tend to treat physical exercise as if the priority is muscle effort, going as far as holding their breath during the entirety of a physical exercise, like a push-up. Through-out these exercises we’ll be using push-ups to learn breath control, though it is possible to substitute it with any physical exercises (including cardio). As is remarked in ‘Systema Breathing’: “People pay so little attention to their breathing that quite often their face is already red before they’ve even done a single push-up.”

When learning to control breathing during physical exercises, make sure to keep breathing. When an exercise is too difficult for you to sustain comfortable breathing, this will hinder the psychological learning process, which serves primarily to remind you that any activity without sustained comfortable breathing is not an activity your body is really capable of doing. Keep in mind:

During the push-ups, keep a straight line head to toe, as this will allow for optimal air intake.
It is not necessary to do full push-ups. Push-ups against the wall, or with support, or any other lighter variant will work just as well.
When first attempting these exercises, breathe audibly
Breathe out any residual air trapped in your lungs before starting each exercise, as that will allow you to control your air intake with greater ease.

Physical Exercise 1

Basic pattern: Do 10 push-ups where you inhale while lowering yourself, and exhale while pushing out. This is the typical breath pattern of most athletes, martial artists and weight-lifters during exercise.

Physical Exercise 2

Reverse Basic Pattern: Do 10 push-ups where you exhale while lowering yourself, and inhale while pushing out. This is to learn your body to recognize your breathing as being independent from the exercise.

Physical Exercise 3

Holding breath, inhaled: Do 10 push-ups, or however many are possible for you, while holding your breath. Exhale when you finish, but continue staying in your exercise working position.
The Principle of Continuity is broken on purpose here, to train our bodies consciously to become aware of what would happen unconsciously throughout the day while holding our breath. That same physiological process that would otherwise cause fear is now being trained to have less of a response.

Physical Exercise 4

Holding breath, exhaled: Do 10 push-ups, or however many are possible for you, while having just exhaled all air in your lungs.

It is very important psychologically to understand what happens physiologically when you run out of breath. By purposely and consciously holding your breath you train your body, in a very safe and comfortable situation, to no longer feel that panic. This will also prevent you from inhaling too much air as a result of fear, which will cause tension that harms the exercise and through it your body.

When we run ‘out of breath’ or even have the sensation of running out of breath, like during an anxiety or panic attack, or even during exercise, we start to feel sorry for ourselves and feel like we can no longer continue bearing the stress that our bodies are feeling. By allowing ourselves to breath calmly and deeply when this happens, we are essentially telling our bodies that they are fine.

This will serve as a powerful psychological training tool in virtually any situation that would otherwise cause panic or other heavy emotions, and allow us to get a more full control over our minds and our bodies, and the way they react to sensations.

Physical Exercise 5

Tension release: Sit up on your need and feel any tension that you have as a result of your previous exercise. Tense those muscles and relax them. Breathe in as you focus on the tension, and breathe out as you relax those muscles. Learn yourself to relax those muscles that aren’t vital to the exercise more deeply and keep those relaxed during the next sets of exercises.

Exercise 6

Single slow push-up with burst breathing: Lower yourself as slowly as you can, while continuously taking very quick inhalations through the nose and exhaling sharply through the mouth. The slower you do the push-up, and so the greater your effort, the quicker your bursts (up to 10 times a second is feasible, but aim for around 4 times a second until you learn to burst effectively).

Don’t let your feelings of fatigue get a hold of you. They only serve to make you feel sorry for your body. If you’re continuously breathing, provided your muscles can hold you through the exercise, then that negativity will be pushed out of you.

How to take these further

There are a lot of possible combinations of these and more breathing patterns, but let me repeat that “at the core these exercises are meant to help you strengthen yourself psychologically” and that enabling yourself to relax, energize, reduce fear and other negativity, and motivate and empower yourself at will through your breathing is the intended goal.”

As such, I would recommend trying out all these exercises with the intent of finding what each one teaches you individually, and then using those that work best for you to train those areas of self-control that are most important to you.

You can vary these exercises by mixing them from push-up to push-up and within push-ups, e.g. Burst-breathing a slow push-up on the way down, inhaling twice and exhaling once on the way up.

After this, you can expand this to other exercises entirely, or even regulate and mix your breathing during other activities, such as meditation or while working.

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