Breath Work
Deep Breathing for Better Health
A holistic psychiatrist, C. Shaffia Laue, M.D., sees women with a wide range of problems--everything from anxiety and depression to chronic fatigue. Even so, she says that the same treatment may be helpful to all of them as part of their therapy.
"I tell them to breathe," says Dr. Laue, who practices in Lawrence, Kansas. The treatment that she offers always involves psychotherapy, but it often includes breathing lessons as well.
Truth be told, most of us have forgotten how to breathe correctly. Proper breathing not only helps alleviate psychological problems but it also helps soothe physical ones like premenstrual syndrome (PMS), asthma and insomnia, says Dr. Laue and other advocates of the therapy known as breath work.
We're born breathing the right way, says Dr. Laue. The right way to breathe is deep down in our abdomens. Watch a newborn's tummy slowly rise and fall with each inhalation and exhalation and you'll see how it's done. Unfortunately, most of us unwittingly switch from deep abdominal breathing to shallow "chest breathing" over time. We hold our stomachs tight and start breathing shallowly.
Shallow breathing spells trouble because it delivers less air per breath to our lungs, says Robert Fried, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Hunter College, City University of New York, director of the Stress and Biofeedback Clinic at the Institute for Rational Emotive Therapy in Manhattan and author of The Breath Connection. Less air per breath means that we take more frequent breaths, but this only makes matters worse, triggering a series of physiological changes that constrict our blood vessels.
"The end result of the whole process is that less oxygen reaches the brain, the heart and the rest of the body," says Dr. Fried.
This undersupply of oxygen can leave us feeling dizzy and shaky, groggy and ill-equipped to make decisions. A chronic undersupply of oxygen can contribute to fatigue, depression, stress, anxiety and even panic attacks and phobias, explains Dr. Laue.
Shallow chest breathing can also contribute to stress-related disorders such as PMS, menstrual cramps, headaches, migraines, insomnia, high blood pressure, asthma, back pain and allergies, says Jeff Migdow, M.D., a holistic medical doctor and director of yoga teachertraining at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts, and co-author of Take a Deep Breath.
Since rapid shallow breathing leads to the constriction of blood vessels, it can boost blood pressure and even trigger arterial spasms, says Dr. Fried.
THE GENESIS OF BREATHING DISORDERS
What makes us switch from deep, satisfying abdominal breathing to shallow chest breathing in the first place? Stress, among other things, Dr. Laue says.
When you're under stress, your diaphragm--the internal muscle between your chest and abdomen--contracts partway. This shrinks the space in your chest into which your lungs can expand, Dr. Fried explains. Your breathing becomes shallow and rapid, your blood vessels contract and you start selling yourself short on oxygen. Since rapid shallow breathing also contributes to stress, it creates a vicious cycle. Stress leads to shallow breathing, which leads to stress, and so on.
Throwing your shoulders back, sucking your stomach in and puffing your chest out--the way your mother told you to--can also keep your lungs from expanding fully and lead to shallow chest breathing, adds Dr. Laue.
Respiratory problems such as asthma can also trigger rapid shallow breathing, says Dr. Fried. Since shallow breathing also exacerbates asthma, this, too, can start a vicious cycle of asthma attacks, shallow breathing and more asthma attacks.
Check Your Breathing Most of us breathe shallowly, from our chests, says C. Shaffia Laue, M.D., a holistic psychiatrist who uses breath work in her Lawrence, Kansas, practice. To determine if you're a chest breather, try this simple self-test. Sit comfortably in a chair and put one hand on your chest and one on your abdomen. Inhale. If the hand on your chest rises more than the hand on your abdomen, you're chest breathing, says Dr. Laue. Follow the exercises in this chapter to correct your breathing. If the hand on your abdomen rises more than the hand on your chest, congratulations! You're breathing the right way--from your abdomen. |
BREATHING LESSONS
Fortunately, most of us can relearn deep abdominal breathing by practicing simple relaxation and breathing techniques.
"When people start abdominal breathing, they're less anxious, less depressed and less stressed, and they sleep better and have more energy," says Dr. Laue. Women with asthma and PMS have told her that they suffer less severe symptoms on those fronts, too, once they start breathing abdominally.
Dr. Migdow says that a combination of relaxation exercises and abdominal breathing has helped ease headaches, menstrual cramps and back pain and helped lower the blood pressure of those he treats.
The best way to learn how to breathe properly is to find a physical therapist or psychotherapist who does breath work or a doctor who can teach you breathing exercises, watch you do them and correct any mistakes, says Dr. Laue. Unfortunately, physicians and psychotherapists who use therapeutic breath work are still few and far between. If you can't find one, a yoga, qi gong (chi gung) or martial arts teacher may be able to help you, since abdominal breathing is an important part of those disciplines. Failing that, look for a good video, Dr. Laue suggests.
If you have diabetes, low blood sugar or kidney disease, says Dr. Fried, you should not practice breath work without your physician's approval.
First, relax. Relax before practicing abdominal breathing and you'll find the job easier, Dr. Laue says. She suggests the following progressive relaxation exercise. Though some therapists teach a progressive relaxation exercise that actually has you tense your muscles first, Dr. Laue says that some people have a hard time relaxing their muscles after doing that. She prefers this version in which you imagine tensing your muscles.
* Wearing comfortable clothes, lie down.
* Starting at your feet and working up to your head, imagine tensing and then relaxing each part of your body.
* Imagine tensing your feet for four or five seconds; then imagine releasing the tension for four or five seconds.
* Moving up to your calf muscles, imagine tensing and relaxing those muscles. Imagine the wind blowing leaves along the gutter on a windy day. In your mind's eye, feel your breath moving the tension down your body and out the bottoms of your feet.
* Continue moving upward through your hips, abdomen, arms and chest. While you are focusing on your heart, imagine the sun melting the snow on an early spring day. Feel the energy of the sun melting the tension in your body and then the tension running off your body like the spring melt. Continue with your shoulder, neck and head muscles, ending with your forehead. Finish by imagining yourself tensing and relaxing in a quiet place in nature where you feel very safe and peaceful.
Breathe by the book. Once you're relaxed, remain lying down and place a book on your abdomen. When you inhale, push the book upward, using your stomach muscles. When you exhale, pull the book downward with your stomach muscles. Make sure that your inhalations and exhalations are of equal duration, Dr. Laue says. "If you breathe out to a slow count of three, breathe in to a slow count of three." Practice for 10 to 20 minutes twice a day, and eventually you'll be breathing from your abdomen automatically--even when you sleep, Dr. Laue says.
Imagine. Imagery can also help you breathe correctly, says Nancy Zi, a classical opera singer, voice teacher, practitioner of qi gong and innovator of chi yi, a system of breathing exercises. Chi yi, Zi explains, is a cross between traditional Chinese qi gong breathing exercises and the breath training that professional singers get. Author and executive producer of the book and videotape The Art of Breathing, Zi suggests this simple exercise as a starter: Imagine that your body is a giant upside-down eyedropper. Your mouth and nose are the dropper's opening, and your stomach is its bulb. With your hands on your stomach, breathe in deeply, imagining the air filling the bulb. Your stomach should expand when you do this. Then exhale, tightening your abdominal muscles as if squeezing the eyedropper bulb.
Branch out. Once you master basic abdominal breathing, you can learn variations on the technique that'll help you breathe most efficiently in different situations. For details on other breathing exercises that can help you deal with stress, ease pain, counter asthma attacks and pacify insomnia, see pages 491 (for asthma), 545 (for insomnia), 539 (for pain) and 402 (for stress).
Breath Work Practitioners of breath work vary and may include psychotherapists, physical therapists, yoga instructors and physicians. Shallow chest breathing may be a sign of an oxygen-depleting condition like kidney disease, says Robert Fried, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Hunter College, City University of New York, director of the Stress and Biofeedback Clinic at the Institute for Rational Emotive Therapy in Manhattan and author of The Breath Connection. So Dr. Fried recommends that most people have their breathing capacity evaluated as part of routine medical examinations. Number of practitioners in the United States: Unknown. Qualifications to look for: Interview practitioners about their background and experience before deciding with whom you would like to work. Your instructor should have training in human physiology and proper breathing techniques. If you choose a yoga instructor, she should have studied yoga extensively, be committed to daily yoga practice and regularly attend yoga teacher training. Professional associations: None. To find a practitioner: Ask your doctor, a physical therapist or a yoga instructor to teach you breath work or recommend a breath-work teacher. Approximate cost: $10 to $12 per session for a yoga class. Costs for individual yoga instruction, including breath work, range from $40 to $50 per session.
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