SO WHAT'S SO IMPORTANT ABOUT BREATHING?

By John Maerz BA LMT

     It is a widely accepted fact that if you stop breathing that your bodily functions will systematically shut down from the least important toward the most vital until it ceases to function. Did you also know, however, that the way we breathe has a tremendous effect on the quality of our activities?

     It is a scientifically proven fact that when we breathe with the upper part of the chest, that is, shallowly therefore rapidly, that our blood quality is more acidic thereby providing a better environment for the sympathetic nervous system to operate. The sympathetic nervous system is part of the complex that is responsible for the fight or flight reflex and therefore emits adrenaline which is responsible for that hot flash we get when we get shocked or excited. In the extreme this is what we feel as an anxiety attack or anger. These two feelings have the effect of tensing our muscles and further contributing to the production of adrenaline. It is a physical reflex perhaps developed in prehistoric times as a compensation for the constant threat of predators. The point is that it is a developed reflex. It was not meant to be a constant condition. In order to counteract this we must willfully and consciously activate the parasympathetic nervous system.

     The parasympathetic nervous system is the polar opposite or the compensatory force to the fight or flight reflex. It is the system operating when we are deeply relaxed and characterized by deep diaphragmatic breathing and a blood flow that is alkaline and therefore more natural to the normal composition of the blood. The sympathetic nervous system (arousing) utilizes sodium in order that the impulses may jump the synapses (the gaps between the nerve endings). The parasympathetic nervous (calming) system utilizes potassium.  Is it any mystery, then, that doctors prescribing for heart conditions tell us to cut out the salt (which is in everything we eat) and eat bananas containing potassium? (Peas contain a much higher content so there’s no need to bloat ourselves with bananas to get our potassium!)

     So what has this all to do with breathing?  In a world where the USUAL state of composure seems to be at the mercy of adrenaline activating activities such as traffic, the kids, taxes, horror movies and violence of all kinds is it any wonder that we hold our breath or breathe shallowly at best? The counteraction to our addiction to adrenaline (yes I said addiction) is partially deep breathing.

     Why an addiction? In our daily lives, because of the tensions produced by living in such a fast paced world, we seek to deaden ourselves to the demands and assaults of the environment. We become accustomed to "wearing earmuffs" to drown out the cacophony. We use drugs, alcohol and nicotine to separate and desensitize ourselves. It becomes the norm rather than the exception. After a while we feel like we are missing life because we no longer feel anything. It then becomes necessary to participate in the adrenaline producing activities just to be able to feel something beyond our desensitization. We now have a vicious circle.

     So what's so important about breathing? It is a very important key toward not desensitizing us but making us impervious to erratic influences by grounding our energies and increasing concentration so that we may focus rather than get swept away in an emotional frenzy. By sheer physical proximity deep breathing expands the solar plexus (where the adrenal glands reside and where our need for control emanates) and lets us relax into the tension thereby letting it wash over us like a wave. When we "clench" it produces resistance which gives tension a place to reside. It is also worthy to note that breathing IN through the nose literally charges and filters the air giving extra life energy to each inhale. You may observe that those who normally breathe IN through the mouth, more often than not, seem labored and uncentered.

    So what's so important about breathing? Deep breathing releases the "clench" thereby tension finds no home. Deep breathing will also increase the concentration of potassium in the blood stream which facilitates the activities of the para-sympathetic nervous system and temporarily switches off the adrenal glands' emissions. Deep breathing will center and ground us in almost any situation. Knowing this we should now breathe easily...and deeply in through the nose!