Deep Breathing…Could Be A Life Saver - - Chief Instructor's Blog December 2016

 

I have mentioned in a couple blogs the importance of breathing.  In April 2012 blog “The Importance Of Alignment and Breathing”, I described how physical alignment and breathing are dependent and supportive of each other.  In October’s blog “Key To Practicing” I noted that breathing was one of the four keys to practicing.

Learning to breathe deeply and constantly throughout your techniques even when throwing an immense amount of force and power will also help you stay alive in an altercation.  In fact it may be the key in doing so.  In addition, breathing deeply and constantly has health benefits. 

The majority of adults (at least in western culture) only use the top half of their lungs and therefore do not get the full amount of oxygen that they could with each breath.  To breathe deeply and provide more oxygen to your lungs you must breathe through your nose and pull your diaphragm down to open up the very bottom of your lungs.  This is sometimes referred to as abdominal or belly breathing.  Children naturally perform belly breathing but over time as adults we tend to become chest breathers.  So how does one become a belly breather again?

They key to changing how you breathe is very simple:  practice and self-awareness.  You have to be aware of how you are breathing.  If you put one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly as you lay down on the ground what do you feel rise?  If you feel your chest rise more, you are a chest breather.  If your feel your abdominals rise more, you are an abdominal breather.  Another sign is to physically watch your body as you breathe.  If you standing upright and in a relaxed state, do your shoulders rise as you breathe?  If so, you are most likely a chest breather.  If your stomach protrudes slightly and your shoulders stay in the same place, you are an abdominal breather.

So after you determine what type of breather you are in a relaxed state, you must also determine what type of breather you are under pressure/in a stressed state/under intense workout.  If in any state you are a chest breather, you must consciously work to become an abdominal breather.  To do so, you can start with conscious 3 or 5 count breathes (where the inhale and exhale are even while concentrating on breathing into your abdominals and pulling your diaphragm downward) in a relaxed state and then in a pressured/stressed state. 

By breathing deeply and smoothly and maximizing the oxygen to your body it provides many health benefits including lowering the heart rate,  lowering blood pressure, and eliminating more carbon dioxides and toxins from the body in the oxygen exchange.

According to information on webmd.com [1], “Deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. This is because when you breathe deeply, it sends a message to your brain to calm down and relax. The brain then sends this message to your body. Those things that happen when you are stressed, such as increased heart rate, fast breathing, and high blood pressure, all decrease as you breathe deeply to relax.”

So, you might ask how can this help in an altercation and save my life?  Should I really be in a relaxed state in an altercation?

In an altercation, your body naturally kicks in its fight or flight response which results in increased heart rate and more rapid breathing all controlled by the sympathetic nervous system.  During this rapid breathing, you are less clear in your thinking and in control of your thoughts and actions which are being dominated by the fight or flight response. 

You might say, isn’t this is a good thing? And I would say, yes, if a threat appears, it is a good thing your body’s fight or flight kicks in so you are ready to react.  But if your heart rate and breathing get too far out of control, you will not be in a state to react as effectively. “…a mind that is in a state of panic will not access this intuition as well as a calm mind. [2]”

By practicing deeper breathing in pressured situations, you will help kick in the parasympathetic nervous system to slow down your heart rate and breathing, allowing yourself to provide more oxygen to your body resulting in clear thoughts and actions, muscles having the oxygen they need to perform, more endurance to last during the altercation, and the energy flow that accompanies breathing to make your techniques more effective.

I encourage all of you to determine what type breather you are and if not already, practice to become an abdominal breathe … it will improve your health, improve energy, and just may save your life.

Regards,

Kelly

“If you know the art of breathing you have the strength, wisdom and courage of ten tigers”. ~ Chinese adage

References:

1.      http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-management-breathing-exercises-for-relaxation, Retrieved 12/4/16

2.      http://bunkaijutsu.com/2012/04/diaphragmic-breathing-martial-arts/, XX 12/4/16