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contaminate the breathing of others |
Is your breathing unhealthy Likely so Imagine that you are threading a small needle with a |
thin thread As you line up the thread with the hole are you holding your breath You shouldnt |
be Experience pronounced distressed breathing firsthand by doing the following activity |
Breathing Activity Simulating Distressed Breathing |
Sit comfortably and focus on your breath Time your inhalations and exhalations to last only a |
second each and breathe like this for seconds Next time each breath to last for just half |
a second Continue to breathe this way for one minute or until you feel uncomfortable |
whichever comes first Now stop and observe your body and mind How does your chest |
feel How do your shoulders and neck feel How has your mood changed Wouldnt it be |
terrible to be stuck breathing like this forever |
After performing this activity most people report uncomfortable sensations such as |
anxiety panic or tension accompanied by increased heart rate physical agitation |
breathlessness chest pressure or even the feeling of starving for air These are the typical |
outcomes of distressed breathing and many of us unnecessarily subject ourselves to them |
daily An anxious person will breathe at an average rate of to breaths per minute A |
relaxed person practicing diaphragmatic breathing will breathe only five to seven times per |
minute Problems with diaphragmatic breathing are best conceptualized as falling on a |
continuum rather than as a threshold There are no firm diagnostic criteria for distressed |
breathing virtually everyone is somewhere on the spectrum |
Newborns breathe diaphragmatically but by age ten diaphragmatic function is usually |
minimized This is because few of us experience childhoods that our bodies interpret as |
optimal The transition away from diaphragmatic breathing occurs during early childhood as we |
Chapter Breathe Deeply Smoothly Slowly and on Long Intervals |
learn which environmental stimuli should be linked to concern and worry The process is |
normal and prepares us to be especially cautious in specific situations However by the time we |
reach adulthood nearly every situation recruits distressed breathing just some more than |
others Distressed breathing is implicitly conditioned to occur alongside many activities and |
postures and these associations are often never unlearned That leaves us gasping when the |
telephone rings holding our breath while sitting at the keyboard and hyperventilating during |
everyday conversations |
We cannot immediately switch from distressed breathing to competent calm diaphragmatic |
breathing because we are held back by longterm physiological changes wrought by years of |
breathing shallowly These changes involve a multitude of alterations to the muscles and nerves of |
the respiratory system They cause the diaphragm to atrophy and become stuck in partial |
contraction These changes are driven by gene activity constitute developmental plasticity and are |
largely responsible for the sympathetic overactivation discussed in the last chapter Fortunately |
the changes are reversible However you cannot pay anybody to retrain your breathing for you |
and there is no pill you can take It requires time and discipline As with the other exercises in |
this book you will find the breathwork rewarding once you start to see the results |
Many therapists books and selfhelp resources promote breathing exercises Most of |
these exercises last only a few seconds are intended to counteract panic attacks and come |
with no guidelines for permanently changing breathing style Moreover users are often only |
told to breathe deeply or focus on the breath without being provided any further |
instructions Simply focusing on the breath is beneficial because it prompts the individual to |
note when their breath is unnaturally shallow It causes the person to think Wait my current |
predicament is not all that bad so why am breathing like there is something at stake That is |
a productive first step |
Awareness of desperation in the breath is a start but it does not address the problem at its |
source Rather than simply focusing on the breath we need to actively lengthen and deepen |
our breaths throughout the day to strengthen the muscles and reprogram the unconscious |
breathing circuits in our brainstems Consciously overriding its injurious commands will rewire |
your brain and retune your entire body |
Diaphragmatic Breathing Utilizes the Respiratory Diaphragm |
Deep nondistressed breathing is controlled by the diaphragm a domeshaped skeletal muscle |
that separates the thorax containing the heart and lungs from the abdomen containing the |
intestines stomach liver and kidneys Only an eighth of an inch thick it extends across the |
bottom of the rib cage and moves air into and out of the lungs by changing shape It moves like |
a plunger When it contracts the diaphragm moves downward drawing in breath resulting in |
inhalation When it relaxes it moves upward expelling air and causing you to exhale The |
diaphragm can move as much as ten centimeters but many adults use only around one |
centimeter or of the total range Expanding the range of your diaphragm is essential |
and designed this chapters exercises to do just that But first lets explore how to move the |
diaphragm at all |
Diaphragmatic breathing also known as eupnea in the scientific literature and belly |
breathing in the vernacular is an unlabored form of breathing seen in untraumatized mammals |
You should be able to observe it in any young mammal resting peacefully It is easiest to spot |
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body |
in a sleeping infant a kitten or a puppy lying on its side The animals stomach will move up |
and down with each breath How do you know whether you are breathing with your |
diaphragm Your belly should move in much the same way Use the conventional guidelines for |
belly breathing in the activity below |
Breathing Activity Belly Breathing |
Lie on your back with a pillow under your head Place one hand on your chest and the other |
on your stomach Focus on how your belly moves Ensure that it rises with each inhalation |
and falls with each exhalation When you are breathing with the diaphragm it displaces the |
stomach causing it to move up and down On the other hand during distressed breathing |
the chest neck and shoulders move and the stomach remains still |
Distressed breathing makes you feel like you are growing taller and lengthening |
Diaphragmatic breathing makes you feel like your belly lower ribs and lower back are |
expanding Distressed breathing makes you feel like you are fighting to retain control over |
your environment It can be hard to give up the false sense of security it provides |
Diaphragmatic breathing may feel uncomfortable at first as if you are letting your guard |
down to an extent that is unsafe You may find that letting your stomach rise takes courage |
and a bit of faith |
You should notice that that at certain points during your inhalation the diaphragm locks up |
and the belly stops moving entirely Watch for these impediments Its almost like you are |
trying to convince your diaphragm that it is safe to come out and play Try different breathing |
styles until you find one that lets you easily and naturally keep your stomach rising and |
falling It may help to place an object like a book on your belly Give yourself several minutes |
to experiment |
Exhalation Inhalation |
N |
Z y |
Lungs rR Lungs |
Deflate XS IN Inflate LY |
W |
Diaphragm J Diaphragm |
Relaxes Y Contracts |
J i |
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