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breath in which you are currently engaged
Advanced paced breathing at a rate of fewer than four breaths per minute can be
powerfully relaxing should point out that it is not a comfortable or realistic default breathing
rate but training at this rate will help improve your default rate and train smooth breathing
which is the topic of the next section
Smoothness of Breath Breathing at a Constant Speed
The third element of healthy diaphragmatic breathing is the smoothness of your breath This is
a question of how fluidly you breathe and it ties together the previous two elements of your
practice Paced breathing and deep breathing can still allow for too much variability on a
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
momenttomoment basis This is where the flow rate of each inbreath and outbreath
becomes important
For instance at the beginning of my practice about halfway through each fivesecond
inhalation the speed of my breath would drop leaving the second half of the inhalation
weaker After this lapse would try to make up for it at the very end of the five seconds by
gasping was being lazy holding my breath midcount to get out of doing the work of
strengthening the diaphragm Instead we should try to breathe at the same rate throughout
each breath to keep the diaphragm engaged This involves breathing slowly gently and
steadily
The biggest barrier to smooth breathing is our tendency to switch from diaphragmatic to
thoracic inhalation when you near the top of your tidal range Every inhalation begins with the
diaphragm but once using the diaphragm outside of its default range we transition to a swift
thoracic inhalation to draw in that last bit of air Resist this instinct Instead try to get to the top
of your inspiratory reserve using only the diaphragm by breathing slowly and gradually Do the
exercise below to practice using your diaphragm throughout the entire inhalation
Breathing Exercise Practicing a Smooth Inhalation
Exhale completely Then inhale as slowly as possible Try to make the inhale last for at
least eight seconds but aim for to Notice how this feels It should feel natural and
normal for the first few seconds until your lungs expand beyond your usual tidal range
Maintaining a slow and constant inhalation rate will become more uncomfortable as you
reach the top of your tidal range Notice the urge to switch to an abrupt thoracic gasp and
resist it Continue to inhale slowly and steadily Take ten nonconsecutive inhalations in
this way
You experienced the impulse to switch to a rapid thoracic inhalation in the exercise above
because your diaphragm is not accustomed to providing steady suction for a breath outside its
normal tidal range think of this weakness as a diaphragmatic speedbump at the end of the
diaphragms habitual path Forcing smooth inhalations steadily past this range will rehabilitate
the muscular knot in your diaphragm responsible for this speedbump It will also accustom your
nervous system to utilizing the diaphragm more fully Breaking down this restriction that limits
your diaphragms range of motion is unique to the Program Peace system yet integral to
diaphragmatic retraining
Chapter Breathe Deeply Smoothly Slowly and on Long Intervals
Figure A Each of the three graphs starts with four shallow breaths for comparison In the first graph the fifth
inhalation is deep and long However the inhalation does not occur at a constant rate the slope of the line varies
As you can see it plateaus three times and ends with a gasp This person is gasping and breath holding because
they are uncomfortable breathing above their normal diaphragmatic range B The fifth inhalation in the second
diagram is also very deep However it is short in duration so it is basically a thoracic gasp the lines slope is very
high C The fifth inhalation in the third diagram shows the optimal breathing pattern of a long deep inhalation at
a steady rate with a constant slope
As you practice keep your flow rate steady by imagining yourself smelling a rose inhaling
very slowly as you savor its fragrance Or imagine that you are curled up with a small pet Make
your breathing as smooth and calm as possible to soothe it gently to sleep Realize that hasty
quivering jerky breaths would likely rouse and frighten it It is interesting to note that when a
cat purrs its breathing is slow even and powered by the diaphragm Above recommended
that you invest ten dollars in an inspirometer to monitor the depth of your breathing If you do
so purchase one with a flow rate indicator This will provide realtime feedback on how steady
and smooth your breathing is
Another option is to buy yourself a stethoscope to listen to your breathing You can find
these for around online When you put the bell of the stethoscope up to your mouth you
can hear tiny distortions and discontinuities in the breathdesperate little gasps These gasps
are more noticeable when you are selfdoubting and are sometimes described as fluttering or
catches in the breath It sounds a bit like the voice when it cracks While listening to these
distortions in my breath it became clear to me that breathing especially breathing deeply is a
struggle It doesnt have to be
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
The more slowly and fully you breathe outside of your tidal range the more you can hear
and feel these points of weakness in the breath The technical term for them is apneic
disturbances and they usually last for tiny fractions of a second They are such a basic feature
of most peoples breathing that they seem natural and normal but they are suboptimal without
a doubt These disturbances are caused by weakness in the diaphragm and correspond to
absences in its range of motion They are linked to the startle response and keep you feeling on
edge As the next activity shows you do not need a stethoscope to hear these
Breathing Exercise Smoothing Over Discontinuities
Cup both hands between your mouth and ear creating a bridge for the sound of your
breath Your breath should sound louder and the discontinuities in it should be more
apparent Listen for brief cessations or unevenness in the sound Once you notice them
concentrate on modulating your breathing so that these disturbances disappear making
the breath perfectly smooth and even The ribcage and stomach should be expanding
evenly as well Do not let the rate of your inhalation change Each second you should be
taking in the same volume of air Imagine that you are playing a single note on a trumpet
and carefully keeping its volume steady Try your best to ensure that the sound made is
smooth even and progresses at a constant rate
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Illustration Person cupping their hands from mouth to ear to amplify the sound of the breath B Depiction of
a discontinuous rough breath compared to a continuous smooth breath
Buddhist and Hindu practices emphasize breathing through the nose and down the back of
the throat Many meditators concentrate on the ha or so sound this produces Creating an
even sound throughout each breath will ensure that the breath is being taken in at an even
rate To do this focus on maintaining the same sound from the beginning of each
inhalationexhalation to the end You know you are breathing diaphragmatically if the sound of
your breath is not changing Other ways to make sounds that you can monitor for constancy
include breathing as if you are fogging up glass making a hissing sound with your tongue
a haaaa sound with your voice a buzzing sound with your throat or a glottal sound with
your vocal folds Many meditators use mantras to accomplish this Using a stethoscope
Chapter Breathe Deeply Smoothly Slowly and on Long Intervals
cupping your hands or making a sound of some kind all accomplish the same thing So perform
Exercise using any of these methods
was concerned the first time heard my breath amplified by a stethoscope because
immediately recognized that these irregular pauses and gasps were unhealthy The irregular
pauses are magnified by adversity and are responsible for the sensation of respiratory distress