line
stringlengths
1
117
the nasopharyngeal ceiling The padded side of your thumb opposite the side with the fingernail will
come into contact with the anterior portion of this muscle closest to the face You want to press into
it firmly while contracting it intermittently to exercise it and gain a conscious ability to coordinate its
movement As usual learning how to control it will teach you how to relax it
It is essential to employ paced breathing and focus concertedly on remaining calm before
during and after this exercise Influencing how your brain interprets intense forms of
stimulation is incredibly decisive in how your body copes with them also recommend doing
this while relaxing at home before sleep While you have the rubber glove on recommend
that you use the thumb to press into muscular areas all over the soft palate
You can massage the tongue as well This can be done in two ways squeeze your
tongue between your thumb and forefinger or use your middle finger to gently compress
the length of your tongue down toward the floor of your mouth Allow your tongue to go limp
and drop down to a lower point in your throat Unbracing your tongue and allowing it to
become flat and broad at its base will help relax your voice the topic of the next chapter
Ss
A
je
Y
a
Illustration A Nasal cavity and nasopharynx B Man inserting thumb into nasopharynx
C Man squeezing tongue
Chapter Breathe Less Nasally and without Pharyngeal Tension
Have you ever heard of mewing It is a popular doityourself facial restructuring technique
developed by Dr Mike Mew a British orthodontist Mewing involves flattening out the tongue
against the roof of the mouth the hard palate The tip of the tongue is placed on or near the
top front teeth and the body of the tongue is placed on the roof of the mouth Proponents
claim that learning to rest the tongue here habitually will define the jawline and change the
shape of the face for the better Like many similar techniques including most of the exercises in
this book there is not enough scientific evidence yet to support the practice However it is
interesting to point out that resting the tongue against the roof of the mouth seems prevalent
in most mammals and human infants This indicates to me that resting the tongue on the floor
of the mouth not mewing may be a traumatized posture associated with mouth breathing and
a widened airway diameter facilitating hyperventilation discussed in the next chapter think
it is possible that mewing could aid in nose breathing expressionlessness reducing oral and
pharyngeal bracing decreasing vocal tension and reinforcing ujjayi breath also discussed in
the next chapter
Pair Diaphragmatic Breathing with Anything and Everything
hope you feel you now have more tools to ensure that your diaphragm is working properly
When it is working it pacifies your interpretation of and responses to any experiences you
have It helped turn my nasopharynx from a pit of pain to a painless normally functioning
part of my body believe that this diaphragmatic generalization can similarly enhance the
positive externalities from many forms of traditional and alternative therapy Existing forms of
therapy that may be vastly augmented by proper breathing may include
Mainstream Therapies yoga psychotherapy relaxation techniques muscle and joint
rehabilitation mindfulnessbased stress reduction chiropractic acupuncture osteopathy
cognitive behavioral therapy medical massage neurotherapy biofeedback positive
affirmation somatic therapy etc
Exercise and Movement Based Therapies personal training physical therapy Pilates tai chi
qigong martial arts acroyoga dance the Gyrotonic Method Gyrokinesis the Franklin Method
the Alexander Technique Feldenkrais Nia ChiWalking ballistic stretching proprioceptive
neuromuscular facilitation gymnastics Laban Movement Analysis somatics etc
Complementary Holistic and Alternative Therapies meditation prayer cold showering
electronic pulse massage abdominal or visceral massage kneading petrissage craniofacial
manipulation gua sha and Mei Zen acupuncture muscle stripping guided therapeutic imagery
active release technique Rolfing craniosacral therapy tantric sex eye movement
desensitization and reprocessing visceral massage colonic irrigation reiki autogenic training
hypnosis mewing ASMR forest bathing art therapy animal therapy etc
Conclusion
After you perform the breathing exercises from this chapter and Chapter for weeks
you will notice that many of the people you know breathe two to three breaths for every
breath you take Relative to the new you everyone else will be hyperventilating
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Chapter Bullet Points
e Distress causes overbreathing also known as hyperventilation which is strongly
associated with anxiety and has many negative symptoms and repercussions
e Taking exaggeratedly slow breaths will put you on an air diet reducing distressed
breathing and hyperventilation
e You want your diaphragm to approximate a large piston moving in slow motion
e Because nasal breathing forces you to breathe more slowly it will strengthen the
diaphragm and greatly reduce distressed breathing Taping the mouth helps with this
e Breathing in for as long as you can will force the diaphragm to contract completely
expanding its range pushing it to fatigue and allowing it to rest afterward
e Stretching the diaphragm and contracting it isometrically will make it stronger and
increase its range of motion
e Breath holding mewing and panthooting may help rehabilitate your breathing habits
e Providing compression to the nasopharynx soft palate and tongue will remove trauma
in these areas
Chapter Breathe Less Nasally and without Pharyngeal Tension
Program Peace Breathing Exercise Progress Tracker
Use the boxes below to tally your number of hours of nasal breathing as in Exercise
Hours Nasal
Breathing
Use a stopwatch to see how long you can prolong an inhalation and an exhalation as in Exercise
Use the table below to keep track of your best times
Longest
Inhalation
Longest
Exhalation
Use a stopwatch to see how long you can hypoventilate as in Exercise Use the table below to keep
track of your best times
Longest
Hypovent
Use a stopwatch to see how long you can hold your breath as in Exercise Use the table below to
keep track of your best times
Longest
Breath Hold
Use a stopwatch to see how long you can panthoot as in Exercise Use the table below to keep
track of your best times
Longest
Panthoot