– 5 Basic Breathing Exercises-

-What Experts Say-

“Those who breathe half, live half.”

Acharya Milind Kumar Bhardway

The breathing techniques come from ancient wisdom through practices such as yoga. The central aspect of any breathing practice is Pranayama, wich is composed of of two Sanskrit words.

Prana : Life Force

Ayama : Control

Pranayama is the control of the life force; breathing is a life force, therefore it is said that pranayama is the art of controlling the breath.

We depict now 5 breathing practices recommended by some experts in the art of Pranayama.

  

1. The Body Oxygen Level Test (BOLT) McKeown, Patrick. The Oxygen Advantage

First of all, we can start with a self-diagnose. You can determine your sensitivity to carbon dioxide using the Body Oxygen Level Test (BOLT), which measures the length of a comfortable breath hold. This gives an idea of our vital capacity (the sum of tidal capacity, inspiratory reserve and expiratory reserve volume).

When there is an increase of carbon dioxide and a decrease of oxygen, breathing is stimulated.   The sensitivity of your receptors to carbon dioxide and oxygen will have implications for the way your body copes with physical exercise.

When your breathing receptors have a strong response to carbon dioxide and reduced pressure of oxygen in the blood, your breathing will be intense and heavy. When breathing receptors are less sensitive to carbon dioxide levels, your body is able to work harder with far less effort; one method of boosting performance during a sport activity is to practice breath-hold techniques, which have been proven to improve respiratory muscle strength and endurance.

As far back as 1975, researchers noted that the length of time of a comfortable breath hold served as a simple test to determine relative breathing volume during rest and breathlessness during physical exercise.

You can measure your BOLT now:

1. Take a normal breath in through your nose and allow a normal breath out through your nose.
2. Hold your nose with your fingers to prevent air from entering your lungs.
3. Hold your nose with your fingers to prevent air from entering your lungs.
4. Time the number of seconds until you feel the first definite desire to breathe, or the first stresses of your body urging you to breathe. These sensations may include a constriction of the airways. You may also feel the first involuntary contractions of your breathing muscles in your abdomen or throat as the body gives the message to resume breathing. (Note that BOLT is not a measurement of how long you can hold your breath but simply the time it takes for your body to react to a lack of air.)
5. Release your nose, stop the timer, and breathe in through your nose. Your inhalation at the end of the breath hold should be calm.
6. Resume normal breathing.

Considerations when taking the BOLT:

1. The breath is taken after a gentle exhalation.
2. The breath is held until the breathing muscles first begin to move. You are not measuring the maximum time that you can hold your breath.
3. If you do not feel the first involuntary movements of your breathing muscles, then release your nose when you feel the first definite urge or first distinct stress to resume breathing.
4. The BOLT is not an exercise to correct your breathing.
5. Remember that measuring your BOLT involves holding your breath only until you feel the first involuntary movements of your breathing muscles. If you need to take a big breath at the end of the breath hold, then you have held your breath for too long.

A common starting BOLT score for an individual who exercises regularly at a moderate intensity will be approximately 20 seconds. If your BOLT score is below 20 seconds, depending on genetic predisposition, you will probably find you experience a blocked nose, coughing, wheezing, disrupted sleep, snoring, fatigue, and excessive breathlessness during physical exercise. Each time that your BOLT score increases by 5 seconds, you will feel better, with more energy and reduced breathlessness during physical exercise. The idea is to increase your BOLT score to 40 seconds, and this can be realistically achieved. Improving your BOLT score is an important key to attaining greater physical endurance.

If you breathe through the nose, day and night and practice consistently different type of breathing exercises (like the ones described below) your BOLT score will increase and subsequently, you will experience a lighter breathing and be able to train at a higher pace, for longer distances, your body will be prepared to do more with less!

2. Diaphragmatic Breathing Pelizzari, Umberto. Manual of Freediving- Underwater on a Single Breath

Taken from the practice of pranayama, and adapted by elite freedivers to the requirements of the sport, even though a freediver is not automatically a yogi. By “diaphragmatic breathing” we refer to a deep breath that allows for the inhalation and exhalation of the maximum amount of air with the minimum amount of force. This is a basic breathing exercise, and has a lot of variations. In reality every breathing act involves the diaphragm, if the muscles of the diaphragm are well developed, it will be involved properly, and the breathing act will get more air into the lungs with less effort.

We can distinguish between three phases of a complete breath: abdominal, thoracic and clavicular, which fill, respectively, the lower, middle, and upper areas of the lungs.

For a good respiration technique, always use the nose, not the mouth. It is beneficial for training during respiratory exercises, to inhale whilst actively widening the nostrils, aiding the perception of the passage of fresh air into the nose.

Execution

1. During the inhalation, the diaphragm descends towards the stomach (abdominal phase); air fills lower part of the lungs, then the middle part (thoracic phase), and then the top of the lungs (clavicular phase).
2. The exhalation follows the reverse sequence, starting at the top and finishing with the diaphragm, which moves gradually upward towards the base of the lungs due to a contraction of the abdominal wall.

All these movements must take place uniformly and homogenously, without provoking the interaction of other muscles. The abdominal belt, and the band of muscles just below the belly button, must also be controlled, both during inhalation and exhalation.

As a foundation of the complete yogic breath, control of the abdominals, combined with elasticity in the breathing muscles, makes the respiratory processes more efficient, as it allows for regulation of abdominal and thoracic pressure. The duration of the exhalation should be double that of inhalation.

The most complicated phase is definitely the end of the exhalation, when the diaphragm must be brought upward to empty the maximum amount of air out of the lungs. It can be simplified by dividing the exhalation into two parts. In the first part, exhale from the top moving downwards, but without moving the diaphragm. At the end of this phase pause to draw the diaphragm upwards, and then exhale the additional air that has been displaced upwards with this movement.

A study published in 2009 at the Department of Physiological Science, University of Pisa, based on a research conducted at a Freediving convention shows that during a long controlled exhale there is a significant change in brain activity from the ‘wakefulness’ of beta waves to the more placid alpha waves.

3. Triangular Breathing Mana, Federico. Breathing Techniques for Freediving

Each one of us different physical characteristics, therefore an ideal breathing rhythm does not exists, but we are aware of the fact that the longer inhalation and exhalation (controlled through muscle relaxation and without reaching a breathless point just after a few minutes of practice) the better results will come out of relaxation and ventilation. Use the triangular breathing to identify your own rhythm.

Execution

1. Breathe deeply (exclusively through the nose) for a few minutes trying to slow down your respiratory rhythm.
2. When you feel ready to follow the chart, inhale for four seconds and exhale for eight seconds (always through the nose only and remember to fill your lungs and empty them as much as you can). Repeat the sequence for six breathing cycles.

Triangular Breathing Table

Inhalation(seconds)	Exhalation(seconds)	Number of Breathing cycles
4	8	x 6
6	12	x 6
8	16	x 6
10	20	x 6
12	24	x 6
14	28	x 6

1. If following this rhythm you find breathing easy to control and comfortable, then increase inhaling with one more second and accordingly modify exhalation; repeat for another six breathing cycles.
2. Go ahead practicing and increasing timings until you find out that one of the two phases, inhalation, exhalation or both become difficult or uncomfortable.
3. Go back to the previous step if you find it difficult to manage times such as IN=8; ES=16, then go back to the rhythm of IN=7; ES=14

A constant practice of this technique will lead to improvements which will allow you to improve your timing, consequently bringing positive effects to the body; bradycardia, decrease in blood pressure, muscle relaxation, general relaxation and vagal system stimulation.

4. Box Breathing Divine, Mark. The way of the SEAL, Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed

 Sometimes our breathing remain to shallow despite our best efforts especially in chaotic or very challenging situations. Box Breathing is used to train arousal control and make deep breathing an automatic response; when practiced daily, will fully oxygenize the blood with each breath, ensuring you have the fuel to work at optimal levels, while it detoxifies your lungs and internal organs. And, as with all deep-breathing exercises, it will calm and center your mind.

Execution

Position yourself in a seated meditation or other comfortable position. Your back should be straight, your chin slightly tucked, gaze soft or eyes closed. Place your hands lightly on your knees and bring your attention to your breath.

1. Slowly take a few deep diaphragm breaths, with a four-count inhalation followed immediately a four-count complete exhalation. Repeat this for four rounds as a warm-up.
2. Now, begin your Box Breathing practice by slowly taking a four-count breath through your nose.
3. Hold your breath for a count of four. Concentrate on the quality of the breath and noticing what enters your mind. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to the breath.
4. Slowly exhale through the nose to a count of four.
5. Hold your breath again for a count of four. Pay attention to the quality of the hold and watch your mind.

Repeat this process for a minimum of five minutes, and practice it until you can do it for up to twenty minutes at a time. Over time, you can also increase the duration of the inhale, exhale, and hold periods. Seek to settle your thoughts and any fidgeting. If a thought arises, just let it go and bring your attention back to the breathing. Use Box Breathing as part of your morning ritual and during the day as “spot training” whenever you have the opportunity—such as when reading e-mail, or when you feel excess stress building up.

5. Victorious Breath (UJJAYI) Severinsen, Stig Avall. Breatheology – The Art of Conscious Breathing

 UJJAYI means ‘victorious breath‘ which refers to the breath conquering restlessness and stress. It is often called ‘the psychic breath‘, because it has such an enormous impact on your mental condition. The word may also mean warrior, and in this connection it refers to an expanding chest of a strong and proud warrior. In a figurative sense, Victorious Breath can be understood as conquering your inner demons: laziness, bad habits, fear, etc. Victorious Breath is a fundamental part of every pranayama exercise, and in Stig’s opinion is the most important of them all.

Execution:

The exercise is simple: inhale and exhale through the nose maintaining the mouth closed all the time; when you inhale, make a little constriction in your throat to produce an even hissing sound. When you exhale you can produce the sound “hhheee”. The key to Victorious Breath is the slight constriction in the throat, since this enables you to completely control the flow of air.

By varying the degree of constriction in the throat, you can determine the amount of air that enters (or exits) and its velocity. It is the key to your perfect breath, and no other exercise is higher, stronger or more effective than Victorious Breath. You can perform it anywhere, standing, walking, lying down, running or swimming. Apart of the altogether calming effect, Victorious Breath is also useful to people who suffer stress, depression and asthma.

Use UJJAYI pranayama in the following table (breathe through both nostrils with a small constriction in the throat) or use alternate nostril breathing (alternate between shutting the right and left nostril)

               Victorious Breath Table

	Inhal.	Breath Holding(full lungs)	Exhal.	Breath Holding (empty lungs)	Ratio
1. wk/m	4 sec	————-	8 sec	———–	1:0:2:0
2. wk/m	4 sec	4 seconds	8 sec	———–	1:1:2:0
3. wk/m	4 sec	4 seconds	8 sec	4 seconds	1:1:2:1
4. wk/m	4 sec	8 seconds	8 sec	4 seconds	1:2:2:1
5. wk/m	4 sec	8 seconds	8 sec	8 seconds	1:2:2:2

The seconds indicated in the diaphragm are consultative and can be of longer or shorter duration or be exchanged with e.g. number of heartbeats. Most important is the ratio inhalation: breath hold: inhalation: breath hold, that has to follow the table.

Each level is performed a minimum of 10 times in a row. Remember that you are not to become short of breath or gasp for breath – this is an indication that you have proceeded to quickly.

Since breath holding with full lungs and particularly with empty lungs is part of the exercise, it is important to progress cautiously and patiently. When to proceed to the next level can vary from person to person. You may be able to advance through the first levels within a matter of days. However it may require months to reach the last level.

Key takeaways from the experts in Respiration:

1. The importance of conscious breathing only through the nose all the time (day and night).
2. The force of every good breath is in the diaphragm. It is essential to work in strengthening the diaphragm.
3. The duration of the exhalation should be longer that of inhalation.
4. Breath hold exercises increase the tolerance to carbon dioxide, which allows a much better delivery and utilization of oxygen by the body.
5. The exercises in this article aim to expand the efficiency with which we utilize air; we will be able to notice improvements to our well-being and performance right from the very first time we practice.

 Bibliography

 McKeown, Patrick. The Oxygen Advantage, the Simple, scientifically proven breathing techniques for a healthier, slimmer, faster and fitter you.

Severinsen, Stig Avall. Breatheology, The Art of Conscious Breathing.

Pelizzari, Umberto. Manual of Freediving. Underwater on a Single Breath.Divine, Mark. The way of the SEAL, Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed

Mana, Federico. Breathing Techniques for Freediving