Breathe:it sounds so simple. And yet most people do it wrong, experts say. So it's time to tune in to your breathing. Because conscious breathing calms your body and mind.
You do it on average about sixteen times a minute and no less than 23,000 times a day:breathing. It is logical that you are not constantly aware of how. Still, more and more experts are advocating that you do at least consider your breathing a few times a day. They believe that by consciously learning to breathe differently, you change the unconscious breathing for the better. And that is good for body and mind. Because breathing properly would combat fatigue, lower your blood pressure, reduce stress and dizziness, help prevent back and neck pain, boost your creativity and clear your head. Quite a few advantages, for something you already do countless times a day.
To learn to breathe consciously, you can go to a respiratory therapist, but there are also many books with breathing techniques. You can also book individual breathing sessions where a coach guides you. Yoga, meditation and mindfulness – in which breathing plays an important role – have been popular for years.
Koen de Jong wrote the bestseller Relief together with psychiatrist Bram Bakker. He finds all the attention for conscious breathing 'a typical consequence of this time'. Koen:“In a study I read that nowadays we have to process just as many stimuli in one day as people in the Middle Ages in a whole lifetime. Because of our mobile phones, social media and e-mail we are 'on' all the time, we are alert, we feel rushed and our brain is constantly busy processing stimuli. While at the same time we are sitting more than ever, so the stress that all those stimuli cause has nowhere to go. But your body is on alert and therefore gives the signal:heart rate up, higher blood pressure and breathing faster.”
According to De Jong, the majority of people breathe incorrectly:too 'high' (especially in the chest and not in the abdomen) and too quickly. “When you are relaxed, you only need to breathe about six to ten times a minute, but many people normally breathe much more often, some as much as 20 times. And the majority are not even aware of this, because breathing incorrectly does not have to cause acute complaints. For example, breathing too quickly can become the norm unnoticed. As a result, your heart rate increases and you exhale more carbon dioxide than necessary.”
According to De Jong, carbon dioxide is not just waste, but has a function:“You need a certain amount of it in your blood to transport oxygen to your organs and to provide your body with fuel. If you breathe too fast and too high, you lose too much carbon dioxide and your blood vessels narrow. This causes complaints:from tension headaches to gastrointestinal problems, dizziness, fatigue, neck and shoulder pain and cold hands and feet. Complaints that you might not associate one-two-three with your breathing. The good news is that you can remedy them in no time with breathing exercises. Your breathing is a powerful and effective weapon for coping with stress.”
"Mr. Breath' Rob Koning gives individual breathing sessions in his Amsterdam practice and recently wrote the book Discover the power of breathing † When he got a burnout himself, he discovered what good breathing can do for your body. “I had so much tension in my body that I thought:I'll work it out. But no matter how hard I exercised, I couldn't get rid of that concrete block that seemed to be lying on my diaphragm.”
When Koning visited a respiratory therapist, he explained that the feeling was caused by incorrect breathing; he was breathing too high. And indeed:after some exercises, I did manage to get to that tension. “It felt like I was liberating myself. I could breathe again.”
He is now helping others to discover the 'power of good breathing', because Koning is also convinced that the vast majority of people have a wrong breath flow due to pent up emotions and stress.
“Your emotions directly affect your breathing. Just think what happens when you are startled:you stop breathing for a moment. Or if you are sad, you will sob. That's not a bad thing, because that way your body can react to stress and possible danger. But if that tension lasts too long, your body can cramp unnoticed. I dare say that almost everyone who suffers from stress only uses thirty percent of their breathing capacity. When your body cramps, you can no longer breathe freely in your abdomen and your lungs have much less space.
Some people book a massage to relieve the stress in their shoulders and back. By breathing well and calmly, you actually give your body an internal massage:in particular your abdominal organs, which get better blood circulation and therefore function better.”
So that emotions have an effect on your breathing is a clever invention of nature to protect us in case of acute danger. It is now also scientifically established that you can influence those emotions through your breathing. Researchers at the University of California discovered a ball of nerve cells in the brain's respiratory center, which seeks contact with the brain region that controls alertness, attention and stress. These nerve cells therefore make a connection between the respiratory center and the stress center in your brain. They ensure that the control of your breathing influences how you feel. You can put those cells to work yourself by adjusting your breathing; by taking very deep or short breaths.
King is also convinced of this. “Just look at Wim Hof, 'the Iceman'. He is the driving force in research and evidence surrounding breathing techniques today. Eighty percent of the benefits of the Wim Hof method come from breathing.
He just gives it a different twist and focuses on fitness. I believe that by breathing well you release muscle tension and that tension or even traumas are carried away by your breath, out of your body.
Breathing is a direct way to get in touch with your body and feeling and that is important in this time, when almost everyone is mainly in their head. Moreover, you can 'play' with it:by breathing more actively, you consciously switch your body to the on position to focus. You relax by breathing slowly. So it is worth delving into your breathing.”
But how do you know if you belong to the vast majority of people who breathe wrongly? De Jong:“Set the timer on your mobile to one minute and count your breath:an inhale and an exhale equals one breath. If you sit relaxed and exceed ten times, you are breathing too fast.” Another check:lengthen your exhalation or take a short pause after your exhalation. Does that immediately feel right or different? Then there is a good chance that you are breathing incorrectly.
Koning also advises to keep an eye on your stomach. “Many people – especially women – have unlearned their healthy abdominal breathing. Because a bulging belly is not beautiful, they think. But your belly should expand when you breathe. Just look at babies, they move their entire torso when they breathe. By always holding your stomach in, you limit the space in your airways and you automatically go high and therefore breathe incorrectly."
If after reading this article you think:I want that too, learn to breathe consciously, that
can. And right away. Because both De Jong and Koning claim that doing a breathing exercise has an immediate effect. If you consciously breathe calmly for a few minutes a day, your heart rate goes down, your body gets more oxygen and you relax. And you can do such an exercise anywhere:in the car, at your desk or in the toilet. Even better:tune in to your breathing a few times a day. Is it busy at work or do you lie in bed at night staring at the ceiling? Be aware of how you breathe. That alone helps, because you can also train consciously. Until that is the norm.
What about sports? During a cardio workout or tough sports class, isn't it normal for your breathing to accelerate or even to pant?
No, says De Jong:“Many people are inclined to do everything intensively and fully during exercise, but exhausting yourself costs energy and ultimately does not provide you with new ones.”
It is therefore better, according to De Jong, to exercise 'dosed'. “Use your breath as a compass during exercise. When you move, can you still take a short pause after an exhale? Then you're in the right place and exercising makes you more energetic."
With chronic hyperventilation you breathe for a long time – at least a few weeks – so fast and high that it causes complaints. Because you get too much oxygen in your blood, you experience tingling, dizziness, vertigo and fatigue. Chronic hyperventilation is almost always a side effect of another condition, such as overstrain or burnout. People with chronic hyperventilation often breathe at least twenty times a minute. Breathing coaching and physiotherapy can help. Do you suspect that it bothers you?
Then go to your doctor. The following exercise may bring relief:walk up the stairs without breathing. This is how you burn the excess oxygen in your body.
Image:GettyImagesSource:Santé May 2019, text:Priscilla Borger s
