Breathing well undeniably helps to live healthier. But contrary to popular belief, not everyone breathes “well”. This article explains why and what “good” breathing consists of. We present 3 practical exercises to improve the quality of your breathing. Finally, we tell you about a ritual to practice so that your nose is cleared as often as possible.
Breathing is a function of the autonomic nervous system whose role is to ensure the maintenance and upkeep of vital functions. But breathing is special. Firstly, because stopping it quickly marks our death:if we can go several days without eating, we can only go a few minutes without breathing. But it is also the only function over which it is possible to exercise control to regulate its rhythm and amplitude, indirectly modulating the functioning of other organs such as the heart.
Everyone knows that the organ of respiration is the nose. However, there are many people who breathe often or almost constantly through their mouths. The nose is equipped with filters purifying the air reaching the lungs and in winter, and not the mouth. Furthermore, the length of the breath path initiated at the nostrils, passing through the sinuses before descending into the lungs, allows you to inhale air at the right temperature, especially in winter, i.e. air that does not create a thermal shock with the body and therefore minimizes colds and bronchitis . Maintaining the nasal passages throughout the year is therefore essential to promote good breathing and good health.
We often underestimate the disorders that mouth breathing can cause. By drying out the mouth, this breathing does not allow saliva to properly eliminate bacteria. This promotes cavities, chronic gum inflammation and recurring bad breath.
The words “breath” and “spirit” share the same Latin etymological root spirare , which means breath, wind . The Greek root pneuma which means “spirit” is found in the word “lung”. And doesn't inspiration also designate the creative breath? Could the functioning of the mind be linked to breathing? Without even realizing it, we inhale deeply to give ourselves courage or we exhale deeply to maintain our calm and calmly face an irritating situation. By breathing fully and consciously, it is therefore possible to exploit these springs and to energize yourself or better manage your emotions.
While breathing is innate, quality breathing is not. Stress and annoyances often lead us to limit breathing (twitching of the jaws, tension in the shoulders or stomach, etc.), leading to a deterioration in the mental and physical state since the brain and the body as a whole do not receive all the oxygen necessary to function optimally . A feeling of a cluttered mind or a state of drowsiness may develop. If bad breathing decreases physical and intellectual performance, good breathing feeds everyone's natural skills.
Abdominal breathing is natural breathing, the one you can observe when a baby sleeps on his back:his belly inflates and deflates to the rhythm of his breathing.
Lie comfortably on your back, lengthen your neck, bringing your chin slightly towards your neck, and bend your legs to bring your lower back closer to the ground.
Place one hand on your stomach, at navel level.
Let yourself breathe and observe how it happens. If you're not used to being aware of your breathing, it might bother you. By continuing to pay attention to the parts of the body set in motion by the breath while relaxing the body, you will eventually be able to observe your natural breathing without discomfort.
Once you have succeeded in this step, you will exhale deeply until you feel your belly retract. Then you inhale deeply. If the belly is relaxed, it swells. It should not expand because you push on the abdomen, but simply because the diaphragm lowers on deep inspiration and pushes the viscera down.
Do not put yourself in difficulty and do not seek your limits whether on the inspiration or the expiration.
Keep breathing like this consciously for 5 minutes. The soothing effect is immediately felt.
The next step is to mobilize the belly, the rib cage and up to the collarbones, if possible. This breathing must be fluid and comfortable:you should not feel any discomfort at the end of inspiration or expiration.
The position is the same as before, on the back. This time, one hand is placed on the belly and the other in the middle of the chest. The presence of the hands is done in the learning phase. Once you understand how the body moves, you can place the arms on the floor, on either side of the body.
First you exhale. Then you inhale and let the belly expand. Continue to inhale and let the ribs expand until you feel your lungs fill with air to the point of feeling a slight tension in your collarbones.
The goal is to be able to exhale while deflating in the opposite direction:ribs then belly. This requires keeping the belly inflated to force the ribs to empty first. It is quite possible that you will not be able to follow this order right away. Naturally, it is the belly that deflates first. Let yourself practice according to this natural order for a while to be able to move on to the stage of control and deflation of the ribs and then the stomach.
Practice as many cycles as possible to eventually reach a duration of 5 minutes. The head can spin. If this is the case, stop the exercise and do not get up right away.
The two previous exercises take place on the back in order to naturally lengthen the spine, without effort, and to slightly stretch the esophagus to allow the passage of air without constraints, especially at the level of the throat. But on a daily basis, we are most often standing or sitting. Quality breathing must also be possible with a straightened bust.
A “good” breath can only be done when the spine is well straightened, thus releasing the belly at the level of the stomach. The slightest sagging of the upper body mechanically limits the amplitude of breathing.
To perform butterfly breathing, sit on the edge of a chair and straighten your back. Cross your fingers and place your palms behind your head. Let the elbows out to the sides as much as you can. Gently push the hands back with the head to lengthen the neck and create the sensation of loosening the cervical spine. The chin should not protrude forward, otherwise the flow of air will be slowed down. If this position is difficult for you, you can open your arms in a cross on each side of your body and bend your elbows to bring your hands back towards you. The goal is to open the upper body.
You exhale and hold the stomach in. On exhalation, the air is sent into the rib cage only. In this exercise, the belly does not swell. The goal is to inhale as deeply as possible (do it slowly, there is no point in doing it quickly) to feel the ribs open. You can hold the breath, lungs full for a few moments. This exercise is used to increase your lung capacity .
The head may also start spinning. Pause the exercise before resuming. As for the two previous exercises, practice until you can do it for 5 minutes.
The Indians practice washing the nose, jala neti . This involves regularly cleaning the sinuses of dust and microorganisms that accumulate there and thus maintaining the nasal mucous membranes, the body's protective barriers. Some even believe that this practice could fight against insomnia and gloom.
This cleaning is easy to do. The best is to use a “nose teapot”, light because it is made of plastic, the size of the tip of which is adapted to that of the nostrils. You fill it with hot water at a temperature between 30 and 35°C (be careful not to burn yourself!). Add a teaspoon of coarse salt to it. It is neither more nor less than making a kind of physiological saline. This practice is not esoteric and is totally validated by otolaryngologists.
Wait for the salt to dissolve. Blow your nose first. Then, leaning over your sink, turn your head slightly towards the side of the nose teapot, put the tip on one nostril and let the water flow to the other nostril, the one at the bottom, through which the water spring. The passage of water should not cause tingling. If so, adjust the salt concentration and water temperature for more comfort. If water runs down your throat, you are not leaning forward enough. Blow your nose well to remove residual waste and water. And do the same thing by tilting your head to the other side to put the mouthpiece of the teapot on the other nostril.
In the case of a cold, you can do this up to 3 times a day, and supplement with a nasal solution containing mineral sulfur which is very effective in disinfecting. In regular maintenance, during the autumn and winter periods, you can do this once a day, in the evening before going to bed.
