Temple Breath

During the Temple Breath you are tracing a big inverted heart in the air with your fingertips. Breathe in through your nose and then exhale slowly through tightly pursed lips (as if you were making a long thin smooth “ribbon” of air). IMPORTANT! Remember that you always set up a comfortable breathing rhythm FIRST and only then match the movement to the breath.

1. Stand with your feet hip-distance apart with toes pointed forward. Keep your shoulders and neck completely relaxed especially when your arms are raised. As always, empty before you begin.
2. Join your palms in front of your chest. Inhale slowly while you are moving your joined palms up past your nose and as far overhead as you can easily reach.
3. As you blow out a breath slowly through pursed lips, separate your hands stretching them first out sideways, then downward and finally back to their starting position (palms together in front of your chest). At this point you will have completed one complete breath cycle). Continue for as long as you are comfortable.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Review #6

Do your best to spend a little quiet time each day. Focus on the sound of your own natural breathing or pick a single point for visual focus. Unlike the hunter/gatherer/farmer of several generations ago we rarely spend a quiet moment. Even as they sleep, city dwellers are washed over by the constant sound of traffic, sirens, planes, the hum of their own appliances, garbage collection, newspaper delivery, etc. Your deep inner voice will not shout. You must listen carefully to hear.

Proper posture is essential for efficient breathing. The bones should be lightly balanced one on top of the other so that muscles can remain relaxed. A rule of thumb when sitting or standing is to keep your head over your tailbone.

Get to a respiratory specialist for up-to-date testing and diagnosis if you have a chronic cough or other breathing problems. Unfortunately, lungs aren’t able to rebuild themselves (yet) so until that day comes we need to diligently protect what we’ve got.

Controlling air pollution, in homes and workplaces, is time consuming, complicated and terribly costly. The only thing more expensive is not controlling air pollution. Industry will only improve when faced with the overwhelming tide of public pressure. Vote and make your voice heard.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Deflation

Picture a large red balloon floating in front of you. The surface is stretched so thin that the light shines through. Balloon tension is good. Human tension? Not so much.

With a little practice you can use the balloon image and your breathing to release physical tension at will. Deflation is a relatively easy exercise since it is based on the natural exhalation phase of your breathing cycle.

Since you never stop breathing 24/7, Mother Nature designed each exhalation as a mini-rest. To inhale, the muscles between your ribs (intercostals) cause the ribs to flare slightly up and out. The muscular floor (diaphragm) stretched across the bottom of your ribcage flattens downward. This muscular movement creates enough of a vacuum in your chest to draw in new air.

Exhalation happens when all these muscles relax and let go. The ribs drop down again. The diaphragm rises to its domed-up natural resting position in the ribcage. The slightly smaller chest cavity pushes the stale air out. Inhalation is work. Exhalation is letting go.

You may be surprised at how much physical tension you have been carrying. After awhile tension begins to feel normal. Use the balloon image and imagine that each time you breathe out, you are releasing tension from your body along with the outgoing air. After a little practice release of deep tension will take only a few breath-cycles. Just imagine that you are releasing air from a balloon.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Complete Breath

The Complete Breath massages and cleanses all the nooks and crannies of both lungs. It isn’t often necessary during a typical day to function in “full lung mode.” Most of the time you can do well enough by deep breathing without activating the tight narrow upper chest.

However, when you dash up the stairs (for those of you who still dash) or chase after a two-year-old, you need additional oxygen so you ADD mid-chest and collarbone breathing TO the deep breathing (NOT INSTEAD OF). It is, however, essential that you exercise every square-inch of your lung tissue regularly to keep it clean and elastic.

1. Empty as much air as is comfortable while keeping a straight and balanced spine. As you inhale slowly through your nose, let the first bit of incoming air expand your lower ribcage.
2. Continuing with that same inhalation, ADD a bit more of breath #1 to the mid-lungs (behind the breastbone).
3. The final bit of air fills the tight narrow upper lungs. Raise your shoulders slightly to make space. This single incoming breath should flow seamlessly without strain or exaggeration. Do not overfill!
4. The outgoing air follows the same pattern – empty the bottom first, then the breastbone area and finally the small amount of remaining air from the narrow and restricted upper lungs. If you have been lazy-breathing for sometime, Complete Breath may make you cough once or twice as you clear all the lazy bits.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

The Rainbow

The Rainbow is gymnastics for the brain and is so much fun (albeit challenging). Be patient. You may find at first that you have an easier time concentrating on a simple colored object such as a red rose, blue pitcher, green leaf or yellow lemon instead of an abstract color. Eventually you will be able to experience pure color without the need for an image.

Since this may be your first try with this type of exercise, it is especially important to keep your breathing low, slow and steady.

1. Close your eyes and wait for your breathing to slow. Create a mental picture of a bright RED object such as a red wagon. Hold the image in your mind’s eye for as long as the color is vivid. Trust me, you will get better and better at this.
2. When the RED object fades, create an ORANGE image. Stay focused as long as possible.
3. Follow with YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE and finally VIOLET.
4. Take several additional breaths with your eyes closed before you “surface.”

It is preferable (but not mandatory) to work from warm (red, orange, yellow) through cool (green, blue, violet). When you feel ready to move from image to pure color, try initially to enlarge the colored object in your imagination, until it is huge, filling your entire mental screen. Then shift easily to color alone.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Up From The Ooze

Once upon a time, a fish (curious, clumsy, or desperately hungry) flung itself out of a brackish sea onto the oozy mud for the very first time. That premier fish dared the air probably for only an instant before squirming back into the sea, but its offspring dared again and again. They returned until their fins could crawl and their bodies could process air. The rest, of course, is pulmonary history.

Since the beginning, human beings have been fascinated by the mysteries and the possibilities of their own breathing. It was clear, early on, that there is more to this breathing business than a simple shuffling of air. Could it be that our gentle tide of breath provides a delicate, invisible link that connects us physically and spiritually, one to the other, and binds us, in turn, to the rhythms of our planet and our universe?

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

The Respiratory Superhero

Don’t worry, we aren’t going to go over the top with anatomy stuff but a few basics are helpful to help you appreciate how truly extraordinary your body is.

We’ve already touched on the double layer of intercostals muscles sandwiched between your ribs. Your big diaphragm, however, is simply the superhero of all breathing muscles! It is a complex, uneven elastic floor across the bottom of your ribcage, directly under your lungs and on top of your liver, stomach, pancreas and spleen. Since your lunch has to get from your mouth into the acid pit of your stomach, your esophagus passes through a tight (hopefully) opening in the diaphragm.

Although you can easily find your intercostals between your ribs, don’t even bother poking around in search of your diaphragm because it is fairly well buried. To further complicate matters, it doesn’t lie flat and neat like the bottom of a bucket or the floor of a birdcage. At the finish of each exhalation, the diaphragm resembles a lopsided hill with the high side rising up and over your big liver on the right. The diaphragm is completely elastic, powerful, responsive and cooperative. The domed diaphragm you see in the picture is in the exhalation position. When you inhale it flattens down ever so slightly and that creates a vacuum that draws in your next breath.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Waterwheel

We have made a to-do about getting your basic breathing down from the tight narrow upper chest into your wide elastic lower ribcage. Deep breathing is more efficient, more rewarding and produces more miles-per-gallon (if you were a car).

However, it is important to activate and be aware of all areas of your lungs. During Waterwheel you will direct the incoming air into your MID-CHEST, just behind your breastbone. Accurate placement is more important than how much air you take in so there is no need to swell up like a weather balloon. Waterwheel is more about quality than quantity.

1. Sit on the front edge of a straight-backed chair. Fold your thumbs into your palms and lay the backs of your hands on the chair seat behind you, palms up and fingers pointing backwards (index fingers close together if possible).
2. Breathe in slowly through your nose and gently blow out the outgoing air. Keep your shoulders low and motionless and your bellybutton absolutely still.
3. Let the incoming air fill up the space just behind your breastbone. Imagine that is the only place where you have lungs. Guide the incoming air there. Continue for as long as the exercise is comfortable and pleasurable.
   

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Review #5

It is imperative that you see a pulmonary specialist for evaluation if you have chronic breathing problems such as a cough or wheezing that hang on for more than a couple weeks.

If you, or anyone in your family, have been diagnosed with a chronic condition, you are not alone. There are countless national support groups, organizations and foundations available at no cost. Your search will lead to a wealth of the latest scientific information that can help you ask better questions and make better decisions. Never take at face value any online treatment advice without first running the suggestions or products by a doctor who knows you and is familiar with your medical history.

Colds and influenza come from viruses, not from bacteria. Antibiotics are effective only against bacteria. Inappropriate overuse and careless disposal of antibiotics have led to strains of superbugs that are always one jump ahead of our medical arsenal.

If you decide to skip a flu shot, let it be because you have concerns about the efficacy of the serum, not because you were too busy or forgot.

The breathing exercises are merely colors on your palette, not to be confused with the painting itself. The exercises themselves are neither magical nor mysterious. Their purpose is simply to re-introduce you to yourself. Without regular practice they are merely words on a page.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Pooped at Work?

It’s not unusual to feel pooped at work. If, however, you feel chronically tired then it’s time to request lab work to monitor your thyroid, blood sugar, white count, medications, etc.

Next eliminate the backlash from too much caffeine, too much sugar, too many carbs and too much lunch.

The further humans stray from Nature’s design, the more they encumber their performance and endurance. Your car is designed with guidelines for size and inflation of tires, type of fuel, weight of oil. When you ignore basic design requirements, your car may continue to move but you will not come close to peak performance.

The human body has been evolving, changing, adapting for tens of thousands of years but Nature makes changes very slowly. However, the demands placed upon you have changed dramatically within just a few decades!

You are faced hourly with corporate challenges while still functioning within a hunter/gatherer body. Since few of us are willing to return to foraging for food and herding goats, the next best thing is to compensate for the dramatic changes. Use your considerable IQ and experience to design a behavior plan that stays as close to your original design.

1. You are designed to MOVE. You are not designed to sit in a chair.
2. Your eyes are designed to move all around and change depth of focus often.
3. You are designed to breathe deeply, efficiently and steadily.
4. Your bones were fashioned to balance one atop the other without giving your muscles unnecessary work.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

String of Pearls

As always, breathe sloooooowly, gently, and deeply. And, as always no discomfort ever with a breathing exercise, either mentally or physically.

Lay your relaxed dominant hand in your lap, palm up. With each new breath you will touch the tip of your thumb to a fingertip or to your palm.

First Breath: Touch the tip of your thumb lightly to the tip of your little finger.
Second Breath: Touch the tip of your thumb to the tip of your ring finger.
Third Breath: Tip of your thumb to the tip of your middle finger.
Fourth Breath: Tip of your thumb to the tip of your index fingerFifth Breath: Curl your thumb in toward your palm. Repeat as long as you feel comfortable.

Note: This is an exercise that is wonderfully effective and almost invisible to others. After some practice, you will be able to center yourself simply by touching your thumb once to any fingertip.

Be well. Breath beautifully.

Fluttering

Fluttering is an effective way (albeit silly) to dump some tension from your face. Face muscles are very small, very complicated and, therefore, a bit difficult to unknot.

Considering all the personal and professional challenges that get dumped on you during the day, it is no wonder that you squint, grimace, clench your jaws, wrinkle your forehead, tense your tongue and jut your head forward! Small face muscles eat up an enormous amount of energy. A tense face messes with your breathing and that messes with your speaking and that messes with your accomplishments.

We will stray briefly from the preferred nose-breathing. Keep any mouth-breathing brief and stop for water if you begin to feel dry.

Keep your mouth closed with lips and jaw muscles completely relaxed. Your lips will be parted slightly only by the escaping exhalation.

1. Breathe in through your nose. Softly blow out each exhalation through your relaxed lips until they flutter. Wet your lips when necessary. Horses and babies make this same sound.
2. Inhale slowly through your nose and breathe out through your “flutter.” Gently squeeze out as much air as possible. The gentle vibration will gradually melt away tension from your face and jaws.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Carbon Monoxide

A carbon monoxide detector ($20-$60 from your local hardware store) is considerably cheaper than a coffin (or several)

Because you are priceless and irreplaceable I will be especially annoyed if you croak for preventable and stupid reasons. Carbon monoxide poisoning is high on the Stupid List. It is a sneaky killer that has no color, odor or taste so you could be gone before you notice you are going.

1. Never bring an OUTSIDE heater of any kind INSIDE your house, your garage, your camper or your car. Not even once. Not ever.
2. Go to your calendar right now and make a note to have your central heating system checked for leaks by a professional once a year. Don’t assume because your system is fairly new that it can’t have problems.
3. Always use your fireplace flue correctly. If you forget, put a reminder note on your mantle.
4. Of course, it is tempting in cold weather to warm up your car in the garage. Never. Not even one time.
5. If you have a wood stove, make sure that the door has a really snug fit.

Be well. Breathe beautifully (for a very long time.)

Review #4

What happens if I begin with one breathing exercise and it changes into a different one?

My hope is that you will learn to trust your instincts better than you have in the past. Go with the exercise that your mind/body has handed you. Remember that your brain processes countless bits of incoming data every split second and it gives you its best guidance at any given time. Breathing training and meditation both make us better listeners to internal and external wisdom.

What happens if I run out of breath before I have finished a movement?

This cannot happen because you establish the breathing pattern FIRST and then move to that rhythm! It is typical in a gym to see people set up their movement and then hope the breathing will keep pace. Not a good idea. Remember that breathing is the music and the movement is the dance.

Why am I so tired by the end of the workday?

There is a tendency to build and hold tension from the armpits up. The neck and head muscles are tiny, demanding and sophisticated. Since we are a very visual and very talkative species our speech and vision muscles are pretty pooped by the end of the day. Add to this the invention of the computer which means most of us forget to keep our 12 to 20 pound head directly over our tailbone. All this tension messes with circulation, with joints and with breathing. Take frequent breaks (less than a minute will do) to breathe out all the stale air. Rebuild your posture.

Be well Breathe beautifully.

Muscle Duty

Your breathing muscles are able to survive a lifetime of perpetual motion because they have a very brief moment of rest each time you exhale and before you begin your next intake of air.

In order for you to inhale, your intercostal muscles between ribs lift your ribs slightly out and up. At the same time your diaphragm (the elastic floor of your ribcage) flattens down. This results in a slightly larger ribcage that creates an imbalance of pressure and new air is sucked in. This is the busy, working, active stage of each breath cycle.

The resting stage means that all breathing muscles simply let go and relax. The ribs drop down once more and the diaphragm domes upward into its resting position. And there we have an exhalation as the breath is squeezed out.

The distance the diaphragm must move from its domed up relaxed position when the lungs are relatively empty to the flattened position of inhalation is only about half an inch. However, this slight change of total volume is enough to move all the air you need.

Your breathing muscles also have somewhat easier duty during sleep when you tend to breathe more efficiently.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Frequent Breaks

When you spend a big chunk of your day at the computer, you will be scrunched, crunched, twisted and compressed before the day is half gone. The mounting compression of sitting (usually badly) messes with your body, your energy and your breathing.

I trust that your chair, equipment, light and desk are all ergonomically correct. Unfortunately that isn’t enough.

During the hundreds of thousands of years when our bodies were adapting and evolving, there were no chairs. Since you were never intended to sit at all, at least change and check your position often. Set your computer or watch alarm to signal periodically that it is time to stand up, stretch and take a few deep breaths. There are some interesting studies that indicate that your brain resets itself to a sharper mode when you take a quick break at least once every 40 minutes.

The longer you sit, the more you shallow breathe, leaving your body and brain sluggish. The delicate nerves and arteries of your neck are compressed by the considerably heavy weight of your off-balance head.

Remember that you need an aligned and balanced ribcage for efficient breathing. Try pressing your elbows against the chair back and reach toward the ceiling with the top of your head. Or, hunch your shoulders upward, push them back and pull them down. Notice how your breathing improves.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Alternate Nostril Breath

This is an ancient and beautiful exercise that can do an impressive job of bringing the two hemispheres of your brain into harmony. Relax your dominant hand so that your fingers curl naturally. Center that hand in front of your nose (palm facing in) with your arm resting comfortably on your chest.

Gently touch the tip of the thumb (dominant hand) against the nostril indentation just above the flare, and the tip of your ring finger to the indentation on the other side. This leaves the tips of your index and middle fingers resting on your forehead just above brow level. Delicate pressure is enough to close a nostril since the passage narrows markedly at that point.

Avoid the tendency to slouch or to tuck your head down or off to one side. Continue only for as long as you are comfortable and focused. Eyes open or closed as you wish.

The physical setup is the same as for Eye of the Sun, except instead of traveling in a complete circle, the air now flows across an “arch” and backtracks across that same arch. Breathe IN through your RIGHT nostril and OUT through your LEFT. Then back IN through the LEFT and OUT through your RIGHT.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

LINK: EYE OF THE SUN

A Dangerous Bend in the Road

The good news is: there is a sharp downward bend at the back of your throat. The bad news is: there is a sharp downward bend in the back of your throat.

Incoming air travels horizontally through the nose-maze and suddenly turns downward toward your lungs. Food and saliva travel horizontally through your mouth and suddenly turn downward toward your stomach.

There are a couple of really scary inches in there that resemble a major intersection in downtown Beijing at rush hour. Actually it is always rush hour in downtown Beijing.

Mother Nature wasn’t having a Stupid Day when she put this design together. The 90-degree bend causes the incoming air to drop some of its pollution-load so the mucus can grab and dump irritants before they sneak into your fragile lungs. The bend is like a sharp turn in a stream that causes the dropping of silt.

There is, however, a tricky crossover at that point. The food must be kept separate from the air or your liverwurst could end up in your lungs. There is even a tiny trap door that slams shut when you swallow to guard your airways.

Countless wonderful human beings die each year because they simultaneously eat and laugh, eat and talk, eat and lounge, drink and smoke. That little right angle bend is a tricky piece of road. It is a dangerous place to multitask.

Quick Response

Practice this exercise until you can react without thinking, without hesitation, as if you were handling your car in a skid. Reading about a skidding car will not keep you out of the ditch. In an emergency your body may not have time to phone your brain for instructions and this is a first-response exercise. It therefore requires more practice than most.

1. In the very FIRST split-second of a real or perceived crisis (physical, emotional or intellectual) BREATHE OUT IMMEDIATELY. Release as much air as is comfortable. Relax all surface tension as you exhale. Think of suddenly releasing all air and tension from a balloon.
2. After that important first exhalation, assume deep and steady breathing. Now you are focused. You are clear. You are ready. You have some oxygen in your tank.

The tendency when things get dicey is to hold your breath or take in a big gulp of air without exhaling first. This forces the incoming air down on top of stale air, air that was used up and waiting to be exhaled. You are left with a small voice, tense muscles, and an expanded chest full of useless air. This is not what you need in crisis mode.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.

Point of Stillness

The pause at the end of each exhalation is a powerful, magical, valuable moment. Although the pause may last only a second or two, it provides a moment of beautiful quiet for your mind, your body and your spirit. You can take advantage of this special pause but resist any temptation to extend any pause beyond its natural length. To override this timing is like grabbing a soap bubble so it can’t float away.

Experiment by selecting in advance a positive word that you repeat silently to yourself during the pause. Or focus on a healing image. This is also an amazing time to simply listen and be open.

This brief moment brings you to your deepest self. That is why the temptation is so great to extend it. Although Point of Stillness is a delicate and simple exercise it is surprisingly effective.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.