New article on breathing

I've posted the July article on my website in the Members Section. Here's an excerpt.
A basic question must be answered. We know why we breathe. But how do we breathe? This is a complex answer and I cannot address all the factors. I’ll distill what I know. I have to credit Dr. Marc Rowe for passing along some valuable information on this. Marc recently asked me why I teach what I teach. As always, his questions are insightful and the main impetus for writing this.


Marc broke it down in great detail but the mechanical basics are this. We inhale (inspiration) and exhale (expiration). We have a diaphragm that is a big player in this and that’s why we emphasize diaphragmatic breathing. It raises consciousness of what it is, where it’s located and what it does. The student can then develop their ability to control it. When the diaphragm pulls down it creates a negative air pressure area in the lungs, like a vacuum, that outside air then seeks to fill (inspiration). When the diaphragm relaxes it creates a positive pressure that empties the lung, essentially squeezing the air out (expiration). As an aside, Ed Parker said there is an opposite and reverse for everything. Think about giving CPR; Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation. The life giving breath is positive pressure that fills the lungs versus the negative pressure in a normal breath. The air is pushed in instead of pulled in.

Now I’m going to take it for granted that you realize that breath is life and have an idea about how the lung processes oxygen and passes it to the blood through the membrane of the lungs. The military “Rule of Three” reinforces the high priority of air. It takes three weeks to starve, three days to dehydrate and three minutes to die from lack of oxygen. You breathe automatically through an autonomic system but also have the ability control when and how you breathe. You have the best of both worlds. Control of your diaphragm is important.

When you breathe in through your nose you take advantage of several built-in characteristics. Outside air is cleaned a bit by the tiny hairs in your nostrils. This helps reduce or prevent the entry of pollutants to the lungs. The air is moistened and warmed as it travels to the lungs. Many of us have experienced how truly cold air is almost painful to breathe, so we know the warming is a good thing. All this helps protect the lungs. I have been told that some Chinese systems call breathing through the mouth “eating dirt”. They realized the lack of cleaning the air by oral inhalation. For these reasons I agree that breathing should be done in and out the nose. I am not dismissing the other methods; this is the method I choose to introduce my students to.

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