The Breathing Gurus Have Got It Wrong! Four Common Myths About Breathing

It seems like every time you read about a health issue in a magazine or website lately some alternative health guru is giving out breathing instructions. These can range from the totally ludicrous to the simply misinformed. Much breathing advice is a perfect example of misguided information that "sounds" right and gets repeated so many times that it takes on the ring of truth. This is how myths are formed.

The only thing true about common breathing beliefs is that breathing is indeed a marvellous healing tool - when done naturally and correctly. So it's especially sad that so much of what passes for sound advice can often do more harm than good. Here are four of the most common misconceptions about breathing:

"Deep breathing exercises are beneficial" Deep breathing is probably the most popular advice to be heard on this issue. Unfortunately, the way these exercises are described will only lead to hyperventilation, not improved health. The symptoms include dizziness, light-headedness, confusion, and nausea. And to imagine that this is the most common advice given to relieve panic attacks!

"We don't get enough oxygen" Shallow breathing high in the chest supposedly robs us of oxygen. But, fortunately, we get more than enough oxygen. In fact, we're more often oxygen saturated and what we really need is to slow down and get more carbon dioxide!

Users of the Buteyko Method have convincingly debunked the oxygen depletion myth by applying this principle in the treatment of asthma. Slow breathing to lower high blood pressure works on a similar basis that is clinically proven.

"Inhale to a count to 4, pause for 2 seconds, then exhale... (and all similar)" Typical breathing instructions include some variant of a counting procedure. Counting your breathing is counter-productive! Every benefit to be derived from healthy breathing demands total relaxation and there's no way to relax while counting. The same goes for following any type of external timekeeper.

"You must breathe with your abdomen" This is usually accompanied by an explanation that babies breathe naturally with their abdomen and that somewhere along the way we've been corrupted into breathing with our chests. This is one of those things that "seems" so convincing. Until you really think about it. The reason we don't breathe like babies any more is because we've developed into adults!

Most activities require chest breathing and the only time when abdominal breathing is appropriate is in a state of deep relaxation. Abdominal breathing, in fact, can be very beneficial but it follows naturally from a healthy and natural form of breathing.

You can easily find a lot more breathing silliness such as breathing through one nostril and out the other but these are absurdities that don't need comment. They mostly have to do with over-complication.

Complicated or exotic breathing methods may be great challenges for yoga or meditation but are unsuitable for most purposes. They can be especially off-putting for the uninitiated who could most benefit from an easy and rational breathing method.

Simple, healthy breathing comes naturally, despite what some say. Using a simple, natural form of breathing as described below while relaxing for 15 minutes a day is clinically proven to produce a wide range of important health benefits.

Natural, healthy breathing is slow and gentle. Easy does it!

"Deep breathing" is a dangerous and misleading description that usually does more harm than good. A better way to visualize healthy breathing is "slow and gentle". You should forget about getting more oxygen, which you don't need at rest, and focus on breathing more slowly. Slow breathing is the key to health. When you do slow breathing 10 breaths per minute is the absolute maximum and with practice you should be able to get down to 6 breaths a minute.

The second key word is "gently". Breathing gently helps slow you down, relaxes you and also prevents hyperventilation.

Timing is crucial - but don't count on it!

Your breathing pattern is just as important as the rate. You should exhale for approximately twice as long as you inhale. A short pause of a second or two between phases is natural. But there's absolutely no need to count or follow a timekeeper! It's simply not possible to relax deeply while counting or focusing on time. Staying relaxed is far more important than precision timing.

Besides, your internal clock can easily figure it close enough and keep you on the right cycle. Just internalise the formula: inhale, pause, exhale twice as long as inhale. It's easy!

The emphasis is obviously on exhaling. When you exhale relax into it totally and let the air pressure expel itself instead of using muscular force. If you do it right you should feel an incredible release of tension in your chest. This is what opens up blood vessels and lowers blood pressure.

Abdominal breathing - it's only natural

Abdominal breathing is very healthy while relaxing but it follows naturally as a result of slow and gentle breathing. For some people it comes quickly and easily; for others it takes longer. But to try to instill it right off the bat is to put the cart before the horse. It only disturbs the relaxation you need to benefit from this type of breathing in the first place.

So don't worry about abdominal breathing. Follow my easy breathing method for 15 minutes a day and you'll be breathing like a baby again without even realizing it. You'll also discover lower blood pressure, lower levels of stress and anxiety, improved sleep, better moods and any other of the many health benefits that come from the power that lies hidden in your breathing.

Stress Management and a Power-Nap

A recent study in Greece showed that working men who had a nap after lunch had a 74% reduced rate of heart attacks over those who did not rest.

We are all subject to stress in one form or another and need to devise ways of reducing and avoiding it.

You will be less subject to stress if you are well rested and eat proper nutritious food. Many fast foods cause your mind and body to become hyperactive and then reverse this rapidly to a considerable down. The best food to eat is dominantly natural carbohydrate of fruit, vegetable, cereals, rice or pasta. This is absorbed slowly and keeps your blood sugar at a good level for a prolonged time.

The body and mind need more short periods of rest than we have been accustomed to allowing ourselves. Even a few minutes total relaxation will refresh you so that you can continue with what you were doing in a much more effective way. You can learn to relax fully and to have a power-nap quite easily in the comfort of your own home.

A power-nap will put you into a refreshing phase of sleep, but not so deep that you wake up feeling even more tired than before you started. A power-nap should last from a couple of minutes up to a maximum of twenty minutes and can be done anywhere - even in the middle of a meeting, as long as you know you have a period that doesn't involve you.

You should relax all the muscles of your body from the top of your head down to your toes. Imagine yourself to be in a warm and comfortable environment that has happy, relaxing memories for you, and gently will yourself in to a relaxing sleep. Say to yourself I am relaxing and drifting gently asleep, and repeat this slowly, and quietly. You will drift off in to a gentle sleep.

This may sound ridiculous and impossible to you but it will come easily with a little training and practice which you will be helped to acquire through the resource box web site.

You will learn to set your own internal alarm clock which will wake you up in the number of minutes you set it at. You will then gradually wake up to a bright sunny day, feeling rejuvenated.

Learn how to relax your body fully, apart from the whole concept of a full power-nap, by relaxing all your muscles from top to toe. This can be done in whole or in part while sitting at your desk or armchair. Loosen up your neck and shoulders, particularly if you are sitting at a computer screen all day. An on-site neck and shoulder massage is a great help in this.

Deep breathing in a confrontational situation will calm you down to be able to argue more rationally and effectively.

You will see more on this, and much more, in the better memory skills web site and you will have the opportunity to keep up to date by registering for the free e-zyne with recent news and the thoughts of others on the whole concept of better memory. This course is written by a family doctor with years of experience who has trained senior management from major international companies, the armed forces and government departments.

The full 26 week course covers 13 topics in fortnightly articles with guidance and encouragement to continue to learn. This costs only £52 and will open your life to new opportunities, interests and friendships.