Breathing Your Health Back

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The most vital of all functions
Welcome,

This is the most basic of the basics. Conscious breathing is any form of mindful breathing that can increase our health, vitality, longevity and consciousness. It is more than simply the action of supplying oxygen to our cells and organs. One of the most ancient of developers in mindful breathing came from the culture found in India. The name they have for it is Pranayama:

(Sanskrit: प्राणायाम prāṇāyāma) is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force"
With this intention kept firmly in place they held the breath to be of the highest order as it could extend one's consciousness to levels that could leave the practitioner with a deeper since of empathy and clarity. A significant portion of Eastern Traditions held with great reverence mindful breathing practices that were encouraged daily for reasons that extend through the physical, mental, emotional, personal and spiritual. Science has recorded some of the insights that the Yogi's of India and Monks of Tibet wrote of in ancient texts.

With this in mind we encourage you to consider the origins of mindful breathing of which the earliest most detailed account is in India with the Yogic traditions. Adopting the same level of priority that the Yogic traditions have on the exploration and practice of breathing is quite possibly the single most powerful tool you will ever encounter. Key benefits of mindful breathing, some of which are anecdotal and other empirical are as follows:

  • Significantly increases our immunity by increasing lymph-flow
  • Cleanses more toxins from the body than perspiration, urination or defecation
  • Pain relief benefit due to a variety of biochemically measurable increases and decreases
  • Centers emotionally imbalanced states quicker and more consistently than any known action
  • Deepens our awareness to subtle energies that not only surround us but are within us internally
  • Stress relief benefit due to lower cortisol levels, increase in melatonin levels and increase in antioxidant level
  • Increase in body-awareness which leads to improved understanding of our body and it's current state of health
  • Significantly increases athletic performance as well as our lifespan as it is widely considered the primary indicator for longevity
  • May unlock the door to slowing aging, increasing vitality and extending our consciousness far beyond our currently accepted reality

Side-Effects from Breathing Exercises?

  • Dizziness due to increase in oxygen
  • Heart palpation (if your not used to getting proper oxygen levels occasionaly you can feel a palpation or slight murmur, not very common but possible)

What is Breath?

The simplest way to balance physical, mental, emotional and spiritual imbalances. Medical Doctors from Andrew Weil to Deepak Chopra have researched the benefits of many different breathing practices. As Deepak once said:

"Breathing is the link between the biological and spiritual elements of our nature."

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We are capable of transforming our life from this simple act. The more consistant the practice the more growth we receive from all directions. Our physical health grows and expands as does our emotional health, etc. This is our stablizer for when times get rough but more importantly this is the most essential basic of the basics fundamental for success in Optimal Health.

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The following video is an excellent introduction to a form of mindful breathing called Pranayama.
The next video is an excellent presentation on how to properly do diaphragmatic breathing.

"Let the breath in, let it ease into every layer of the body. It can transform your chemistry."


Books
Science Of Breath: A Complete Manual Of The Oriental Breathing Philosophy Of Physical, Mental, Psychic And Spiritual Development

Breathing & Science
  1. Randomized, controlled trial of breath therapy for patients with chronic low-back pain.
  2. Effect of diaphragmatic breathing on heart rate variability in ischemic heart disease with diabetes.
  3. Diaphragmatic breathing reduces postprandial oxidative stress.
  4. The value of blowing up a balloon.
  5. Breathing retraining - a five-year follow-up of patients with dysfunctional breathing.
  6. Roles of meditation on alleviation of oxidative stress and improvement of antioxidant system.
  7. [Effects of breathing exercises on breathing pattern and thoracoabdominal motion after gastroplasty].
  8. Comprehensive directed breathing retraining improves exertional dyspnea for men with spirometry within normal limits.
  9. Efficacy and tolerability of yoga breathing in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pilot study.
  10. The singer's breath: implications for treatment of persons with emphysema.
  11. Evidence underlying breathing retraining in people with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
  12. The immediate effects of deep breathing exercises on atelectasis and oxygenation after cardiac surgery.
  13. Effects of diaphragmatic breathing on ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate.
  14. The effects of deep diaphragmatic breathing and focused attention on dental anxiety in a private practice setting.
  15. Efficacy of diaphragmatic breathing in persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a review of the literature.
  16. Acute effects of deep diaphragmatic breathing in COPD patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency.
  17. Quantitative research for improving respiratory muscle contraction by breathing exercise.
  18. Breathing-coordinated exercise improves the quality of life in hemodialysis patients.
  19. Incentive spirometry to prevent acute pulmonary complications in sickle cell diseases.
  20. Breathing, voice, and movement therapy: applications to breathing disorders.
  21. Inspiratory muscle training in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
  22. The effects of biofeedback assisted breathing retraining on lung functions in patients with cystic fibrosis.
  23. Deep diaphragmatic breathing: rehabilitation exercises for the asthmatic patient.
  24. Fifteen-month follow-up with asthmatics utilizing EMG/incentive inspirometer feedback.
  25. Integrating music in breathing training and relaxation: II. Applications.
  26. Diaphragmatic breathing maneuvers and movement of the diaphragm after cholecystectomy.
  27. Target-flow inspiratory muscle training at home and during pulmonary rehabilitation in COPD patients with a ventilatory limitation during exercise.
  28. A behavioral analysis of diaphragmatic breathing and its effects on peripheral temperature.
  29. Inspiratory muscle training in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
  30. Resistive breathing training in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A pilot study.
  31. Breathing awareness meditation and LifeSkills Training programs influence upon ambulatory blood pressure and sodium excretion . . .
  32. Differential effects of mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and loving-kindness meditation on decentering and negative reactions . . .
  33. The effects of slow breathing on affective responses to pain stimuli: an experimental study.
  34. The effect of add-on yogic prana energization technique (YPET) on healing of fresh fractures: a randomized control study.
  35. The effects of slow breathing on affective responses to pain stimuli: an experimental study.
  36. Effect of alternate nostril breathing exercise on cardiorespiratory functions.
  37. A preliminary investigation of the effects of giving testimony and learning yogic breathing techniques on battered women's feelings of depression.
  38. Wellness through a comprehensive yogic breathing program - a controlled pilot trial.
  39. On Spectral Analysis of Heart Rate Variability during Very Slow Yogic Breathing.
  40. Sudarshan Kriya yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression: part I-neurophysiologic model.
  41. Sudarshan Kriya Yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression. Part II--clinical applications and guidelines.
  42. Hemodynamic observations on a yogic breathing technique claimed to help eliminate and prevent heart attacks: a pilot study.
  43. Acute effect of Mukh bhastrika (a yogic bellows type breathing) on reaction time.
  44. Improvement in oxidative status with yogic breathing in young healthy males.
  45. Effect of two selected yogic breathing techniques of heart rate variability.
  46. Clinical case report: efficacy of yogic techniques in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorders.
  47. The effects of unilateral forced nostril breathing on cognitive performance.
  48. The effects of unilateral forced nostril breathing on the heart.
  49. Kapalabhati--yogic cleansing exercise. I. Cardiovascular and respiratory changes.
  50. Kapalabhati--yogic cleansing exercise. II. EEG topography analysis.
  51. Oxygen consumption during pranayamic type of very slow-rate breathing.
  52. Immediate effect of a slow pace breathing exercise Bhramari pranayama on blood pressure and heart rate.
  53. Effect of Pranayama (voluntary regulated breathing) and Yogasana (yoga postures) on lipid profile in normal healthy junior footballers.
  54. Effect of yoga on pulmonary function tests of hypothyroid patients.
  55. Mechanisms of yogic practices in health, aging, and disease.
  56. Effect of yoga on quality of life of CLBP patients: A randomized control study.
  57. Effect of yoga on academic performance in relation to stress.
  58. Effect of pranayama & yoga-asana on cognitive brain functions in type 2 diabetes-P3 event related evoked potential (ERP).
  59. Subjective Sleep Quality and hormonal modulation in long-term yoga practitioners.
  60. The effect of various breathing exercises (pranayama) in patients with bronchial asthma of mild to moderate severity.
  61. Evaluation of Siddha Samadhi Yoga for anxiety and depression symptoms: a preliminary study.
  62. EEG paroxysmal gamma waves during Bhramari Pranayama: a yoga breathing technique.
  63. Improvement of glutathione and total antioxidant status with yoga.
  64. Rhythmic breathing as a nursing intervention.
  65. Physiology of long pranayamic breathing: neural respiratory elements may provide a mechanism that explains how slow deep breathing shifts . . .
  66. Effect of short-term practice of breathing exercises on autonomic functions in normal human volunteers.
  67. Effects of a yoga breath intervention alone and in combination with an exposure therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression . . .
  68. Diaphragmatic Breathing Reduces Exercise-induced Oxidative Stress.

Words From Medical Community

"Coronary heart disease is due to a lack of oxygen received by the heart."
Dr. Dean Ornish

"All chronic pain, suffering, and diseases are caused by a lack of oxygen at the cell level."
Dr. Arthur C. Guyton, MD, author The Textbook on Medical Physiology

"Illness is the result of improper removal of toxins from the body. Oxygen is the vital factor which assists the body in removing toxins."
Ed McCabe, (Oxygen Therapies, A New Way of Approaching Disease)

"Insufficient oxygen means insufficient biological energy that can result in anything from mild fatigue to life-threatening disease. The link between insufficient oxygen and disease has now been firmly established."
W. Spencer Way (Journal of the American Association of Physicians)

"The first discovery was made by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Otto Warburg, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Cell Physiology in Berlin. He confirmed that the key precondition for the development of cancer is a lack of oxygen at the cellular level."
Nathaniel Altman (Oxygen Healing Therapies, Pg. 66)

"The relationship between breathing and blood pressure has been known and understood for a long time. It boils down to this: Elevated blood pressure accompanies those bodily states where rapid shallow breathing prevails. By altering breathing to a slow diaphragmatic mode, blood pressure decreases."
~Robert Fried, PhD (The Breath Connection, Pg. 152)

"In all serious disease states, we find a concomitant low oxygen state... Low oxygen in the body tissues is a sure indicator for disease... Hypoxia, or lack of oxygen in the tissues, is the fundamental cause for all degenerative disease. Oxygen is the source of life to all cells."
Dr. Stephen Levine (Biologist, Geneticist and Author, Oxygen Deficiency: A Concomitant to All Degenerative Illness)

"Breathing is the key that unlocks the whole catalog of advanced biological function and development. Is it any wonder that it is so central to every aspect of health? Breathing is the first place, not the last, one should look when fatigue, disease, or other evidence of disordered energy presents itself. Breathing is truly the body's most basic communication system."
Dr. Sheldon Saul Hendler (Oxygen Breakthrough, Pg 96)

" . . . healthy breathing should be the first thing taught to a heart patient. A Dutch Study conducted by a Dr. Dixhoorn, compared two groups of heart attack patients. The first group was taught simple diaphragmatic breathing, while the second group was given no training in breathing. The breathing group had no further heart attacks, while 7 of the 12 members of the second group had second heart attacks over the next 2 years."
Gay Hendricks, Ph.D. Conscious Breathing, Pg. 16

"Jack Shield, MD, a Lymphologist from Santa Barbara, CA, conducted a study on the effects of breathing on the lymphatic system. Using cameras inside the body, he found that deep diaphragmatic breathing stimulated the cleansing of the lymph system by creating a vacuum effect which sucked the lymph through the bloodstream. This increased the rate of toxic elimination by as much as 15 times the normal pace."
{Lymph, Lymph Glands, and Homeostasis} 25 No. 4, Dec 92, Pg. 147-153
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"Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts."

Thich Nhat Hanh
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