Correct breathing: benefits and how to do it –

“The mind is the queen of emotions. But breathing is the queen of the mind”, says the professor of yoga Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, known as BKS Iyengar, founder of “Iyengar Yoga”. The fact is that your breathing can say a lot about your state and learning how to breathe correctly has a great impact on your health.

“Not breathing well hinders the sleep, chewing reduces the taste of food and worsens the quality of life”, warns Maura Neves, otorhinolaryngologist at Hospital das Clinicas, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo (USP). Already, breathing wisely improves tissue oxygenation. “And it even decreases cardiac frequency and work – if in a heartbeat there is very well oxygenated and rich blood, certainly the number of beats it needs to deliver the oxygen demanded by the tissues decreases”, warns Rodrigo Duprat, plastic surgeon Graduated from Instituto Ivo Pitanguy (RJ), trained instructor and yoga practitioner.

Advantages of correct breathing

The process of lung breathing is dependent on two important respiratory movements: inspiration and expiration. When we breathe in, the “diaphragm” muscle descends and the intercostal muscles contract, causing the chest to rise and the pressure within the chest to decrease. During expiration, the diaphragm plays the opposite role: it rises, the intercostal muscles are relaxed, the thoracic cage is reduced, increasing the pressure inside the thorax, facilitating the exit of air.

Most people don’t know how to breathe to take full advantage of the nourishing and healthy properties of this act. and end up developing harmful habits – and on autopilot. “Often, the day-to-day rush, external sources of stress, lead people to breathe with the upper part of the chest, raising and lowering the shoulders, thus changing the rhythm and depth of breathing, which influences well -being”, observes Gilmara Souza Enfermeira, specialist in Pneumological Sciences, from São Paulo.

“When we breathe properly, we are able to nourish a resource that helps us reduce anxiety and stress and promotes calm and relaxation”, says Vivian Wolff, a coach specializing in human development and mindfulness at the Integrated Coaching Institute (ICI).

And the act affects even our Imune system. “In a battle of our immune system, breathing is often fast, short and we lose the ability to remain in retention for a long time (without breathing). Anyone who knows his breathing pattern accurately perceives it clearly. In general, when I have any flu or infection, my breathing changes a day or two before any other symptoms,” adds Rodrigo.

Other advantages of correct breathing include:

. Better maintenance of brain oxygenation;

. Skin rejuvenation (oxygen balances the effects of free radicals);

. Helps in the digestive process and weight control.

. Improved metabolism;

. Impulse control, lowering the level of stress and reducing anxiety (by stimulating endorphin production), which generates a feeling of well-being;

. Reduction in the frequency of migraines, by maintaining adequate brain oxygenation;

. Induction of melatonin production which improves sleep quality;

. Strengthening the immune system by promoting a protective barrier against external factors that cause damage to the body, such as dust, pollen, cold, mites, pollution, bacteria and viruses.

External factors

Those who suffer from anguish, anxiety disorders, stress and other emotional changes may experience variations in breathing at various times of the day. “Anxiety causes the release of adrenaline, which leads to an increase in respiratory rate”, explains Gilmara. Our breathing can change and become shorter… “And even panting under a moment of pressure and emotional lack of control”, notes physiotherapist Cadu Ramos, from São Paulo.

Seasonal changes also contribute to breathing variation. In autumn and winter, for example, the temperature becomes lower, as well as the humidity in the air, generating a reduction in ventilation in environments, intensifying the susceptibility of transmission of viruses and bacteria, leading to the worsening of respiratory conditions and breathing changes. .

Other factors such as obesity, chronic heart disease, feverish states also pathologically influence the change in breathing.

Shortness of breath caused by the coronavirus

It’s easy to identify if your shortness of breath is due to physical exertion, but if you haven’t moved and you’re experiencing it, it could still just be a case of anxiety.

In Covid-19, shortness of breath is a worrying symptom that stems from an inflammatory process in the lungs. The patient commonly describes it as a feeling of tightness in the chest and fatigue related to exertion. “The person has limitations in doing certain activities that they used to do with ease, complaining of ‘shortness of breath’”, says Gilmara. “With the worsening of the disease process and with lung overload, the absence can occur, even with the patient at rest, intensifying even more with movement. This impairment of breathing in Covid-19 can trigger an imbalance in oxygenation that can lead to important cases of acute respiratory failure ”, he adds.

In turn, shortness of breath caused by anxiety, most of the time, is unrelated to physical exertion. On the contrary, the person feels short of breath at rest and improves when he walks, or has some source of distraction.

Learn to do the correct breathing.

The most appropriate way is to breathe through the nose, using the natural and involuntary movement of the diaphragm muscle, either in inspiration, facilitating the entry of air into the lungs, or in expiration, eliminating air rich in carbon dioxide into the environment.

The master in exercise physiology Bianca Vilela, from São Paulo, agrees: “With so much anxiety, we breathe in a short way and without the air being able to reach where it should go, that is, in the ventral region, with a deep inspiration, not a short one. I always say that breathing should not occur only in the pectoral region and that it should reach down there, so that the abdominal region is projected forward”.

It is important to remember that one should not breathe through the mouth, since it is the nasal cavity that is responsible for pre-conditioning the air – filtering, heating and humidifying it. It is even a barrier against the entry of microorganisms. “Breathing through the mouth allows the entry of ‘unfiltered’ cold air, full of external agents harmful to human health, causing dryness of the oral mucosa, and greater vulnerability to infections and inflammations such as tonsillitis and pharyngitis, for example”, says the nurse.

5 breathing techniques to help with anxiety – and to live better

“The simplest and most practical breathing is to lengthen the time of inhalation and exhalation, without observing the transitions. The breath is so fluid that you can hardly tell when the inspiration started and when it ended. A good runner is one who leaves no footprints”, teaches Duprat. Next, he suggests 5 techniques to practice.

DIAPHRAGMATIC BREATHING The one where the diaphragm muscle pushes the viscera down on inspiration and allows for abdominal breathing. It is very relaxing and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system.
BREATHING NADI SHODANA It helps to balance the subtle energy of our organism. We alternate nostrils. Inhale through the right (closing the left with the ring finger), exhale through the left (closing the right with the ring finger). Then inhale through the left and exhale through the right.
BREATH WHEN WALKING Start your walk for one minute and watch your breath. Exhale relaxing the body and retain without air – walk 5 steps. When you need it, inhale for 5 steps. Hold for 10 steps. Exhale in 10 steps.
BREATHING IN CASES OF PANIC OR ANXIETY Take some air silently. Hold for 2 to 5 seconds. After each hold, breathe normally for 10 seconds. Continue small 2-5 second holds. Practice the cycles for 15 minutes.
BREATH 1,2,3,4 (1,2,3,4 breathing in 4,3,2,1 breathing out). While inhaling, slowly count from “1” to “4”, and as you exhale, slowly count back to “1” from “4”. So, as you inhale, calmly say “1..2..3..4” and, as you exhale, calmly say to yourself “4..3..2..1”. Do this several times.