Moving Into Harmony

MOVEMENT & BREATHING: HEALTH / PERFORMANCE PROGRAMS

Yoga

The truth about your breathing – the diaphragm Part 2

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Breathing is based on the ability to exchange gases. This exchange is accomplished by pressure and fluid dynamics.

The vital exchange of what is in the outside air, and the process of those essential ingredients for you to survive, AND to live efficiently in all activities you do. Health doesn’t happen. Health is a uncovering to continuously reveal the powers and capacities behind how you roll in life with your body and mind. And this requires Oxygen.

Oxygen is a gas.
Carbon Dioxide is a gas.
And so is Nitric Oxide.
These are very important for life to be energized and supported. One is essential for all biological processes in life, and one is produced inside the lining of your nose, from the interaction with Oxygen. The other gas of importance in the exchange for life is Carbon Dioxide – a byproduct of your energy production.

So why you ask is the diaphragm important in this process called Respiratory Physiology?

Because gas moves to and from by pressure, availability and permeability.

And when the diaphragm contracts before you engage with your inhalation. I hope you picked this up! Your diaphragm begins to contract BEFORE you ride the incoming breath, or consciously engage with the incoming air. This contraction sets up a cascade of actions by other muscles, tissues, joints and vessels based on a pressure gradient.

The diaphragm creates a larger space in the rib cage where your lungs are. As the diaphragm contracts:

  • it moves down,
  • muscles in between the ribs assist in up-lifting (a bucket handle analogy is often used for the ribs).
  • neck muscles assist in anchoring/stabilizing the head on the neck, and mobilizing the neck and upper ribs.
  • the spine “elongates” or flattens its curves - the upper spine, or thoracic spine, lessens it’s backward curvature = kyphosis, and the low back, or lumbar spine lessens it’s forward curvature = lordosis.
  • the glottis contracts to generate a pressure gradient so air doesn’t escape (or go into the lungs). My friend Mary Massery’s studies into the “pop can dynamic of postural control” is brilliant in another awe of the diaphragm’s potential in human development, mobility and movement.
  • the dilator muscle of the throat, in the pharynx and laryngeal region, contract to open up the airway.
  • membranes of the small air sacs, alveoli – “grapes”, and lower smaller airways dilate (with the help of Nitric Oxide) for greater profusion across a barrier – the endothelial layer – for gas exchange.
  • the pelvic floor moves downward to accommodate for the building internal pressure of the abdomen and pelvic cavities.
  • certain parts of the blood circulation gain pressure, while other parts decrease pressure to accommodate for the powerful force of the blood; and this is influenced by the diaphragm, the connective tissues around all organs and other tissues for proper fluid dynamics.

And all of these coordinated activities like a symphony, create a maximal function for the outside air to move into all the spaces of the lungs with the greatest ease and least amount of energy required. Yes breathing is one of the energy consumers of your body.

The most important factor is the diaphragm’s contraction creates greater space. With greater space the pressure inside your lungs – which is already sub-atmospheric pressure, meaning it is less than the pressure outside. With an increase in pressure gradient, air moves easier along the gradient from higher to lower. This allows for the greatest efficiency of breathing to occur. And this is true in the opposite way to easily and efficiently release what is not needed in the system as eliminating from the lungs.

I hope you can begin to appreciate what all happens in the act of each breath you are given. All the above mentioned drive all activities in coordinated functions. And the health of each cell, and each tissue function, is dependent on this very important cascade of actions.

Did you know that they way you breathe can be affecting the health of your spine – neck, upper back and low back – too?

Contact me for a full-system approach to how your breathing impacts your health and well-being.

Why the diaphragm is the most important muscle – Part 1

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The diaphragm is the most important muscle in our body. We can’t live without it or mechanical means are necessary to keep you alive. And the diaphragm can perform the important respiratory, or breathing, function with our volitional, or conscious, control and non-volitional, unconscious function (especially during sleep). How your diaphragm functions in the day determines it’s efficiency when you are sleeping.

The diaphragm is so vital to your health and well-being. Here are some facts to contemplate what it does for you:

  • is the hardest and most enduring muscle in the human body.
  • it acts whether you are paying attention to your breathing or not. In my personal and clinical experience when attention is elsewhere, the breathing habits take over unless they’ve been practiced and cultivated. This article explains the qualities of a healthy breath to support your physical and mental health.
  • contracting and relaxing at least 21,500 times per day (calculated at 15 breaths per minute – bpm’s, not rpm….haaahaaa, so if you breath more, then its more, and more, and more. If you exercise or are under stress, it’s probably 20-30 breaths per minute…yes can be doubled!
  • 5.5 million breaths per year – at least
  • living to be 85…..then you have taken almost half a trillion breaths to support your long life.
  • during it’s action it makes breathing easier from the ease of how the outside air can enter all of your lungs. And during the relaxation phase, returning to it’s resting length, it assists in moving air out of the lungs via pressure dynamics. This article explains breathing from a pressure dynamic, and the symphony of actions that occur, to help you to understand the harder you work at breathing the more exhausted you will be.
  • it helps support your posture, and is also affected by your posture. It also aides in stabilizing the spine and transferring forces to/from the limbs during all upright activity.
  • it pumps all the major fluids – lymph and venous blood – back to the heart against gravity and when we are sleeping.
  • it generates a motion and pressure, intra-abdominal pressure, that massages the abdominal organs, and contributes greatly to the fluid exchange for the brain, pelvis and legs. It also mobilizes the spine while you sleep.
  • it contributes to force translation of lower limbs to upper limbs for power efficiency in movement.
  • and more (this article lays out all the functions that I have learned over the 30 years of study, personal practice and clinical experiences.

Article by Shawn M Flot, MPT – Masters in Physical Therapy (1994). He is an experienced Certified Oxygen Advantage® Instructor, and Functional Movement Systems specialist. Combined with his 35 years of experience in Exercise Physiology, Physical Therapist for health and performance, and a dedicated Hatha Yoga practitioner, is making for a power-house to help many people succeed in re-discovering their own health and healing, being fit and living well for their adventures.

Nasal Breathing has greatest impact on your health & fitness sustainability

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If you did one thing to dramatically impact your whole body-mind’s health and fitness – make nasal breathing a priority. According to leading experts in the fields of ear/nose/throat, cardiopulmonary, psychiatry and physical rehabilitative health care, nasal breathing is by far the most impactful natural action one can incorporate to positively impact their health and optimize fitness.

Why?

Because over 30 vital actions of the body-mind rely upon proper breathing. If you are concerned for your health and fitness from the food you eat and gut health, sleeping well, sustaining mental capacities, being apart of healthy relationships, ease with sustaining sexual functions, exercise for all it’s benefits, and optimizing your health span, then it’s even more important to realize the only way for this is breathing through you nose during all daily activities* and night.
*exception – high intensity exercise (which is less than 5% of your daily life)

Here are some HUGE benefits of nasal breathing:

Nitric Oxide

Nitric Oxide (NO) is a bio-active gas that is produced by the lining of the para-nasal sinuses. It has a short existence, and is circulated to the lungs, heart and brain for the primary purpose of increasing oxygen delivery. Oxygen availability is the primary necessity of all organs, tissues and cells for healthy function.

Nitric Oxide was discovered in 1992 as a “miracle” substance naturally occurring in the human body that aid in all body function, health and longevity. And in 1998 scientist were given a Nobel Prize in medicine for it’s role in health, and now over 200 discovered benefits are known.

In addition, the benefits of nasal breathing far out-weigh any benefit of mouth breathing. Mouth breathing destroys the internal environment and endothelial layer – a mucousal membrane that hosts the microbiome (beneficial bacteria) responsible for turning inorganic Nitrates from the food we eat, primarily dark leafy green vegetables, into available Nitrite which is converted into available Nitric Oxide (NO) in the digestive tract. So a double benefit of nasal breathing incredibly impacts all organs, tissues and cells for a healthy life span.

AND you need the right amount of oxygen delivered to the blood vessels and organs for Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) to have the transformation for available NO. It’s a two way dependent process. And you need the right amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) to break the bond of Oxygen to Hemoglobin so Oxygen can be released into the tissues for the process. Over-breathing, very likely with mouth breathing, lessens the amount of CO2 for proper Oxygen delivery to the cells. This is respiration, cellular respiration, which is the life giving process and sustainability for health, fitness and performance.

Check out this article for more on Nitric Oxide.

Your Immune Function

The nose has an incredible innate immune capacities to ward off and mitigate incoming pathogens (virus and bacteria) and environmental toxins through its series of channels and membranes before reaching your lungs. There are many envelopes that have a specialized lining to help move and take care of things that come in that are not for you. The passage of air and particulates has a long ways to go before it hits the back of your throat, and is lined with the best defense for your health. It requires a healthy membrane, endothelial membrane, for these functions to be a full capacity.

Also your immune system is supported with the circulation of Nitric Oxide that is produced in the para-nasal sinuses. NO has significant viral and pathogen mediation properties, as well as inflammatory responses (which go hand in hand with immune function). See Nitric Oxide above for more information.

Hydration is important for a robust immune system. Nasal breathing has its own way of warming and moistening the air coming in. And you don’t get dehydrated as you would breathing through your mouth. In addition, to have resilience against environmental stressors – hot, cold, dry, smoky, pollution, etc. – the nasal membranes must be supported. See this article on Nasya practices, a 3000 year tradition daily health practice.

Optimizing Function of the Diaphragm

Your diaphragm is the most important muscle. Not only for respiratory function, or breathing, it is the nexus in all movement. And it is most effective when using the nose to breathe. Mouth breathing is primarily upper chest breathing for highest intensity activity, or maximal, breathing. Whereas nasal breathing because of the resistance in the nasal cavity engages the diaphragm more effectively thus accessing the lower lobes of the lungs for greatest oxygen carrying capacity. There is also better coordination of movement when the diaphragm is taking part in all functional movements.

Lower chest/lung breaths are most important because the majority of the gas exchange of oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) occurs in the lower lobes of the lungs. The use of the nose to engage the diaphragm the best also helps to mobilize the tissues and fluids of the lower lung chambers (pneumonia often exists in the lower lobes and is often seen greater in people who primarily breathe in their upper chest).

Not only for breathing, the diaphragm functions as a suspender for all the abdominal organs and tissue below, therefore it assists in:

  • optimizing digestion of food and water,
  • core strength and spinal health,
  • moving fluids back up to the heart (including venous blood and lymph),
  • massaging and mobilizing the organs for proper circulation to and from organs,
  • regulating pressures,
  • regulate fluids to and from the brain,
  • and more – see this article for more on diaphragms’ role in health and fitness.

Mental Health

Nasal breathing has an overall calming affect when the breath is soft, quiet and regular rhythm. Breathing through the nose allows for a depth of the breath, accessing the lower lobes of the lungs, producing a grounding, centered feeling that gives feedback to the brain of ease and calm. On the other hand, upper chest breathing (and mouth breathing) signals to the brain as state of alertness, fixation, tense feelings, and unable to rest and recover.

Nose breathing provides best function with the diaphragm created more of a balanced state in the nervous system. Many will tell you it stimulates the vagus nerve. This may be true, and what part of the vagus nerve is being stimulated? I believe it brings back a state of balance, where the body-mind complex has more options and less reactivity to any experience. It can aid in the vehicle, your body-mind complex, not speeding on high RPMs all day long diminishing any chance of accessing your healthy capacities. Nasal breathing allows for a slower, smoother and more rhythmic state of being that open the range of possibilities for your health.

If you have any interest in eating well, absorbing nutrition, eliminating waste, sexual function and reproduction potentials, mental capacities for success in school or work (or play like succeeding in a game requiring strategy and thinking on point), memory, sleep and more the daily active life balancer within the autonomic nervous system will support these very important functions. My teacher always said “you can eat, pee, poop, or make love when you are running from the tiger.” Stimulating the vagus nerve helps regulate the systems that rely on the autonomic nervous system. Your body is connected and inter-dependently supported in more ways than we can realize.

Releasing you from Chronic Stress

When you breathe through your nose easily you feel begin to feel an downward movement of support. You will feel the lower ribs move as you engage the diaphragm with nasal breathing. This massages the organs where emotional and mental stressors are stored. It mobilizes the spine in a snake like motion, giving the regulator in the brain a sense of connectiveness and access to all limbs for optimal movement in daily life. Stress creates withdrawl of vital circulation (and oxygenation to our furthest points) often resulting in cold hands and feet, thus giving information to the brain of an unsafe environment which then creates a cyclic downward spiral in one’s health – stress kills.

With a downward feeling, it produces a dropping down of your low center of support. This has it’s own inherent medicine that stabilizes many functions of the body. It gives feedback to the brain and nervous system as a true supportive center. It is the best counter-balance to stress, helping you to lessen the tendency to react intensely with uprooted-unsupported feelings that create more stress responses with your life.

Here is a recording of a public talk I gave from the Ashland Food Co-op’s educational event.

Article by Shawn M Flot, MPT. He is an experience Certified Oxygen Advantage® Instructor. Combined with his 30 years of experience in Exercise Physiology, Physical Therapist for health and performance, and a dedicated Yoga practitioner is making for a power-house to help many people succeed in re-discovering their own health and healing, being optimally fit for their adventures and living well.