Breathe Well and Live a Long Life

Strengthen lung capacity with a regular breathwork practice.

Welcome to a weekly newsletter for those who want to stay younger for longer, remaining upbeat. I’ve spent the last 30 years following the science of putting that into practice. It’s paid off because I’m now fit and healthy in my seventies, continuing to learn how to live my best life. I’m an artist, as well as a writer, still active and creating. I plan to do so for many years to come. Subscribe to read all my posts and/or listen to my podcasts.

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Image courtesy of Canva.com.

For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth - Sanskrit Proverb.

Breathing is an unconscious act. It’s vital to our survival and we do it unthinkingly. So why should we have a breathwork practice? How we breathe is important to our quality of life. The amount of oxygen we inhale through breathing directly influences the amount of energy released into our cells.

For instance, many people inhale through their mouths and don’t breathe in deeply. Rib cage breathing, or shallow breathing, is not an efficient way to take in oxygen. Diaphragmatic breathing (belly moves out as it fills with air on the inhale, and in towards the spine as it exudes air on the exhale) is the most efficient.

Deep breathing, as in diaphragmatic breathing, allows the body to take in more oxygen, fuelling energy production. If we breathe in through the mouth, we take in dust and allergens, which can dry it out, increasing the risk of gum inflammation and bad breath. Nasal breathing is healthier as the hairs in our nostrils filter every intake of air.

I became aware of the importance of breathing exercises when I first took up Hatha Yoga over thirty years ago and learned that the tension held in my body through stress could be released via control of my breath. I was amazed and grateful to have found this aid for stress relief and have remained interested and active in breathwork practice ever since.

I wrote about it in a previous post on breathing, early in my Substack writing: Mindful breathing a powerful tool. Breathing exercises have been an integral part of yoga, and qi gong since these ancient spiritual and physical practices began thousands of years ago.

Now, as an older person, I know there can be a progressive decline in lung function because of ageing. This comes about through weakening muscles and loss of elasticity, which means airways can reduce in size. Also, a weaker immune system means infection can enter our bodies through our lungs. Therefore, breathing practice is important to improve lung capacity and help keep us healthy.

You can get breathing apps now to help you regulate your breathing. I have one called Breathwrk on my iPad that sends me reminders to have a short breathing session several times a day. I don’t always do them, of course, but it’s good to be reminded.

Inefficient or underbreathing can cause a build-up of carbon dioxide, which creates apnea. It can happen to people who carry excess weight and tend to breathe through their mouth. Consequently, they will suffer from sleep apnea. Snoring can also cause sleep apnea, a serious health condition resulting in a lack of oxygen, leading to several issues that affect the quality of life day and night.

One way to change shallow mouth breathing is to train the brain to activate inhaling through the nose. In a study of people suffering from mild sleep apnea, wearing porous mouth tape caused the participants to breathe through their nose which changed the angle of the palate and the tongue. More serious sleep apnea will need different methods, such as oral devices, a surgical implant or therapy for mouth and facial muscles.

Illustration courtesy of Canva.com

Breathwork Practice

When we’re stressed our breathing can become shallow, exacerbating the tension we feel. This can be relieved by deeper breathing and longer exhales than inhales, which calms the system. There are many breathing exercises to help with stress. Box breathing is one:

1. Breathe in for a count of six

2. Hold for a count of six

3. Breathe out for a count of six

4. Hold for a count of six

Another is the 4-7-8 method:

1. Breathe in for a count of 4

2. Hold for a count of 7

3. Breathe out for a count of 8

4. Repeat the above. This relieves stress and anxiety and can help with sleep problems.

Several studies have shown that deep breathing can slow your heart rate and reduce blood pressure. An exercise for lowering blood pressure involves deep, slow breathing focusing on exhalation. A timer is required for this exercise as optimally there should be 6 breaths per minute.

1. Breathe in for 2 seconds

2. Hold for 2 seconds

3. Breathe out for 6 seconds

4. Do this for five minutes twice a day for best results.

A tool to manage stress recommended by the neuroscientist, Andrew Huberman is the Physiological Sigh. It’s long been known but has recently returned to prominence, probably because of Andrew Huberman’s interest in it. To perform it:

1. Take a deep breath in

2. Followed by a second shorter breath in

3. Then a long exhalation

4. Repeat once or twice more

Wim Hof is a 65-year-old Dutch motivational speaker who founded the Wim Hof Method. There are three pillars at the core of this method and a breathing exercise is one of them. I found it on YouTube, researched the person behind it, and tried it out. According to a Wim Hof Method instructor of twenty years experience, “The point of [the] breath is to increase oxygen levels and blow out carbon dioxide,” she says. “It has been shown to help with depression, anxiety, mood, mental focus, and pain management.”

After doing it every other day for two weeks, following the instructions on YouTube, I found that climbing hills became easier as I didn’t get so out of breath. You need to sit or lie down in a comfortable position to do it as it’s quite powerful and you could feel lightheaded afterward. The exercise involves three consecutive rounds of the following (there should be no pausing in-between inhales and exhales):

1. Take in a strong inhalation through the nose, filling the belly to the chest.

2. Exhale through the mouth then immediately breathe in again.

3. Repeat for 30 breaths.

4. On the 30th breath, exhale to 90 percent and hold for one minute or longer if you can.

5. If at any time you feel your body really needs to take a breath, inhale fully and hold for 15 seconds before releasing.

My daily, or every other daily, breathing exercise is part of my morning routine, along with the Duolingo Italian lesson of less than 8 minutes, meditation, and a brain training session with the Lumosity app. Then I do a physical exercise (yoga, qi gong, weight training, or HIIT) or go for a walk. For me, a breathing exercise is an essential part of my routine.

(A reminder that I am not a medically trained expert but write about my own experiences of researching and living out healthy lifestyle practices. Also, I’m not being rewarded for mentioning any apps, I just wanted to share with you what I use)

Join in the Comments below:

Do you have a breathing practice?

Are you interested in taking it up?

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