The Power of Breathing

The Power of

Breathing

Sukhraj S. Dhillon, Ph. D

A Practical Scientific Approach To

Breathing for Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Well-Being

Based on Ancient Experiences of

the East and Scientific Experimentation of the West

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2011 by Dr. Sukhraj S. Dhillon

Other titles by Dr. Sukhraj Dhillon at Smashwords:

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CONTENTS

Introduction

SECTION I

WHY BREATHING IS SO IMPORTANT!

1.HEALING BREATH - CASE HISTORY TESTIMONIALS

Healing Breath

Healing Breath Case Histories

Ancient Eastern Concerns about Air and Breathing in Health

2.SCIENCE OF BREATHING

Breathing and Energy Production

Poor Breathing and Respiratory Problems

Benefits of Breathing Practices

Breathing and Its Relationship to Mind

Natural Emergency Signs of Poor Breathing

Breathing to Handle Common Problems

Breathing: Is It Prevention or Treatment!

3.PROPER USE OF DIAPHRAGM AND SCIENCE BEHIND BREATHING TECHNIQUES

Breathing from the Nose and Nasal Cleansing (Neti)

Mechanics of Breathing and Use of Diaphragm

Lungs and Vital Exchange of Gases

Methods of Breathing and Learning the Technique of Complete Yogic Breathing

Ratio of Inhalation, Retention, and Exhalation in Complete Yogic Breathing

The Number and Amount of Breaths

Basic Technicalities for Breathing Practices

Caution Against Improper Breathing Practices

4.HOW BREATHING EFFECTS STRESS AND EMOTIONS

Stress, Its Symptoms, and Treatment Approaches

Stress and the Oxygen Delivery System

Stress and Its Relationship to Breathing

The Emotional Topography of Our Breath

Breathing-related Mental Approaches to Relieve Stress

Specific Breathing Exercises

5.HEALING BREATH TECHNIQUES FOR DAILY PRACTICE

PRANAYAMA EXERCISES- 1st Set

Bhastrika Pranayam (Deep Breathing)

Kapalbhati Pranayam (Rapid Exhaling Breath)

Bahya Pranayam (Holding Breath using physical locks)

Anulom-Vilom Pranayam (Alternate Nostril Breathing)

Bhramari Pranayam (Humming Bee Breathing)

Udgeet Pranayam (Omkar Meditation Breathing)

Ujjayi Pranayam (Throat Breathing)

PRANAYAMA EXERCISES- 2nd Set- Healing Breath/Sudarshan Kriya Exercises

Starting Breath

Low Breathing

Mid Breathing

High Breathing

Purification Breathing (Bhastrika-Kapalbhati combination)

Healing Breath (Sudarshan Kriya)

SECTION II

SPECIFIC BREATHING APPLICATIONS

6.BREATHING APPLICATIONS IN DAILY ACTIVITIES

All Purpose Breathing Exercises for Vigor and Vitality

Breathing for Energy at Work

Alternate Breathing for Vitalization

Breathing and Stretching for Stimulation

Breathing and Bending

Breathing during the Walk

Breathing for Joggers

Breathing for Tennis and Similar Sports

Breathing during Swimming

Breathing during Weight Lifting

A Word About Breathing Control for Speakers and Singers

7.BREATHING APPLICATIONS FOR PREGNANT WOMEN

Basic Breathing Tips During Pregnancy

Breathing Exercises During Pregnancy

Diaphragmatic Breathing Exercise

Panting

Breathing Exercises During Labor and Postpartum

Breathing for First Stage of Labor

Breathing for Second Stage of Labor

Breathing after Childbirth (Postpartum)

Breathing and Huffing for Caesarean Birth

8.BREATHING TO STOP SMOKING

Smoking and the Oxygen Delivery System

Role of Breathing During Smoking

Stopping the Habit of Smoking

Breathing Exercises to Replace Smoking

Exercises as Smoking Substitutes

Exercises for Proper Lung Use

Exercises for Lung Enhancement

9.BREATHING FOR NATURAL SLEEP

Hazards of Sleeping Pills

Breathing Disorders During Sleep

Snoring

Sleep Apnea

Some Common Causes and Cures of Sleeplessness

Breathing Your Way to Drowsiness

Fatigue and Breathing for Sleep

Role of Carbon Dioxide in Sleep

Controlled Breathing Sleep versus Doped Sleep

Breathing While Asleep

Breathing Exercises for Sleep

10.BREATHING AND AEROBICS FOR WEIGHT CONTROL AND FITNESS

Aerobic Exercise and Its Characteristics

Aerobics and Positive Physical Changes

Aerobics and Weight Control

Embarking an Aerobic Program

Aerobic Exercises to choose From

Tips on Beginning an Aerobic Exercise Program

11.BREATHING FOR LONGEVITY

Changes in Respiration During the Life Span

Decreased Lung Function with Age

Decline in Age-related Heart Rate and Oxygen Delivery

Decreased Respiratory Function of Mitochondria with Age

Sleep Variations Due to Age-related Breathing Disturbances

Some Other Physiological Changes Related to Aging

Breathing Exercises to Slow Age-related Changes

Life Style and Longevity

12.ROLE OF BREATHING IN MEDITATION AND RELAXATION

Self-hypnosis through Progressive Relaxation

Transcendental Meditation

Faith-Based Meditation and Breathing

Breathing-Based Meditation to Relieve Stress

APPENDIX A. NORMAL BREATHING CAPACITY

VALUES OF A HEALTHY PERSON

APPENDIX B.BREATHING TEST

APPENDIX C.TESTS YOUR BREATHING PATTERN;

AND THE SIDE EFFECTS IF NOT BREATHING PROPERLY

References

About the Author

Back to Contents

Introduction

Yawning that enforces deep breathing and believing in a higher power alters your grey matter, says a neuroscientist with the scans to prove it. Andrew Newberg a neuroscientist at the University of Pennsylvania, has done medical brain image scans on Franciscan nuns, Buddhists, Pentecostals, Sikhs and Sufis as they pray or meditate, all in his quest to map the effects of spirituality and yawning on the mind.

His conclusions: Best ways to exercise your brain is faith. Faith in a positive outcome. When people have an optimistic, positive look on the world, it's one of the best ways to maintain a healthy brain and body.

Also on his list is yawning. That's a brain exercise! He says it's the brain's way of waking itself up. You take in more oxygen. Force a few yawns before a meeting or a test. So instead of a third cup of coffee, his best solution is yawn! If simple yawn can power your brain because it takes more oxygen, proved by medical scan images, can we imagine what powerful breathing exercises can do.

The 21st century modern guru Swami Ramdev whose blessing are sought by India's elite, including its vice president, several Supreme Court judges and other senior government officials and politicians emphasizes on ancient Eastern tradition of pranayama - roughly put, breathing exercises or the art of breath control. "If you do pranayama half an hour daily, you will never fall sick, he claims. Diseases are nothing but imbalances of the body, and yoga and breathing exercises correct those imbalances."

Here’s what the scientific community and medical experts of the west has to say about the benefits of Breathing:

Overcoming Disease:

All chronic pain, suffering, and diseases are caused by a lack of oxygen at the cell level.

Dr. Arthur C. Guyton, M.D., author The Textbook on Medical Physiology

Improper breathing is a common cause of ill health.

Dr. Andrew Weil

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.

Sheldon Saul Hendler, M.D., Ph.D., Oxygen Breakthrough

Oxidation is the source of life. Its lack causes impaired health or disease, its cessation, death.

Dr. F.M. Eugene Blass, Ph.D., author Oxygen Therapy: Its Foundation Aim Results

Simply put, disease is due to a deficiency in the oxidization process of the body, leading to an accumulation of the toxins. These toxins would ordinarily be burned in normal metabolic functioning.

Dr. Albert Wahl

Oxygen plays a pivotal role in the functioning of the immune system.

Dr. Parris M. Kidd, Ph.D., author Antioxidant Adaption

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, Renowned Molecular Biologist and Geneticist, Author Oxygen Deficiency: A Concomitant to All Degenerative Illness

Starved of oxygen the body will become ill, and if this persists it will die, I doubt if there is an argument about that.

Dr. John Muntz, Nutritional Scientist

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.

Dr. W. Spencer Way, from the Journal of the American Association of Physicians

Cells undergoing partial oxygen starvation send out tiny panic signals which are collectively felt in the body as a continuous vague sensation of uneasiness, dread or disaster. This low level generalized warning tends to get tuned out as mere ‘background noise’ by the individual experiencing it. Or, it is attributed to other sources of uneasiness.... People rarely suspect that the constant vague feelings of helplessness, fatigue....uneasiness are symptoms of cellular oxygen deprivation.

From the Townsend Letter for Doctors

Dr. Lataste in 1992, conducted a study with a team of scientists on health at high altitudes (where oxygen level is low). They observed people who lived at high altitudes and found that there was a much higher incidence of drowsiness, apathy, delayed reaction time, and reduced motor capacity, as compared to those who lived in lower altitudes.

Heart Disease:

Coronary heart disease is due to a lack of oxygen received by the heart.

Dr. Dean Ornish

...healthy breathing should be the first thing taught to a heart patient. A Dutch Study conducted by a doctor named 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

A lack of oxygen (hypoxia) is the prime cause of 1.5 million heart attacks each year.

Dr. Richard Lippman, renowned researcher

Blood Pressure:

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, Ph.D., The Breath Connection

Cancer:

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

Lack of oxygen clearly plays a major role in causing cells to become cancerous.

Dr. Harry Goldblatt, Journal of Experimental Medicine

Cancer has only one prime cause. It is the replacement of normal oxygen respiration of the body's cells by an anaerobic (oxygen-deficient) cell respiration.

Dr. Otto Warburg: Two-time Nobel Laureate, Winner of the Nobel Prize for Cancer Research

Cancer is a condition within the body where the oxidation has become so depleted that the body cells have degenerated beyond physiological control. Similarly, the true cause of allergy is the lowered oxidation process within the body, causing the affected individual to be sensitive to foreign substances entering the body. Only when the oxidation mechanism is restored to its original high state of efficiency can the sensitivity be eliminated.

Dr. Wendell Hendricks, Hendricks Research Foundation

Detoxification:

Many healings of other physical troubles have occurred in my clients after they started to integrate breathing practices into their lives. There is a simple but encompassing reason that may explain this. The human body is designed to discharge 70% of its toxins through breathing. Only a small percentage of toxins are discharged through sweat, defecation and urination. If your breathing is not operating at peak efficiency, you are not ridding yourself of toxins properly.

Gay Hendricks, Ph.D, Conscious Breathing

One of the most overlooked benefits of extra oxygen in the tissues is their ability to detoxify more efficiently.

Dr. Kurt W. Donsbach, D.C., N.D., author of Super Health. Oxygen-Oxygen-Oxygen, Founder and Executive Director of Medicine at Hospital Santa Monica, California.

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, author, Oxygen Therapies, A New Way of Approaching Disease (1988).

Lymphatic System:

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.

J. Shields, M.D., Lymph, Lymph Glands, and Homeostasis, Volume 25 No. 4, Dec 92, Pg.147-153.

Asthma:

One study on the treatment of asthma patients conducted by researchers John Goyeche, Dr. Ago, and Dr. Ikemi, suggests that any effective treatment should address suppressed emotions - such as anxiety and self-image - as well as the physical dimension. To achieve this, they encourage correction of poor posture, and helping the person relax the irrelevant respiratory muscles while restoring full diaphragmatic breathing. They also recommended finding ways for getting rid of excess mucus. The good news is that a well rounded breath practice will do all these things

Donna Farhi, The Breathing Book

I am honored to share my personal experiences of breathing. My first introduction to breathing was in 1984 while learning yoga and writing about it in my first book Health, Happiness, and Longevity. This was the first time that I could experience my awareness, watching the activity of my mind and the thought process. I could realize that my mind was never without a thought, sometimes useful and sometimes not so useful. The activity of mind through thoughts went on continuously, without giving any tranquility or rest to my mind. This is the first time I could realize awareness as a major force, and just being aware of this awareness brought a sense of tranquility and peace that was never felt before. The most important aspect of that initial experience was that it has continued to grow each time I have sat down for pranayam (breathing) and Sudarshan Kriya (cycle of breaths—long, medium and short). This experience has brought in unconditional self-contentment and also has helped me be more compassionate and understanding.

I tend to enjoy more every moment in life. I am appreciating more how enjoyable and important is to live in the present and not to worry much about the future. My sense of gratitude has grown. I have discovered a new person within myself. The continued practice of Sudarshan Kriya has been the most wonderful experience of my life. I have encouraged more and more people to experience the same as shared in this book. My positive experience with breathing and weight control is shared in another book "A Simple Solution to Americas Weight Problem."

Examples from family and friends further support the power of breathing. Angela*, a beautiful 40 year old working mother with a telecommunication company went from tranquilizers to drink to religion for handling family problems, relieve stress, and find comfort. Amanda*, five feet 2 inch, weighing 110 pounds was pregnant with twins. Her small body size for normally growing twins resulted in neonatal care to handle premature delivery. Both turned to breathing for handling stress and difficult pregnancy. (*Real names withheld to protect privacy.)

The above examples from family and friends are not to suggest that we should not use counselor or neonatal care, but suggest that role of breathing to handle stress; pregnancy and other life situations including certain diseases cannot be ignored.

Unlike food, air is breathed every second. It is the oxygen we breathe that fuels the working of our cells, and provides the basic life force that keeps us going. Biologically speaking oxygen is required for the body's metabolism, which provides energy for physical and mental activity, as well as for the ongoing involuntary functioning of the body such as heart beat and digestion. However, we take breathing for granted and rarely consider poor breathing habits as the source of: our lack of energy, nervous tension, inability to concentrate, bad heart, inability to sleep, lack of resistance to colds and respiratory infections, asthma, over-weight problems, poor skin, or aging. It is the breathing--more than the food we eat, the amount of exercise we do--that affects how we think and feel mentally, as well as, physically.

Breathing is one of the greatest tools and resources influencing the vitality of our body and positively affects our well-being. Although the list could go on and on, but some of the benefits that we can achieve may include: (l) more personal energy, (2) more restful sleep, (3) greater ability to handle domestic and job-related stress, (4) less depression and anxiety, (5) better concentration at work, (6) less need for smoking, caffeine, alcohol or other drugs, (7)fewer physical complaints, (8) fewer diseases of the respiratory system, (9) more efficient digestion and effective weight control, (10) slowing of the aging process.

Unfortunately, too many of us are poor breathers, cheating our body of the very oxygen that keeps it alive. Each of us breathes in a specific way that is unlike anyone else's breathing patterns. The way we breathe affects how we think and feel, while the way we think and feel affects the way we breathe. If we are tense or afraid, our breathing becomes quick and shallow, but during relaxation and sleep our breathing becomes deep and regular.

Breathing is one of the most essential and controllable processes of the body. On the average we breathe about fourteen times a minute and the tidal volume averages 0.5 liter of air per breath. Although respiration process functions automatically and voluntarily, however, unlike the flow of blood and the beat of heart, we are able to change the rate and tidal volume of our breath whenever we wish. By controlling and changing the way we breathe, we can better regulate the needs of our body. Because the breathing process is so intimately connected with every thought and action-- by mastering it we can continually monitor and improve our health, vitality, emotions and longevity. Practice of breathing can even save the addicts of such dangerous drugs as heroin by giving them comfort due to natural endorphin production.

Too many of us today rely on miracles of modern medicine and surgery and an insufficient reliance upon ourselves to keep us healthy. We live in an era of heroic therapies: coronary care units, kidney and heart transplants, antibiotics and other potent drugs that should be used only when preventable measures fail. But changes are now taking place. A wellness movement is sweeping the younger generation. The future of health care will be marked by a diminishing role of medical care and an increasing role of health care. Many of the young doctors have already started the practice of preventive (behavioral) medicine. This positive change in medical practice is quite remarkable, but their basic medical training is still limited to western approach and keeps these young doctors away from trying ancient eastern traditions-- many of which can be supported by scientific research. Some of the common examples of ancient eastern practices that are supported by scientific research are: increasing metabolic energy by breathing exercises, positive changes in body physiology by transcendental meditation, and hypnotic power of mind realized in ancient cultures for centuries. The stress treatment approaches that have been recognized for centuries by faith healers and mediators are now accepted by modern medical practitioners.

You may find some of the claims and approaches so simple and inexpensive to be true when compared to advanced and expensive medical approaches. But we must remember that nature is simple and logical (as Albert Einstein phrases, "I shall never believe that God plays dice with the world). Do things nature's way and you have something powerful for you. Depart from nature, and terrible things must be printed after the world caution" on medicine bottles.

We know that in spite of our achievements in education, material wealth, organized society and security through insurances of all kinds, cases of worry and depression, fear and anxiety, insecurity, and sickness are still rising. Health professionals are in high demand than ever, and hospital facilities are still expanding. We are in such a desperate need of a disease care program only because we ignore a health care program. One is born to be healthy and not to be sick. Good health is a natural state and in this book we have discussed maintaining this state--and restoring it if it is lost--through a powerful addition of preventive approach through proper breathing of clean air for healthy and energetic living.

This book is designed to combine old eastern traditions pertaining to air and breathing with modern scientific knowledge. It covers every aspect of breathing. You will understand what Swami Ramdev teaches about breathing and what "sudarshan kriya" and healing breath is all about. It provides information on the very important aspect of health care that is almost ignored in an era--dominated by nutrition and exercise. Nutrition and exercise, of course, are important, but more important still is proper breathing. This book will teach you the right way to breathe for every aspect of your life, from preventing diseases, during pregnancy, stopping the habit of smoking, falling asleep, relieving stress, practicing meditation and spirituality, controlling the weight, competing in supports, and maintaining the over-all health to increase energy and longevity. The breathing practices in this book require no special equipment or clothing. Each practice is designed to perform a specific function and should be followed carefully. After completing the entire book it is hoped that you would become aware of the importance of breathing and be able to use it for physical and mental well-being and lead a long productive life.

"The newborn infant gasps for its first breath, and life ends with a final exhalation."

SECTION I

WHY BREATHING IS