SFTriClub Indoor Spinning 2008

BREATHING for Health & Sports Performance

By Edith Chan, !Ac!
For thousands of years, breathing meditation techniques have been used by people across all cultures to
enhance physical and mental health, improve martial arts and athletic performance, reverse disease, and even
promote spiritual enlightenment! The ancient Indian Yogis and Chinese QiGong asters !ere especially
"no!n for developing some of the most po!erful techniques for regulating the breath# Today, these practices
have been verified by modern science and repac"aged !ith ne! names $e#g# %iofeedbac" therapy&# In
modern integrative medicine, !e no! use breathing meditation therapies !ith great success in the
management of various health disorders, including high blood pressure, an'iety, depression, insomnia,
asthma, cancer, pain management, menopausal hot flashes, and cardiovascular diseases# In my opinion, these
po!erful breathing practices should also be incorporated into a !ell(rounded sports training program!
)ne does not have to be an enlightened Yogi or QiGong master to appreciate that breathing is a huge
component of one*s health# Yet many of us still ta"e our breathing for granted as an involuntary bodily
process that +,ust happens-# .o! often do you quiet do!n enough to notice your breath/ Could you breathe
better, thereby enhancing your health, vitality, and sports performance/
"irst, let#s start noticin$ ho% %e &reathe!
any of you are parents, aunts or uncles# .ave you ever noticed ho! a healthy baby breathes !ith soft,
effortless rising and falling of the belly/ If you observe carefully, you*ll see that the entire body also pulses
!ith the !ave(li"e energy of the abdomen# 0hat about cats or dogs/ They naturally breathe !ith their !hole
rib cages, bellies, and bodies too! 0hen you start paying attention to this, you are already !ell on your !ay to
mastering the art and science of breathing#
The ancients, too, noticed that healthy babies breathe deeply and effortlessly using the abdomen# Then as !e
become adults, !e often breathe !ith our chest and ribcage only, and less !ith the abdomen# 1lso the breath
is directly related to our emotional state# 2tress, anger, fear, sadness, frustration, shoc", etc#, can lead to
shallo!, rapid, and3or irregular breathing patterns# Then as !e age, or if !e get sic", our breaths become
even more shallo! or difficult, until !e struggle to breathe !ith ,ust our throat and mouth# Finally !hen !e
stop breathing, that*s !hen !e pass on# %ecause of the importance of the breathe and its intimate relationship
!ith health, vitality, and mind(body connections, the !ords for breath, spirit, life, and energy are synonymous
in many languages across different cultures# The Indians called it +4rana-, the Gree"s called it +4neuma-, the
Chinese called it +Qi- or +Chi-, and the 5apanese called it +6i#- 0ith this handout, I hope each of you !ill
start to notice your breathing and uncover its relationship !ith your o!n health and vitality#
Can yo' &reathe &etter( A&sol'tely)
The good ne!s is that breathing is both a voluntary and involuntary activity# That is, you breathe if you*re
thin"ing about it, and you breathe if you*re not thin"ing about it# 2o the idea behind practicing breathing
e'ercises $as !ith any other practice&, is that you can +re(program- your body to breathe more effortlessly,
more efficiently, and more naturally all $or most of& the time#
%esides better utili7ing your lung capacity and acquiring more o'ygen !ith each breath, there are also
important mental3spiritual benefits to regulating the breath# 0hile stress and emotions can cause your breath
to become shallo! or scattered, the reverse is also true! %y actively improving your breathing patterns, you
can undo some of the effects that stress has on your body, and also proactively re(program your future
reactions to stress! 1s !ith everything else, practice ma"es perfect# Thousands of years and countless Yogis
and Qigong masters have found this to be true# 8o! modern science continues verify these ideas#
0hile there are do7ens of breathing techniques in Chinese QiGong tradition $some very comple' and can
only be mastered by hermits meditating in the mountains&, the most important one is 8ormal 1bdominal
%reathing# That is, !e breathe !ith a rela'ed rising and falling of the belly, ,ust as !e once did as infants!
8o matter ho! busy our modern lives get, all of us can learn and benefit from this "ind of rela'ed deep
breathing# 1s mentioned before, age, illness, and emotions can cause breathing to become shallo! and
scattered# ost adults are chest breathers# %ut if !e re(engage the abdomen and ta"e more deep, slo!,
smooth breaths, !e !ill notice an improvement in our energy, health, vitality, and emotions#
*irections on Normal A&dominal Breathin$
1bdominal %reathing can be practiced seated, standing, or lying do!n in bed# In QiGong, there are very
specific directions for regulating one*s posture, !hich is beyond the scope of this handout# For no!, simply
practice in a comfortable position and a relatively quiet place# 9et go of distracting thoughts, quiet the mind,
and ,ust attend to your breath# Focus your attention on the inside of your lo!er abdomen# 0ith each inhale,
dra! the breath in smoothly all the !ay do!n into the belly# 1llo! the belly to e'pand gently li"e a balloon
in all directions# 0ith each e'hale, let the belly contract# You may use your hand to chec" that the belly is
moving !ith each breath# If done properly, your lo!er bac", pelvis, and perineum should also be e'panding
and contracting# Ta"e deep, slo!, smooth breaths, and "eep a steady and effortless rhythm#
Benefits of A&dominal Breathin$
%y dra!ing the breath deep into the abdomen, you ensure that air perfuses the lo!er lobes of the lung#
Compared to the upper lobes, the lo!er lobes of the lung are more highly vasculari7ed $more blood vessels
distributed&, !hich means that there is better opportunity for o'ygen to get into the blood stream# )bviously,
there are ma,or health benefits to improving the o'ygen supply in your bloodstream and throughout your
body# :nhanced sports performance is ,ust one of the numerous advantages#
0hen you gently e'pand and contract the lo!er abdomen $as !ell as lo!er bac" and pelvic floor&, you are
not only dra!ing in a fuller breath# In fact you are massaging all of your vital organs! 5ust as sports massage
!ill help your muscles recover faster after !or"outs, so too abdominal breathing can refresh and re(energi7e
all your internal organs# This gentle massaging action helps to deliver freshly o'ygenated blood to the organs,
as !ell as flush !aste products out of them# There are numerous lymph nodes near your pelvic area and
throughout your trun", so the massaging action !ill also enhance lymph drainage# The improved diaphragm
movement not only dra!s a fuller breath into the lungs, it also supports the pumping action of the heart! 1ll
of this !or"s together simultaneously to enhance !hole body circulation and efficient functioning# It is no
!onder !hy the QiGong masters named the area in your lo! abdomen Dan Tian or +Field of :li'ir#- In
Qigong tradition, deep abdominal breathing is considered to be "ey to harnessing one*s self(healing energies!
;r# 1ndre! 0eil, #;#, a reno!ned author and e'pert on natural and holistic medicines, includes an
e'cellent section about breathing in his bestseller boo" Natural Health, Natural Medicine# .e concludes the
breathing chapter !ith<
+In !riting about diet and e'ercise, I point out that those factors, !hile important, are not the sole
determinants of health# I "no! people !ho eat e'cellent diets and e'ercise faithfully and are not very
healthy, and I "no! some healthy people !ho eat bad diets and do not e'ercise# I do not +no% any
healthy people %ho do not &reathe %ell# For that reason, I urge you to concentrate on the information
in this chapter =on breathing> and put it into action in your daily life#-
I echo ;r# 0eil*s sentiment, as this has proven true in my e'perience as !ell# 1s athletes, !e tend to be quite
health(conscious# 2o !e are !ell(positioned to discover and benefit from improvements in our health,
vitality, and sports performance using natural techniques li"e nutrition, hydration, and breathing# 0henever I
hear ne! allegations about professional athletes using illegal :4) or blood doping, I !onder !hy so fe!
1merican professional athletes harness the performance(enhancing po!er of QiGong breathing meditation#
Yes, it requires patience and continued practice# %ut the benefits are enormous, and there are no side(effects!
It has produced po!erful results in artial 1rts training for millennia# 4erhaps it*s time for us +8e!(age-
Californian athletes to start a ne! $or rather, very old& trend/