The author of the article Just Breathe, The Power Of Breathwork stated that breathing correctly is a skill and learning to control it can improve your health. Finally! We have been talking about it for almost fifteen years!
Nevertheless, this article contains valuable information for the visitors of this website as well as a fun breathing test to take. The author informs that recent research into breathing upholds what yogis and meditators have been talking about for thousands of years; these older traditions knew the benefits of breathing well, and Western medicine is just beginning to catch up. Unfortunately, Dr Buteyko MD-PhD who caught up with this about seventy years ago, is not mentioned in the article.
To start improving your breathing, the journalist recommends “three simple breathing exercises that the pulmonologists, sleep doctors and researchers consulted for this story recommend”. They are 4-4-8 breathing, Alternate nostril breathing, and Box breathing.
When in theory, these recommendations appear innocent, in reality, if a person applies these breathing techniques, they could have positive, neutral, or negative effects on their health. Why? Because the effect of a breathing technique often depends on the recipient and how strong or weak their breathing is. In addition, it also often depends on a specific health condition. For example, short breath holds after inhalation could be helpful for many people but can trigger breathing difficulties in an asthmatic. This category of people should avoid holding their breath after an inhale; breath holds after exhales are acceptable.
To understand how to make these and other breathing techniques effective and avoid setbacks, we recommend reading the following articles:
