Breathe, Naturally . . . and Lose the Fat!

Breathe, Naturally and Lose the Fat

(How to Breathe the Way Nature Intended)All Rights ReservedCopyright © 2017 Luigi KleinsasserISBN #: 978-1-387-12116-8

DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES

This e-book is intended for the sole use of the original purchaser and is for informational purposes only. This copy may not be re-sold or loaned to other people. Should you wish to share the information with other people, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.Thank you for respecting the author’s labor of love.

 The information presented in this e-book represents the opinion of the author based on personal experience and research and is not intended as “medical advice” or as a substitute for the advice of a professional health-care provider.

The author accepts no responsibility for any liability due to any misunderstanding or misuse of the information contained herein or for any loss, damage, or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by any action discussed herein.

About the Author: Special Forces Snipers need to remain immobile for long periods as they wait in concealment for their target. They’re taught a natural breathing technique so they can be relaxed yet remain alert and maintain a rock-steady body until the shot is taken.

Luigi Kleinsasser was one such patient individual. During his service, he was shocked at how the system of natural breathing he was taught had the by-effects of reducing stored body-fat and improving his overall health and sense of well-being.

In this brief e-book Luigi reveals those breathing secrets. If you’re tired of doing sit ups and have lost all hope of ever getting a six-pack, if you feel chronically stressed out, are tired with weak muscles, have skin problems, get frequent colds and headaches, suffer from lack of sleep, digestive problems or any number of annoying health conditions your salvation may be right here.

Breathing is not something we think too much about yet many of the world’s chronic, poor health conditions are caused by shallow breathing.

INTRODUCTION

Please take a deep breath. Fill up your lungs and note what happens with your body.

Good. Did you tuck in your tummy, expand your chest and feel your shoulders rise?

Breathing must be important. It’s the first thing we do at birth and the last thing we do at death. Between those two extremes, how you breathe will determine how healthy a life you lead.

Natural breathing is “healthy”. Un-natural breathing is deadly. The ability to breathe “naturally” is essential for anybody who walks, runs, exercises, has any recurring health problems such as: frequent colds, headaches, bad skin, restless leg syndrome, varicose veins, poor sleep, digestive problems, reflux or bowel elimination difficulties. Now, that’s just a short list of the “conditions” caused by faulty un-natural breathing. But, what’s the difference?

If you suffer from any of those ill-effects, your body system is not getting sufficient oxygen to give the trillions of its cells the tools they need to perform their autonomic capability of repairing and regenerating themselves and strengthening your immune system. You may not be breathing “naturally”. If you ignore your body’s needs, its autonomic functions will become impaired and your health will deteriorate.

To clarify, you don’t need to tell your heart when to pump, for your mouth to inject saliva as you chew, for your two-way valve, the epiglottis, to determine when to open the throat so food can be swallowed into the stomach or for air to flow into the lungs. Coughing and sneezing are autonomic reactions. Have you really ever thought about “breathing” at all? The body’s nervous system takes care of all those functions autonomically. However, knowingly or unknowingly it is possible to undo the way we were born to breathe.

When you are subjected to stress or fear, the autonomic nervous system takes control. It rapidly prepares your body to flee from danger or to stay and fight, or to freeze if the danger might be avoided simply by not moving. In all three cases, flight, fight or freeze, the autonomic nervous system quickly readies your body by tightening your abdominal muscles, creating short, rapid, forced breathing through the nose which primes your brain with oxygen and expands your chest so your lungs can increase their rate of inhalation. And as soon as that shallow, panting, “vertical” or “backwards” breathing begins, the autonomic nervous system demands glucose to fuel your body’s subsequent actions for your preservation. It shuts down the use of fat for fuel and stores any fat in the blood-stream as body-fat. Those are the autonomic reactions to stress of any form. And more on that in a moment.

But back to the question posed at the beginning:

Did you tuck in your tummy, expand your chest and feel your shoulders rise?

Well, if so, I’m sorry to inform you that you failed at normal, natural breathing. That sequence is what is induced autonomically by any form of stress; fear, sudden loud noises, driving in congested traffic, a heated argument, anger, being late for an appointment, boredom, anxiety, depression, sorrow, sadness, loneliness or frustration. Our lives are filled with so much unrecognized stress!

And all of those stressors result in shallow, rapid, “vertical breathing” into the upper chest as was described in that question. Breathing in such a way “normally”, when there’s no imminent danger or any form of stress, means that your brain is being bombarded non-stop with stress-signals and your endocrine glands are being autonomically pushed to exhaustion. The result of that is the

constant release of the hormones adrenalin and cortisol to prepare you for flight, fight or to freeze. Oh, and don’t forget the fat storage.

Now, cortisol is released in the morning to wake you up feeling energetic, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and that’s a good thing. That little flush of cortisol improves your short-term memory, keeps your mind sharp and normalizes your mood. However, excess cortisol in the blood-stream causes your blood-sugar to rise and makes you crave foods high in calories that are easily converted into glucose and body-fat. Your hormonal system is thrown into a nosedive!

So, to breathe as though you were under constant attack when you’re just reading a book or lounging on the beach, creates the damaging effects of excess cortisol in the blood-stream.

All day and all night long!

If you have sleep problems, your “vertical” or “backwards” breathing and the resultant excess cortisol in your system may be the cause. When you “backwards breathe”, your brain responds by sending a message to the nervous system warning that for some unclear reason you’re under attack and at all costs you must be kept alert! The medical profession calls that “insomnia” and will prescribe a pill. A better, healthier option is to simply re-learn to breathe “naturally”.

If you look forward to a breakfast consisting of such things as: cereal with sugar, donuts, toast and jam, latte, Coke, candy, then you are suffering from the effects of unrecognized stress caused by your self-imposed, backwards stress-breathing.

The only other possibility is that you’re addicted to sugar.

The primary muscle which facilitates breathing is the diaphragm, yet the majority of the Earth’s Western inhabitants no longer use their diaphragms to breathe. They simply sniff a little air into their upper chest and never take advantage of the enormous health benefits that full diaphragmatic breathing offers. In a moment, we’ll discuss the “natural” way to breathe which may help to alleviate some of those ill-health conditions mentioned above. But first . . .

My Transition to Vertical BreathingIt must be said that we and every animal on the planet are born breathing correctly. If I relate my own adventure with breathing it might help you to remember and relate as well.

When I was about two years of age I had a cat and a dog as pets and as I watched them sleeping together I observed their bellies slowly inflating and suddenly collapsing. I noticed that my belly did the same thing as theirs and I became intrigued with my belly-button as it moved out slowly than collapsed inwards. I had no idea I was “breathing”. But, I became emotionally connected with my pets. We were “one”.

A year or so later, my tailoress-mother decided it was time to dispose of the pants with shoulder straps and make me some “big boy” shorts with a secret flap-fly and an elastic waistband. With her tape-measure wrapped around my abdomen at belly-button level she instructed, “Take a big breath, fill up your chest with air and tuck your tummy in as far as you can.” I complied.

She then cut a piece of wide elastic to the length she had measured, made my “big boy” shorts from a pattern and inserted the elastic into the waist band which made the waist of the shorts pucker. But when I slipped them on, the elastic stretched and the pants didn’t fall down.

But I kept on breathing the way my mother had instructed me to during the measuring process. And then I migrated to trousers with stiff belts which required me to keep my abdomen still and breathe into my chest. It wasn’t until I joined the army and a physical training instructor commented, “Son, you’re breathing backwards,” that I had my first epiphany about breathing.

What was he talking about? I’d always breathed that way, no?

Well, after he explained the natural way we should breathe and our stress-induced flight, fight or freeze mechanism, my pets (by then long-dead) flooded my memory and I realized the instructor was right.

So, in a moment we’ll discuss the way our bodies were programmed to breathe at birth.

But we need access to a little anatomical knowledge to get everything right, so:

Essential Anatomical KnowledgeThe torso is comprised of three sections: the thoracic cavity, the abdominal cavity and the pelvic cavity.

A thin, asymmetrical, umbrella-shaped, skeletal sheet-muscle called the thoracic diaphragm divides the upper torso into two cavities. The upper section or thoracic cavity is surrounded by the rib cage which connects to the spine at the rear and the sternum in front. Between each rib are the intercostal muscles. The thoracic cavity contains the heart and the two lungs.

Below the diaphragm is the abdominal cavity holding the liver, stomach, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, adrenal glands the small intestines and the abdominal colon. Underneath that is the pelvic cavity confined by the bones of the pelvis. It contains the reproductive organs, the urinary bladder, the pelvic colon and the rectum.

The solar plexus is a complex bundle of nerves located roughly just below the xiphoid process at the base of the sternum where the ribs form a “Ʌ”. The thoracic diaphragm attaches to that xiphoid process and to the seven lower ribs on each side of the rib cage and at the rear to the thoracic vertebrae T12 and the lumbar vertebra L1 and L2.

So, the diaphragm is not a perfect “umbrella-shape”, it’s more like an elastic, domed cape slanting downwards at the rear. It has the muscular capacity to flex up and down and to contract inwards , but even when fully flexed it always maintains a slight umbrella shape. Have you seen a jelly-fish swimming?

Our two lungs may be likened to two long balloons inside a flexible cage, the ribs. They consist of divisions termed “lobes” making it possible (with the correct focus) to direct air into their lower sections, the middle sections, the upper sections and the rear sections of each lobe.

From your solar plexus down to your pubic bone is the abdominal “ten-pack” divided into the upper “six-pack” situated over the front edge of the thoracic diaphragm down to the umbilicus (navel)

below which is the lower “four-pack”. It’s possible to flex each of the individual ten sections, but you only need to be able to operate the six-pack and the four-pack independently.

The reason you need to be aware of all that anatomical information is because you are about to locate your diaphragm.

When you flex your diaphragm, the abdominal muscles assist by contracting as well. But you can flex just the lower “four-pack” which will flatten and lift the lower abdomen upwards, or, flex just the upper “six-pack” which will draw the diaphragm and rib cage down. That downward flexing of the rib cage is what starts an inhalation. If you dig the fingers of both hands deeply into your abdomen just below the rib cage then flex your abdomen firmly, just behind the top of that “six-pack” you’ll feel the front edge of the diaphragm thrusting downwards. Try it a few times.

Here is an illustration of the lungs, diaphragm and abdominal cavity and the same illustration with the rib cage, the “10 pack” and the approximate location of the navel super-imposed onto it.

Horizontal BreathingAs previously stated, every animal on the planet is born breathing the same way ‒ flexing the diaphragm and sucking air down deep into their lungs. The lungs should be filled from the bottom up and is termed “horizontal” breathing. Taking shallow breaths only into the upper chest is termed “vertical” breathing.

Learning (or re-learning) to breathe “horizontally” is best done lying flat on your back with a pillow under your knees. Place your hands on your belly with the palm of your left hand pressing against your solar plexus and the middle finger in your navel. You’ll need to bend and raise the left elbow to accomplish that! Rest your right hand across the abdomen below the navel (on the “four-pack”.)

Phase One ‒ Part ADo a pretend cough. You know, like when you enter a shop and the clerk is busy texting and is oblivious to your presence? Fake cough and the hardness you’ll feel in the Ʌ where the ribs meet is your diaphragm flexing. The diaphragm initiates coughing but the external oblique abdominals (the six-pack) which lie in front of the diaphragm running from just below the pectoral muscles to your navel also become involved.

When you force your belly forward those abdominals are doing all the work. While on your back, thrust your belly skywards. At your belly’s highest point flex everything under your hands ‒ all of the ten abdominal muscles, then forcefully expel all the air from your lungs, as in coughing and the whole abdominal area will collapse towards your spine. If you then tuck your navel under and up towards your solar plexus, that’s your diaphragm contracting upwards. Press the fingers of your left hand into the V and you’ll feel the flexed diaphragm under where your left middle finger joins your palm.

Slowly inhale downwards. Practice alternately contracting the diaphragm up and down.

Relax = down, cough = up. Your aim is to “sense” the difference when flexing just the diaphragm or the diaphragm with the abdominals.

Now, thrust your belly forward and through your open mouth start a slow inhalation directing the air to flow deep down onto your diaphragm. Your hands will be forced a little higher and you might feel your diaphragm pressing against where your fingers join the palm of your left hand. Keep inhaling. When you simply cannot add another cubic centimeter of air, hold that expansion for a second then open your mouth wide, say a breathy “HAAH” to initiate the exhalation and allow the abdomen to simply collapse.

When everything is flat, use the lower “four-pack” to pull the abdomen further down towards your spine, tuck your navel under and pull the diaphragm firmly up towards your solar plexus. That

action will empty the lungs further.

Check out the illustrations below:

For Part A, the timing of the inhalation only begins after you’ve placed your hands, set your abdomen in the up position, flexed both your belly and the diaphragm and expelled all the air. Then try to slowly inhale directing the air downwards to your abdomen for at least three seconds. The longer the better.

Exhalation should always be longer than the inhalation. If an inhalation takes three seconds, the exhalation should be of at least four seconds duration with the tucking and rolling of the navel towards the solar plexus an “extra”.

In times of actual stress when shallow breathing is autonomically induced, control your exhalations. Slow them down and you’ll become calmer and regain control.

Practice that process for at least twenty inhalations. Five to ten minutes or longer is good. It’s a perfect abdominal exercise which may leave you with the same abs soreness as a lengthy, boring gym sit-up routine but without the risk of back injury. By involving the four-pack, those muscles will become toned and you won’t need think about them unless you want to flex them for any reason.

However, if you involve your low back by flexing it and holding it under tension as you collapse the abdomen, you have the perfect total-abs exercise!

Now, that was “abdominal” breathing.

Practice it morning and night, in bed for the next week until you feel ready to move on to Phase One, Part B. Don’t start Part B until you’ve put in the required time on Part A ‒ at least one week.

But just a moment! Did you say (or even think), “but that’s going to make my gut hangout. What about all the abdominal exercises I do to flatten my belly? People will think I’m fat or pregnant!”

The truth of the matter is that pop-culture and social magazines have dictated that a flat belly is necessary so as to appear fit and healthy . . . flat and preferably with a six-pack showing. Those same influential people who have no authority or education on the subject have declared that a protruding belly can only be a sign of weakness, laziness, a beer gut, overindulgence in food, or pregnancy. And the easily-influenced masses just perform endless sit-ups, suck in their gut and commit slow suicide!

Do bear in mind though, that a rock-hard protruding beer-belly or a sack of fat hanging over the waist-line are not healthy! And, if you can’t cause your abdomen to expand and collapse when you choose, you have a major health-problem looming.

Try this. With your abdomen collapsed, pinch the area around your navel between your thumb and finger. Is it squishy and lumpy? That’s accumulated body-fat which will hide the six-pack you probably have hidden underneath. It probably extends upwards to wrap around your heart. Now pinch along the line of your sternum. No matter how fat or lean you might be, it’s almost impossible to get a grip. True? That’s how firm and fat-free the skin over your abdomen should be! And

breathing naturally will progressively strip away excess body-fat from all over your body as well as improve your health and well-being.

But that won’t happen in a matter of days or weeks. Give it time, but just breathe naturally.

Our bodies and brains need lots of oxygen to function efficiently. Every cell in our system also needs some carbon dioxide (CO2) in order to balance the body’s acid/alkaline pH levels and generate the cell’s essential protons. But when we breathe shallowly, not enough oxygen enters the blood-stream to feed the brain or the cells.

Horizontal breathing is how we started life and it should be continued throughout life. Shallow, tummy-tucked, upper chest, backwards, vertical breathing contributes to all manner of poor health conditions as well as the accumulation of stored body-fat.

Fighter pilots, elite athletes, marksmen, special forces operatives, stage actors and powerful singers all rely on these breathing techniques to control and improve their performance levels. A relaxed and functional diaphragm signals the brain that the body is stress-free. If the abdomen is always pulled in and the diaphragm rigid, it’s signaling stress. More cortisol and more belly-fat!

At least give horizontal breathing a shot in the privacy of your home, even for just five to ten minutes each day while you’re in bed . . . or to calm down in times of stress during the day. Then you can suck in your tummy for the rest of the day if you feel the need to be a part of the backwards-breathing herd. The benefits of abdominal breathing will accumulate though just with those two daily sessions.

But to clarify your doubts, NO! You won’t end up with a protruding gut! You’ll discover that some of the world’s best sets of six-pack abs are owned by diaphragmatic, natural breathers.

SPOILER ALERT: Almost everybody reads on ahead and wants to jump straight in to Part B. And if you did so, by all means read Part B, but do not begin practicing the technique there until you’ve spent the necessary time on the Part A routine ‒ at least a week. Without the familiarity of being able to sense and flex your diaphragm and learning to separate it from your abdominal muscles you’ll derive no benefit from Part B nor anything thereafter to accomplish the goal of Natural breathing.

While Natural breathing was innate to your nervous system at birth, at some point that natural ability to breathe as Nature intended was lost. Backwards breathing has become more normal to you than Natural breathing and there’s an essential learning curve to go through in order to undo the ingrained, faulty neuro-response and instill the natural one.

Phase One – Part BYour navel separates the upper six-pack from the lower four-pack. With your right hand firmly on the four-pack, flex and flatten it then inhale slowly to the count of three. Ddirect the air downwards, pushing the diaphragm against the upper abdominal muscles. The four-pack shouldn’t get involved. Exhale for the count of four or five then using the four-pack, tuck your navel down and forcefully roll it up towards your solar plexus. You can use a clock with a second hand or your heartbeat as a timer. Make the inhalation and exhalation as smooth as possible with the exhalation

of a longer duration than the inhalation. If you’ve been a really shallow breather you may have to use a two and three count otherwise you could get dizzy.

But you are now breathing diaphragmatically!

Do not involve your throat muscles. If they become tight or sore, stop and open your mouth and throat wide enough that the throat does not get involved. The throat is just the passage through which air flows in and out of the lungs. It does not need to become involved in the action of breathing.

Bear in mind that while the lungs are in the thoracic cavity, the downward flexing of the diaphragm as they inflate, applies gentle pressure against the lymphatic system, the stomach, the liver and the intestines below, gently massaging and stimulating them providing more efficient lymphatic drainage and better peristaltic action which will improve digestion and bowel elimination.

Abdominal breathing is Phase One, Part A while Phase One, Part B is elementary diaphragmatic breathing en route to Natural breathing. Phase One A and B should be practiced for at least five minutes every day, morning and night for at least a week, while lying in bed. A few minutes or so practice when you take a break during the day or while sitting at a stop light or in the bus will help to inculcate the habit of breathing deep into the lungs and not allowing the four-pack to protrude.

Don’t be in a hurry. You might have spent years breathing backwards. The last thing you need is to skip forward too quickly and miss important training techniques which will solidly implant the correct way to breathe naturally for the rest of your life. And the practice of abdominal breathing is valuable in and of itself but importantly, it trains the throat to relax.

Practice the new techniques for at least a week. During the day, try to remember to breathe into your abdomen filling the bottom of your lungs to capacity. Belts, spandex clothes and tight trousers and dresses will not make horizonal breathing comfortable. Suspenders, shoulder straps, jump suits and coveralls could be attractive options. :-)

I trust you realize that the term “horizontal breathing” doesn’t mean you need to lie down to breathe correctly. It’s just that the techniques are best learnt in that relaxed position! But while you’re on your back, the action of the abdomen and the influx of air is “horizontal” in as much as the whole trunk should be expanded outwards on an inhalation. While standing or walking, the same technique should be used. The term “vertical” simply implies that the air is being drawn into the upper section of the lungs only.

RelapseI’d mentioned earlier how I made the conversion back to natural breathing while in the military. Well, that was some time ago and I’ve had lots of different jobs since then. However, at one point I just could not sleep.

For more than two years I had less than three hours of interrupted sleep every night. My doctors (there were several) could find nothing wrong but feared that without the regenerating power of deep-sleep, I would die. I did have a case of sciatica due to a ruptured disc and the nerve damage was affecting my bladder so that I needed to urinate every three hours during the night. I’d go to bed at 9:00 p.m., lie there with my eyes shut but not feeling the slightest bit drowsy and suddenly the urge to pee would hit. I’d get up, go to the bathroom and on the way back the clock revealed that it was almost midnight.

Back in bed for what seemed an eternity and the urge struck again, but this time it woke me up. So, I must have been asleep, no? Quick trip to the bathroom and the clock showed 2:30 a.m. Phew! Back to bed, eyes shut, not drowsy, but again when the bathroom urge hit it woke me out of a sound sleep. I fought the urge, I just did not want to get up. But I did and the clock showed 4:45. Now, I had to get up by 5:30 a.m. to prepare for work so I just lay there until the alarm went off.

Two years of hell!

I was losing weight and my trousers were hanging so I went to a tailor to have them adjusted. As soon as he held out his tape-measure and said, “Take a deep breath, fill up your chest and suck your tummy in,” it hit me. I had relapsed! Of course! I’d been backwards breathing for Heaven only knows how long! Why do they say that?

Just one day of retraining my breathing and I now have seven to eight hours of deep, uninterrupted sleep every night. And all the doctors could say was, “Hmmm . . .”

Phase TwoAfter Phase One has become somewhat “normal” and you catch yourself breathing diaphragmatically during the day, you’re already halfway converted to breathing naturally. The remaining half is to convince yourself that your belly moving in and out is not a bad thing. But, if you catch yourself breathing vertically at any time, stop, reset your diaphragm and start inhaling down onto the diaphragm.

But let’s move on to Phase Two:

Lie on your back and practice Phase One A and B for a few minutes each. Now, cross your arms and place your hands on your ribs, level with your nipples.

NOTE: During the inhalation, the shoulders must not become involved and should remain relaxed at all times. In fact, consciously pull them downwards towards your hips. The only parts involved in natural, horizontal breathing are the diaphragm, lungs, rib cage and the abdomen.

Open your mouth as wide as possible. Flatten your lower abdomen, flex your diaphragm and start a slow inhalation for a duration of at least four seconds. When you feel the pressure of the diaphragm on the upper abdominal area signifying that it’s fully inflated, continue to inhale and direct the new air up into the chest to just the nipple line. You’ll feel your pecs and ribs expand outwards. Hold the breath for a second (or a heartbeat) then, with your mouth and throat wide open, say “HAAH” to collapse the upper abdomen towards your spine and start the slow exhalation. Force the navel down then up towards the solar plexus and squeeze the rib cage at the chest to force more air out.

Remember the exhalation should be longer than the inhalation.

Your aim at this juncture is to progressively smooth the process into one easy-flowing action of filling the lungs from the diaphragm first then up into the chest. So, after flexing and flattening the lower abdomen (place your right hand there), start the downwards inhalation simultaneously with the downwards flexing of the diaphragm. Continue to inhale up into the chest and after you feel the pectoral and rib expansion pause for a second then initiate the exhale with a “HAAH!” until you’re on empty. Then flatten the abdomen and tuck the navel up towards the solar plexus.

That’s advanced diaphragmatic breathing! You’re on the way!

NOTE: If you arrived at this point too soon, five minutes of aggressive Phase Two breathing may make you oxygen drunk. If you feel woozy (lucky you’re lying down!) stop and go back to Phase One for a few more days of solid practice.

Oh, by the way. It’s actually impossible to completely empty the lungs. When you relax after a normal exhalation, returning the chest and abdomen to a position called the “resting position”, the lungs still retain one to three liters of air which is determined by their functional elasticity. Even after an aggressive, forced exhalation there’ll still be a liter or so in the lungs, even if you think they’re empty.

Breathing RatesMost people take between fifteen and twenty-five shallow breaths per minute which does not provide enough oxygen or carbon dioxide (CO2) for the body’s systems to function optimally. At the higher breathing rate, those people appear fragile, often feel light-headed, brain-fogged, dizzy and may faint. At about eighteen breaths per minute, people display agitation and nervousness. Such shallow, rapid breathing signals “stress” to the brain and the resultant autonomic nervous system’s responses of skittish, jumpy behavior and a constant flood of the stress hormone, cortisol.

Normal, Natural breathing only requires six to twelve steady, full breaths per minute which will flood the system with health-sustaining oxygen and CO2. A “backwards breather” will have difficulty slowing his/her respiration rate to fewer than fifteen breaths per minute.

But when you activate the diaphragm as you inhale downwards and then forcefully direct more air up into the chest and expand the rib cage and the back . . . then exhale, collapse the chest and squeeze every drop of air out through your mouth it will take between ten and fifteen seconds to complete one breath. That means four to six breaths per minute. Fantastic!

But, while meditating and really focusing on forceful breathing it’s possible to reduce your rate to two breaths per minute! Amazing?

As we move from Phase Two into Phase Three you’ll soon realize that the abdomen plays very little part in Natural breathing but is the beneficiary of the process. In fact, it’s impossible to breathe actual “air” into the abdominal cavity!

So, as benchmarks, Phase One is to get you used to flexing the diaphragm down and filling the lungs from the bottom, up. It’s a jerky process because you need to flex the diaphragm and six-pack, start an inhalation while forcing the air to push the diaphragm against the intestines in the abdominal cavity, pause for a second, start the exhale and when you’re out of air you have to tuck the navel up towards the solar plexus. Phew! Take a breath.

In Phase One, the beginning and the end are definite interruptions but your task is to try to make the transitions as smooth as possible, especially when transitioning from abdominal breathing into diaphragmatic breathing. I recommend the inhalation and exhalation to be of at least three seconds duration each. But the diaphragmatic flex and the navel tuck take a second each, making at least eight seconds to complete the cycle. If you’ve been a shallow breather you might just not make it to eight. So, make the inhalation and the exhalation just two seconds each with a second at each end

to start and finish. Your aim? As smooth a transition as possible. Eventually, but progressively, lengthen both the inhalation and the exhalation to four seconds each.

Phase Two requires more effort as you start to involve several important muscles while breathing diaphragmatically. Before moving on to Phase Three, it’s essential that you can maintain a ten second count from after you flatten the four-pack, inhale down then fill up the lungs to the nipple-line flexing the rib cage, pause for a second then exhale and tuck the navel up towards the solar plexus.

If you can’t perform a ten second Phase Two breath you need to keep practicing until it’s second nature to you. Otherwise, when you commence Phase Three, it’s going to make you feel as though you’re about to explode! Your aim then, will be four breaths per minute which means a goal of fifteen seconds per breath.

Phase ThreeBecause the lungs are divided into lobes, it’s possible to just inhale into the lower lobes, the central area or the upper section. But with focus and muscular assistance it’s possible to inflate those lobes to the rear as well.

Consciously relax the ribs under your hands at the nipple level so they can expand. Flex your diaphragm and start inhaling against it. Progressively allow more air to flow upwards into the chest feeling the area of your pectoralis expanding. Continue slowly inhaling forcefully, feeling the air filling your upper chest. The ribs and the back will progressively expand as the lungs fill from the bottom to the center to the top where you’ll feel tension and maybe a tickle in the lower throat. Now, flex your back and sense the air expanding there as well. Hold the breath for a moment. Do not let the shoulders rise. Your whole thoracic cavity should be expanded. Flex it and inhale a little more. Hold that for a second (or a heartbeat) then relax and let the lungs deflate.

The expansion and squeezing of the rib cage are initiated by its intercostal muscles. As the ribs collapse and you consciously squeeze, you’ll eventually notice that your latissimus dorsi (those long muscles running down your sides from behind the arm pit to your waist), the rhomboids of the upper back and the rear external obliques at your waist become involved.

Ah, your rear external obliques are probably covered by love-handles.

When you’re completely “deflated”, with your rib cage collapsed and your diaphragm tucked under and up, you should feel as though your body is so flat you could slide under a closed door!

That was healthy, natural, horizontal breathing. Ideal for meditation!

NOTE: No, you don’t need to breathe that way while out and about! During the day, you don’t need to do the belly protrusion and upper chest flex. When walking, standing or sitting simply follow the protocol by starting a smooth and steady inhalation directing the air towards the bottom of the lungs forcing your diaphragm downwards. When your lower lungs are fully inflated, relax, and let the abdomen collapse with the diaphragm rolling under and up towards the solar plexus. That complete breath should take a about eight seconds which equals seven to eight breaths per minute. Pretty good!

As a fat-burning exercise it’s probably the best there is. While in bed, or under stress, focus on full, complete breaths with the abdomen and the chest expanding fully.

Phase FourOpen mouth breathing is not conducive to good health so it’s time to involve the nose in our quest for Natural breathing. Compared with the open throat, the nasal passages will restrict the flow of air slightly but normal, clear nasal passages will allow enough warm air to slowly fill the lungs to capacity. Have your mouth open but block the passage of air by pressing your tongue against your palate. Now, without involving the throat, inhale slowly through the nose following the protocol of flexing your diaphragm, filling the lower lungs first then rolling the air up into the chest.

When the lower and upper areas of the thoracic cavity have expanded to their limit, drop your jaw and your tongue, say “HAAH” and allow the lungs to empty slowly through your throat as you collapse the abdomen tucking the navel down then up towards the solar plexus followed by contracting the rib cage.

After a few days, you should be ready for total nasal breathing. That’s good. Take a full inhalation then have your diaphragm and abdominal muscles squeeze gently and simultaneously as the air flows from your lungs through your nose. If you feel tension in your throat after a few nasal breaths, you’ll need to practice a few more exhalations through the open-mouth until the throat relaxes and then try again.

NOTE: At the rear of the nasal cavity where it joins the throat there are a lot of muscles surrounding the neck which, along with the base of the tongue are able to constrict and block off the throat. If you exhale too rapidly (a sign of stress) one or some of those muscles may act involuntarily to slow down the rate of exhalation. Feel where the tightness is and consciously relax those muscles.

That was natural breathing! Good Job!

My Immediate ReliefFor many years I had suffered with restless leg syndrome and as I mentioned earlier, poor sleep. During my conversion, well actually on the very first evening, within a few forceful breaths of starting, my feet began to tingle on every inhalation. The sensation was so powerful and disturbing, I had to flex my feet and toes into tight balls and bend my knees to ease the tickling feeling. After a few minutes, the sensation became quite pleasurable and I fell asleep faster than I ever had before. The next morning, practicing in bed, my fingers began to tingle. Obviously my previous backwards breathing had not been providing enough oxygen to my extremities nor enough exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the blood-stream which is critical for cellular optimization and attaining homeostasis.

After a few days of complete conversion to Natural breathing, I suddenly coughed involuntarily and lumps of mucus or phlegm flew up into my throat. That stuff, the result of chronic colds, must have been sitting at the bottom of my lungs since who-knows-when.

Now, after a strenuous day, while lying in bed breathing naturally, I’ll often feel pops and clicks from my spine as the vertebra realign themselves naturally. The day’s stress just washes away.

SummaryPhase One (A): Flat on your back, elevate your abdomen and flex. Mouth open for both the inhalation and the exhalation. Inhale into the bottom of your lungs causing your abdomen to protrude further. That’s abdominal breathing!

Phase One (B): Abdomen flat. Flex only the diaphragm and inhale into the bottom of the lungs. That’s diaphragmatic breathing!

Phase Two: Flat on your back as above but when the lower lungs are full continue to inhale and roll the new air up into the chest at nipple level.

Phase Three: As for Phase two but total lower and upper lung inhalation. Feel the torso stretch. That’s healthy breathing!

Phase Four: As for Phase Three but inhale and exhale through the nose. Relax the throat muscles. Now you’re breathing Naturally!

The BenefitsVertical, “backwards” breathing into just the upper chest does not provide enough of the oxygen or carbon dioxide needed by the body to fuel its cells in order for them to regenerate and optimize. Horizontal breathing has been shown to:

Reverse aging

Eliminate memory fog

Forestall frequent colds

Fortify the immune system

Relieve chronic headaches

Alleviate restless leg syndrome

Improve skin-tone and help clear up skin problems

While Vertical breathing has been shown to contribute to:

Stress

Cancer

Asthma

Insomnia

Hyperactivy

Varicose veins

Muscle weakness

Digestive problems

Perpetual tiredness

Bowel elimination difficulties

Scientific studies have confirmed the empirical claims that natural “horizontal” breathing can relieve or prevent all of those conditions.

That list of ailments and benefits might seem too much, but in fact, all of them are due to the levels of oxygen in the cells.

And all of the benefits of Natural breathing are increased during meditation.

If you regularly engage in meditation, your breathing should be relaxed and stress-free. The reduction of stress is one of the many benefits of meditation!

To use focused abdominal breathing, as you inhale “down”, you allow the abdomen to expand outwards gently over three seconds and then start a three second exhalation by collapsing the belly. That’s ten breaths per minute and your brain and the whole system will appreciate the . If you pause for a second at the top of the inhalation and again at the end of the exhalation your breath count will be down to around eight breaths per minute.

Relaxed, natural (horizontal) breathing could be used after you have toned the four-pack enough so you don’t need to think about controlling it. Again, you breathe “down” and your diaphragm will already have flexed towards your navel, recruiting the “six-pack” on the way. As you start the exhale if you feel the area over your solar plexus moving horizontally away from your navel then the diaphragm is functioning “autonomically”. However if the solar plexus moved towards your spine, the action was “automatic” and you need more practice before using natural breathing during meditation.

The author may be contacted by e-mail at: luigik123@yahoo.com

the bottom third of the lungs is where about two thirds of the gas exchange takes place, so oxygenation is more efficient when you use the diaphragm more efficient oxygenation of the blood

 Breathing is the very first thing you do when you’re born and it’s the last thing you do before you die.

 •    Helps lower blood pressure, and therefore the risk of heart disease    •    Helps lower blood sugar, and therefore the risk of diabetes    •    Releases serotonin, which not only makes you feel good, but can reduce cravings for processed carbohydrates and other junk food    •    Eliminates free radicals from the body, improving cellular function and lifespan    •    Increases the secretion of growth hormone and slows the aging process    •    Improves mental focus and clarity by increasing blood flow to the pre-frontal

cortex of your brain    •    Improves sleep quality    •    Facilitates weight loss by balancing stress hormones with anabolic hormones

Diaphragmatic breathing gently “massages” or moves the abdominal organs, aiding digestion and helping lymphatic drainage; much of the lymphatic system is located just below the diaphragm

rebalances the autonomic nervous system, reducing heart rate and breathing rate and changing from sympathetic fight or flight to parasympathetic calm and relax

rebalances the autonomic nervous system, reducing heart rate and breathing rate and changing from sympathetic fight or flight to parasympathetic calm and relax

Autonomic versus automatic.

The diaphragm is normally “autonomic” in as much as it flexes to start and inhalation and flexes in the other direction to start an exhalation. When it’s working normally our brains never need to become involved. But when we can choose to flex it, we do so automatically.

To facilitate such activities as conversation, singing, swimming or exercise, the “autonomic” action of breathing can be over-ridden and becomes “automatic”. The six-pack will autonomically assist the diaphragm in breathing. If you place your hand over the solar plexus and breathe down into the bottom of the lungs the diaphragm has already moved “autonomically” towards the navel. When you exhale, if there’s movement towards the solar plexus, the diaphragm and six-pack had moved autonomically. If the movement was towards the spine you were controlling the movement “automatically”.

Yawning closes down the brain’s thought process and at the culmination of a yawn, your brain will have stopped thinking about whatever was on your mind before the yawn began.