"Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment," - Thich Nacht Han
In 2003, when I first taught indoor cycling, the bikes consisted of a flywheel, pedals, resistance pads, and a water bottle holder. Unlike the high-tech indoor bikes of today, they lacked any electronic devices that tracked calories, heart rate, distance, wattage, or RPM’s. Back then, we were a long way from wearable devices, so unless people wore a heart rate monitor, the only way to measure effort was with the “talk test”, a subjective measure of intensity based on how hard it felt to talk while exercising. The test is elegantly simple: working muscles require more oxygen which raises your breathing rate and makes it harder to talk. During low intensity exercise, oxygen needs are modest, so your breathing rate is just slightly elevated, allowing you to talk in full sentences with little difficulty. As intensity increases to more moderate levels, you may need to take a breath after a sentence or two. Talking may feel manageable but requires more effort. As intensity increases, your ability to talk diminishes very quickly, and at very high intensities you are unable—and unwilling—to utter a sound.
The talk test is an example of how the breath is a bridge between the body and the mind. What we observe in the rhythm, depth, ease, and comfort of our breath is a snapshot of how we are experiencing life in the moment. Typically, the rhythmic inhales and exhales of breathing chug along unnoticed, until something draws our attention to it, such as exercise, asthma, allergies, a cold, or a mindful breathing practice. But the breath is a rich resource that has much to tell us, provided we are willing to listen. Careful attention to the breath can expand our understanding of how we sense, interpret, and process physiological, emotional, and environmental stimuli. Since the breath changes prior to our awareness, tuning into its messages can strengthen our self-regulatory skills and help us respond to the world in healthier ways.
We are born with individual breathing patterns which are characterized by a healthy, uninhibited natural breath. A natural breath involves three actions, all of which work together to provide space for the lungs. As air is brought in either through the nose or the mouth, the primary muscle of respiration--the diaphragm--is activated, causing it to push downward to make more space for the lower lobes of the lungs. The second action involves the chest, when several muscles engage to expand the ribcage outward, allowing the lungs to expand. The third action assists the action of the chest by lifting the clavicle, sternum, and collarbones. Watch a baby sleep and you will see the natural breath in action—the belly rises while the ribs expand and lift. You are unlikely to see this pattern as we age, as we develop dysfunctional patterns associated with stress, posture, muscle imbalances—evidence shows that breathing can even be influenced by just being in contact with others who have disturbed patterns.
With our current media emphasis on breath awareness as a means of controlling stress, many of us tend to overthink breathing. There is no “perfect” way to breathe. Our respiratory systems are designed to be resilient, capable of maintaining an ideal match between the rate of air exchange in the lungs and the body’s immediate needs. There are receptors throughout the body that monitor the blood’s oxygen and pH levels, automatically sending signals to the brain related to how often and how deeply to breathe. Healthy breathing is simply a respiratory pattern that is able to meet our metabolic requirements. Judging whether you are breathing “correctly” is based purely on context: fast, shallow chest breathing when you are running to catch a train is entirely appropriate, but not when you are sitting quietly and reading a book.
Exercise is a form of stress that places a demand on the respiratory system for more oxygen. This increased demand promotes chest breathing, engaging the chest and accessory muscles to bring in oxygen at a higher rate . As intensity increases and breathing rates get faster, it is harder to get enough oxygen to the lower lobes of the lungs. The diaphragm plays less of a role in breathing when we are working hard. This dynamic changes once the demands of the exercise session have come to an end. Healthy breathing patterns bring our breathing back to a normal state seamlessly and quickly.
Mental and emotional stress create the greatest disruption in our breathing patterns. The stress response leads the body to anticipate physical exertion, causing it to initiate the same response in the body as exercise. An increased breathing rate activates the sympathetic nervous system response, aka, the” fight or flight” response, but with stress, the physical exertion never comes. Stress keeps the body in a chronic state of readiness—we breathe faster but, since there is no corresponding physical activity, the oxygen has nowhere to go. Stress essentially puts us in a chronic state of hyperventilation in which our breathing rate is not matching the needs of the body and stays dysregulated by the demands of the mind. The long-term consequences are considerable, triggering a host of chronic conditions including inflammation, chronic pain, muscle stiffness, and fatigue.
Regulating the breath has been shown to bring our natural respiratory processes back to healthy functioning levels. Synchronizing the inhale and the exhale to a 5:5 ratio in which we inhale for 5 seconds and exhale for 5 seconds is quite effective at reducing stress and calming the nervous system. Establishing this pattern is easy to do when we are relaxed, but not when our systems are on high alert. When we are stressed, we lack the sensitivity to check into the breath and shift the pattern. The greatest resistance comes from the mind, as the mental processes that dominate during stress--problem solving, predicting, comparing, blaming, avoidance—are sticky and hard to change. Regulating the breath when we are in this state of mind takes practice and patience.
Diaphragmatic breathing, in which the diaphragm descends into the abdominal cavity, has numerous benefits. It tones the abdominal muscles, synchronizes cardiac rhythm with the breath, stimulates efficient exchange of oxygen in the lower lobes of the lungs, and engages the parasympathetic nervous system. Best of all, it feels relaxed and satisfying. But it is not compatible with a problem-solving mindset or when we do not feel safe. It is not a breathing pattern that can be adopted with a flip of a switch. It is a pattern that must be cultivated.
The first step is to learn how to notice the breath, regardless of our state of mind. This is a process of creating a pause and checking in, noticing how we are breathing without trying to “fix” or “change” the pattern. Where is the breath landing? What’s happening in your chest, shoulders, neck? What is the pattern of your inhale and exhale? Are you holding your breath? This pause provides an opportunity to scan your environment, asking, is this breathing appropriate for what is going on around me? Creating a pause offers an opportunity to explore what needs to happen so that we can more skillfully meet the demands of the moment.
Several years ago, a Buddhist monk I worked with suggested a novel way to become more aware of the breath. She suggested pausing to notice the breath every time I made a transition during my day. I have followed this simple practice for many years and it has opened a door to new possibilities of navigating my world. It is not always easy to take a pause, especially if I am rushed or immersed in my mind’s chattering, but it is always enlightening. I have found that this simple practice has made breath regulation more accessible. I don’t get stuck in habitual responses as often and it is much easier to shift into relaxed, diaphragmatic breathing patterns. This change did not happen overnight. It took time and diligence, but it was worth the effort. Just like the talk test I used in my cycling class, noticing the breath was the first step to change. What might happen if you developed the habit of checking in with your breath?
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