Faulty Breathing Pattern & #Covid2019

Updated 3/20/2020: Here is the slidedeck (with speaker notes) I presented in the workshop on yogic 3part breathing I organized yesterday. I used #Webex yesterday for the videoconference and that worked like a charm!

#Covid2019 is the new common enemy we all face and must defeat. In the current times of the pandemic, we take several precautionary measures to stay safe. While precautionary measures will surely help to reduce the spread of the disease, can we do more to protect ourselves?

The majority of the population do not breathe right or breathe enough to fulfill the needs of the body and brain. If we pay attention to our breathing pattern, we get a clue on how to build immunity to respiratory diseases.

Here are two startling facts about our breathing:

1. Our normal breath is very shallow. Just by observing our breath, we notice that we usually use only the top third portion of our lungs. Studies have shown that only about 10% of the total respiratory capacity is used during each breath in quiet breathing. An average breath during ordinary quiet breathing, known as tidal volume ("A" in the diagram above), is about half a liter, although the total amount of air which can be inhaled may be as much as 4.5 to 5 liters, known as vital capacity ('B' in the diagram). In short, we are under-utilizing lung capacity significantly.
2. We don't exercise the muscles for efficient breathing: The diaphragm & intercoastal muscles are usually not used by most people when breathing. The diaphragm separates the lungs from the abdomen and intercostal muscles are the muscles between the ribs. Not using them to breathe causes decreased ventilation, decreased efficiency of gas exchange, because of lower available alveolar surface area for the O2-CO2 exchange with blood flow. Additionally, some alveoli will remain closed and collect secretions, causing them more prone to disease (think of what happens when you keep a room closed, not aerated for a long time!). If you have not read this article Take a deep breath by #Harvard Medical School, I recommend you to read it.

Inefficiency in our breathing pattern can potentially lead to pulmonary diseases as well as lower body immunity. There have been several studies to demonstrate that asthma, COPD and similar conditions can be corrected by changing the way we breathe. I refer you to read this article I wrote in 2013, where I explain the efficiency of deep breathing in mathematical terms.

Yogic 3-part breathing helps us to improve the overall surface area available for gaseous exchange as well as increase the tidal volume of air taken in with every breath. This is achieved by exercising the diaphragm, thoracic & clavicular muscles. The lungs are passive; they expand and contract based on how these muscles are exercised. The lungs expand both vertically (because of downward movement of the diaphragm) and horizontally (because of the expansion of rib cage). This results in a large quantity of air reaching the lungs and inflating more alveolar tissue. Thus more oxygen is made available for gas exchange with the blood.

While we must continue to take precautions as published by CDC and other governmental / health agencies, we can surely experiment with deep breathing practice (or yogic-3 part breathing) to build immunity & hopefully ward off Covid-19.

If you are interested to learn yogic 3-part breathing (for free!), please send me a direct message (or comment) on Linkedin. I am organizing forty-five minutes free workshop (on multiple days to benefit a wider audience) via two-way video conferencing via Cisco's #Webex that you can join online from the comfort of your home. You can practice yogic 3-part breathing in person, with my guidance. All you would need is a computer with a camera and good bandwidth to participate in #Webex video conference calls.

The first workshop is scheduled on Wed, Mar 18th at 5 pm- 5:45 pm Pacific. Anyone can join!

Note: The picture & text for this article are adapted from the book, Prana and Pranayama by Swami Niranjananda Saraswati.