Why We Should Breathe Like Babies

We often take breathing for granted. We assume that because our body breathes on its own, we do not need to think about it much. While this may be true, evidence indicates that paying more attention to our breathing reduces stress, helps manage our mood states, and keeps us focused and alert to the event at hand. When we pay closer attention to our breathing, we can choose how to breathe, which in turn affects the way we feel.

As indicated in my previous article about breathing, our breath is the only part of our autonomic nervous system that we have control over. We cannot directly change our heart rate, body temperature, or body tension without first changing our breathing. Think about a real fight-or-flight situation. Maybe you encounter a dangerous animal or you experience a violent act, and your body automatically knows what to do to keep you safe. You start breathing more quickly and your heart rate increases to pump oxygen to your limbs. Your pupils dilate so that you can focus more clearly on what is happening. And you get a sudden burst of hormonal energy allowing you to run for miles or lift heavy objects you would have never been able to lift otherwise. If you have ever heard of the trope of the mother who lifts a car off her baby, that’s where it comes from. Our bodies can do amazing things in the threat of danger.

We come pre-programmed with an automatic system that is triggered by distress and fear. The problem with this system, just like you might find in computer code, is that any event that triggers stress or fear can activate the autonomic system. Maybe you are cut off in traffic causing you to veer into another lane. Maybe your coworker made a comment about your outfit leaving you feeling isolated. Or maybe you simply watched American Horror Story too late at night and now you are terrified of aliens hiding under your bed. Whatever the trigger, no matter how small, your body is primed to respond to keep you safe, even if the danger is imaginary.

Considering our breathing is the only element of the autonomic nervous system that we can control, it makes sense that breathing helps bring the stress cycle to an end. Let’s use the late-night horror movie example. Maybe you don’t notice the stress in your body at first, but once you go to lie down you feel agitated, you cannot stop worrying, and your muscles feel tense. These are all signs that you are in fight-or-flight mode. By simply focusing your attention on your breathing and taking slow intentional breaths, you may be able to trick your nervous system into realizing that you are not in danger. This type of breathing is considered mindfulness or mindful breathing. Researchers and experts who discuss mindful breathing, speak highly of its multitudinous benefits.

In his book, The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh discusses the benefits of breathing. He also describes the “right way to breath.” The recently-deceased Vietnamese monk describes the process in which someone should breathe in order to properly communicate calmness with the body. His first suggestion is to practice lying down so that you can truly feel the body move as you breathe in and out.?

Start by simply noticing how it feels to breathe. Where do you feel it in your body? Maybe you feel the chest rise and fall, your rib cage expands, and your throat tickle as the air moves past the uvula. Most people who have never been taught the proper way to breathe, may notice that the air goes into the chest, the chest rises, and it stops there. This is a prideful form of breathing that we often learn from our family and peers. We breathe only into our chest, making us appear stronger and taking up more space. Although no one may have ever told us to breathe this way, it is something we pick up as children. As a young person going through puberty, I was told by adults to suck in my stomach to avoid appearing “fat”. Even this seemingly unrelated experience can result in someone holding their diaphragm in, not allowing them to breathe fully into their lower lungs.

Now that you can recognize the breathing techniques you are currently using, Thich Nhat Hanh recommends correcting your breathing style. The truly natural and proper way to breathe is to use the diaphragm (a large muscle between your lungs and stomach that help your lungs expand and contract). When breathing in, your diaphragm starts to push down your stomach, allowing room for air to fill the bottom of your lungs first, then the middle, then the top (the chest area). Think about how a baby breathes. Their belly rises with each breath, almost as if they were breathing through their navel. It is not until later in our childhood, when social influences take over, that we stop breathing the way our body intended.?

Credit: getvipcare.com

In order to practice breathing properly, stay lying down and begin breathing in. Imagine the air filling your belly first, then as the belly is full, just like a liquid in a container, the air will rise through the top of the lungs until they are completely full. This is the proper way to breathe in. To breathe out, slowly release air from your nostrils, starting by emptying the chest/upper lungs, then the middle, then the belly/lower lungs. If you are mindful of this breathing style, you might also start to notice that your out-breath is naturally a moment longer than your in-breath. As my earlier article on breathing discussed, this longer out-breath is critical for signaling to our brains that we can switch off fight-or-flight mode because we have the time to breathe out a little longer. Keep practicing this technique lying down until it begins to feel natural. Once you have mastered it while lying down, you can begin to practice the same techniques while doing other easy tasks like reading, washing the dishes, or walking.

Breathing this way has many benefits, the primary being the deactivation of the fight-or-flight mode we often find ourselves in. Once we can come out of survival mode and into a calm state, we feel less stress, have better health and often feel more motivated to do the activities we love the most. Breathing properly is nearly as effective as most anxiety medications, although I would never suggest choosing breathing over medication without your doctor’s help. Not only does breathing the right way keep us healthy, but it also helps us stay grounded in the present. We are not thinking about the past or worrying about the future.?

Although Thich Nhat Hanh may no longer be living, he lives on in his legacy. With his multitudinous books about mindfulness, meditation, and spirituality, the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation, and the popular meditation app Plum Village, Tich Nhat Hanh has left behind a legacy. He teaches us that when we can slow down, experience the moment for what it is, and just breathe, it can change our lives for the better.