Pam Strand: Hello, my name is Pam Strand.

I'm your podcast host, and I would like
to welcome you to the Longevity Gym.

The Longevity Gym podcast is devoted
to helping you stay strong and

healthy as your body ages, so you can
live longer, stronger, and better.

In today's episode, I want
to talk about breathing.

Improving our breath and
intentionally breathing in specific

ways is a path towards greater
health, strength, and resilience.

It's estimated that we take anywhere
from 17, 000 to 30, 000 breaths a

day, or an average around 25, 000.

Over the course of the year, if
you do the math, that means we

take over 9 million breaths a year.

That's a lot of breathing.

Have you ever given any thought as to
whether you are breathing properly or not?

I am sure if you suffer from a respiratory
disease or a respiratory ailment, the

thought of how well you are breathing is
close to your mind and heart every day.

But for the rest of us, I'm sure that
it's not very often that we think

about the breath we just took or the
next one we are about to take and

wonder if we are getting it right.

Could we do it better?

For the vast majority of
us, the answer is yes.

James Nestor is a journalist who has
researched breathing for decades.

In his estimation.

It's about 95 percent of us that have
some form of dysfunction in our breathing

mechanics or our breathing patterns.

So yes, we can be doing it better.

Life and the aging process in
the body tend to disrupt our

healthy breathing patterns.

Many of us end up being shallow
mouth breathers and by shallow,

I'm not referring to someone's
personality, but the situation where

we breathe predominantly into the
upper lobes of our lungs and we

breathe in and out through our mouths

.
This comes about for a variety of reasons.

Here are three big ones.

I think one in modern day life, we
spend a lot of time hunched over our

computers and electronic devices.

And even if we're not at our computers,
we do spend a lot of time seated

and likely not in the best posture
that's conducive to good breathing.

That hunched over position limits
the range of motion of our diaphragm

and limits how much our lungs can
expand to get a full deep breath

into the lower lobes of the lungs.

That hunched over position that we
get when we sit a lot limits the range

of motion of our diaphragm and limits
how much our lungs can expand in order

to get a full deep breath, especially
into the lower lobes of the lungs.

That's where relaxation in
our bodies is triggered.

Two, chronic stress, not to mention the
stress that's triggered by staring into

our electronic devices for many hours a
day, also creates shallow mouth breathing.

The upper lobes of the lungs have
the sympathetic nerve endings.

If we breathe chronically into
the upper lungs or do what

It's called chest breathing.

We are actually revving up the
stress response in the body and it

becomes somewhat of a vicious cycle.

The more stressed we are, the more we
breathe into the upper parts of our lungs

and the more we breathe through our mouth.

And then the third big thing in my mind
that causes us to develop what might

be considered dysfunctional breathing
patterns is as we age, we tend to

adopt a more shallow breathing process.

where our breaths are shorter
and not as deep as they were

when our bodies were younger.

These changes can be a result of
decreased lung capacity that comes

about through the aging process, the
loss of strength in our respiratory

muscles, and postural changes, that
collapsing inward or that hunching over.

And we tend to breathe through the mouth
When we get older, maybe because of

nasal congestion, even changes in our
jaw and tooth structure and decreased

muscle tone in the mouth and throat.

As with most things with the body,
we get what we train our bodies for.

In essence, our lives are training
our bodies to breathe shallow

breaths through the mouth.

As a result, our breath becomes less
than what it has the potential to be.

Shallow breathing through
our mouths isn't wrong.

In fact, we need it.

It's what revs up our bodies
to take action or it's least

a part of that process.

As I mentioned, the upper lobes of
our lungs have the sympathetic nerve

endings, which means when we breathe
quickly into this area of our lungs,

we're triggering a stress response.

The fight or flight response, and it
gets our bodies revved up, ready to go

to go slay our dragons, or to make sure
that there's plenty of oxygen and energy

for our muscles to work really well in
case we need to run away from danger.

But those aren't the situations
of everyday life, but we are

breathing as if they are.

And if we're not aware of how our
breathing changes as we age, we lose

the opportunities or the opportunity to
train our bodies to breathe differently.

I really do think breath work or breath
training is a really easy, accessible,

age friendly practice that improves
our overall health and strength.

So what is a better, healthier way
to breathe than breathing through

our mouths and breathing shallow?

Science is showing that it's
breathing in and out through our

noses and using the diaphragm as
the major mover of air in and out.

This way of breathing is called
nasal diaphragmatic breathing.

There are enormous health benefits
when we breathe through our nose

and with our diaphragm while we
are awake and when we are sleeping.

Here's just a few of them.

It lowers blood pressure
and our resting heart rates.

It increases the oxygenation in our blood.

It lowers stress and triggers
relaxation in the body and mind.

There is evidence suggesting that nasal
diaphragmatic breathing leads to improved

cognitive performance and brain function.

Breathing this way also helps
manage GI and digestive issues

and helps manage respiratory
diseases such as asthma and COPD.

Nasal diaphragmatic breathing has been
shown to help manage sleep disorders.

We can better regulate our emotions
when we breathe this way, better manage

anxiety and mental health challenges.

It also helps manage lower back pain and
making sure our lower back stays healthy.

And breathing through our noses
warms and humidifies the air

before it gets to the lungs.

And it also filters out irritants
and molecules associated with

viruses and other diseases.

And finally, our dentists may be happier
because nasal breathing has been shown

to reduce tooth decay and gum disease.

It's hard not to come to
believe that improved breathing

mechanics is free medicine.

It feels that way to me.

So how do you exactly do it?

Figuring out the process to
breathe through your nose

is pretty straightforward.

You close your mouth and the
body automatically knows

to shift to nasal breathing.

It may not be very comfortable at
first, especially if you have a

respiratory condition or ailment.

And at first your brain might get a
little fussy about Feeling a significant

decrease of oxygen coming into your body.

If you practice nasal breathing while
you are walking or exercising, you

may need to slow down for a bit before
you can ramp up your speed again.

But the body will adapt and will increase
its efficiency in using oxygen and

breathing less, which is a good thing.

Small incremental steps are
important here and always do what

is safe and healthy for your body.

Talk to your doctor if you're unsure
about changing your breathing patterns.

Breathing with the diaphragm seems
to be the trickiest part for most

people, especially if it's not used
as much as it could be for breathing.

Like any muscle, it gets weak when
not exercised, and when not exercised,

the communication between the brain
and the diaphragm also becomes weak.

So practicing breathing with the
diaphragm strengthens the muscle and

improves the neuromuscular communication.

And the more you do it, the more
likely it becomes your natural,

more dominant way of breathing.

The diaphragm is a unique
muscle as it is dome shaped.

It's attached to the front,
the back and sides of the body.

It's the dividing point between the
thoracic cavity where your lungs and heart

are located and the abdominal cavity.

Where your organs such as your
liver, stomach, your intestines

and kidneys are located.

In the front of your body, you can find
it by tracing the sternum, the bone

that , runs down the center of your
chest, tracing your sternum to the end.

The top of the dome is
connected right behind there.

Then if you trace the edges of your
ribs as they go down and out, you are

tracing the front edge of the diaphragm.

The diaphragm is also connected to
the inside of your lombar spine.

That's why diaphragmatic breathing
is important for the lower back,

for the health of the lower back.

When we breathe, the diaphragm
contracts and creates a downward

pull and an outward push that
allows the lungs to fill.

When the diaphragm relaxes, it
moves up, our ribs move in, pushing

air up and out of the lungs.

This up and downward moving of the
diaphragm ends up being a gentle

massage of the organs in the belly.

And it's also thought to be helpful
for managing digestive and gut issues.

If these are issues for you, talking
to your doctor about diaphragmatic

breathing might be helpful.

So diaphragmatic breathing is commonly
referred to as belly breathing.

While your belly definitely moves in
and out as you breathe this way, it

is a slight misnomer to call it belly
breathing because there's outward

and inward movement at your ribs.

Diaphragmatic breathing is really
a 360 degree process in the body.

The diaphragm, like any other muscle, gets
weakened when it's not well exercised, but

it can be strengthened strengthen, but
it takes time and consistent practice.

And there's also a little bit
more to it than simply focusing

on the nose and the diaphragm.

It may also take some stretching and
bending and twisting the torso, as long as

that is safe for your bones, to make sure
that your torso is supple enough, For the

ribs to move in and out when we breathe.

I have found this part of the
body to be fairly stiff and rigid

for people including myself.

We tend to want to stretch our glutes
and our lower body, not so much the

upper body, but it's helpful to do that.

We also need to learn to relax the belly.

After all of the effort in the gym
to work the abs so that they're flat

and strong, and training ourselves
to hold in our bellies so we might

look trim and taller, it may feel a
bit intimidating to think you need

to relax the belly when you breathe.

Strong core muscles are a must for
strong diaphragmatic breathing, but all

our work in the gym to strengthen them
combined with our sitting posture, that

hunched over posture and holding our
bellies in may also mean that they are

tight and need of a little stretching.

There are many resources that can
help you improve your breathing

techniques and your breathing mechanics.

I know of three books
that can be very helpful.

I'll list them in the show
notes below under resources.

I already mentioned the
journalist James Nestor.

He's written a book titled Breath,
the new science of a lost art.

The book is really fascinating.

, he shows and documents a lot of health
benefits to nasal diaphragmatic breathing.

He also talks about the health
consequences of breathing

shallow through our mouth.

The other part of the book that I
found really interesting is that

he shared how human breathing has
shifted, unfortunately for the worst,

over the last centuries and decades.

The other two books, The Breathing Cure
by Patrick McCohen and Breathe by Dr.

Belissa Vranich have a lot of good
guidance in measuring your breath,

assessing it, and in doing exercises to
develop nasal and diaphragmatic breathing.

All three books also identify tools to
help you breathe, such as mouth tape.

And then there are also breath coaches.

I'm a breath work teacher and
someone who's happy to help someone

improve your breathing mechanics.

If you feel like that's something you
want to improve, just simply email

me and we can start a conversation.

I believe an important first step and an
ongoing exercise is to check in with your

breath on a regular basis, get to know
it and to keep tabs on how it's doing.

This type of exercise is commonly
known as breath awareness work.

Once you check in with your
breathing and get to know it, you'll

have a sense on where to put your
efforts to improve the process.

You can practice noticing your breath
throughout your day when you're

walking, driving, exercising, sitting
at your computer, doing chores.

And you can also take a few
quiet moments during the day to

check in and scan your breathing.

I've created a guided breath awareness
session that I am sharing in the next

episode of this podcast, episode 19.

I'm posting it at the
same time as this one.

So once you've finished listening
to this episode, you can go right

to the next one for some practice.

But as a separate episode, it's
also easier, I think, to be able

to return to it, to find it.

So I hope you do come back to it more
than once because you can do this session

over and over as part of your practice of
developing your awareness of your breath.

Plus it's a nice stress
buster helping you to relax.

Before we end, I want to
provide some safety guidelines.

While breath work is a very safe modality,
if you have any concerns, you should

check in with your medical provider to
make sure it's safe and healthy for you,

especially if you have respiratory issues
or diseases, epilepsy, mental health

challenges, or cardiovascular disease.

And if you are pregnant, it also is
important to check in with your doctor.

Some breath techniques are
better for you than others.

Follow what you know is safe and
healthy for you and your body.

So that's a wrap.

Thanks for tuning in and listening.

As always, please email me
if you have any questions.

My email is Pam at strandfitnessonline.

com.

My email is also in the show notes below.

And if you're interested, and I hope you
are, and you're not already on my email

list, please sign up for the newsletter.

My emails keep you updated on the most
recent Longevity Gym podcast episodes

and also announce ways to work with me.

Thanks for listening.

I hope you tune into the next episode,
episode 19 for some breath awareness,

and I will see you next time.