Emergency room and intensive care professionals understand the importance of respiration. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are what stands between our life and death so our very next breath matters very much. It is only when we get close to death do doctors finally pay attention to our respiration.
Oxygen is the most prescribed medicine in hospitals but little to no attention is paid to carbon dioxide because medicine ill defines it as a waist product of metabolism. It is low levels of this essential gas (that plants love and thrive on) that constricts the blood vessels, which drives up blood pressure.
I have written about breathing and have been working on my own respiration for the last four years using mostly the Breathslim device, which I recommend to all people who have chronic disease and are looking to put the brakes on their respiration—slowing their breathing rate down.
Exercise is so healthy exactly because it increases carbon dioxide levels in the blood and that is exactly what happens when we slow our breathing down, we increase carbon dioxide and that affects the oxygen disassociation curve so we end up with more oxygen delivered to the cells.
Bottom line—the quicker we breathe the sooner we are going to die. The more our breathing races, the less oxygen we get, the quicker our bodies begin to suffer from one chronic aliment or another. Eight breaths a minute is very healthy though few breathe today slower than 12. Cancer patients tend to breathe at 18 to 25 breaths a minute.
The Breathslim is an easy answer for beginners and though I have been meditating most of my adult life, and even though I have been using the Breathslim for over three years, I myself am just breaking out of beginning status and getting truly serious about my breathing.
Vernon Johnston cured himself of cancer (prostrate and bone) with good diet, sodium bicarbonate and four hours of conscious breathing a day. I have not talked to anyone in all the years since that has equaled his accomplishment (took him one month to be cancer free) though finally I am doing my best to emulate his path, not because I have cancer but because my stress levels are keeping me from the optimal level of health I am seeking.
If we are truly interested in deep and rapid change of our condition we will flood ourselves with minerals like magnesium, bicarbonate (sodium and potassium), iodine and selenium and make a full time work out of getting a hold of our breathing.
It is hard to explain the great challenge in this though the Breathslim makes at least part of the work easier. There really is no limit to the medical power of breathing. Each breath is important and can be controlled if you have the will for it.
After years of using the Breathslim I have finally put it down so I can go deeper into my breathing to effect changes that have not come any other way. I have an advantage over most people in terms of breathing and that is my meditative self is easily accessible. This is what I run right into when I spend just a few seconds or a minute consciously breathing.
Pain and Stress Control
One can alleviate stress through the practice of yogic breathing techniques. Among other things, yogic breathing loads your blood with oxygen, which, by nourishing and repairing your body’s cells, maintains your health at the most desirable level.
Pain clinics use breathing exercises for pain control. Childbirth clinics teach yoga-related breathing techniques to both parents. I like what Daniel Scot said, “It is easy to take breathing for granted, because we don’t have to think about it. Only when we do are we reminded of its importance, and most times, the reminder is forced. Congestion, shortness of breath, and choking are all poignant indicators of what happens when the fuel line to the engine is cut. Most people don’t like being reminded of their mortality, let alone feeling they can’t climb a flight of stairs without keeling over.”
Full Yogic Breath is a deeply balancing. It is sometimes known as three-part breath because it works with three different sections of the torso and naturally engages all three lobes of the lungs. Full Yogic Breath revitalizes the entire body with prana (essential life force). In particular, it benefits the vital organs, which can become stagnant, constricted, or fraught with emotional and physical tension when we experience stress. Full Yogic Breath relieves stress, refreshes the mind, and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, encouraging a calmer, more balanced state of being overall. It also helps to correct unhealthy breathing patterns. This pranayama can be engaged at any time, but it is especially beneficial when practiced intently for 5-15 minutes every day – preferably on an empty stomach. The early morning is an ideal time to practice full Yogic breath.
Prayer, Meditation and Breathing
Prayer, meditation and breathing are very much related processes that are usually thought of separately. I for instance was into meditation for decades but not really into my breathing but have always integrated prayer with meditation. Now it is my breathing I focus on more; but slow breathing usually brings me to my meditative self that prays to the highest. Therefore, I am practicing breathing many times a day and that has me being more connected than ever before.
Conclusion
We can do what we want with our breathing including healing ourselves. The more we can focus on our breath the quicker and more powerful the medicinal results.
Dr. Eddy Bettermann MD 