Breath Holding

Beautiful day, unfolding
Uncluttering the mind, unmolding
Even the bird song, no scolding
This moment of breath, no holding... Amana Aile Shebar

Many do not think they hold their breath but on closer observation discover that, they do. They block their breath in certain situations but are unaware that they are doing that.  Attempts at effortful deep concentration, or focus can cause it; uncertainty about a course of action often equals hesitancy in action and breathing; when attempting a new task one may breath hold until they have enough time to master it with ease PLUS the mastery may never occur.  Many simple day to day actions can invite breath holding like bending to tie your shoe; fastening your bra; pulling open a stuck door; trimming your beard; bending to get something from the lower shelf of the refrigerator; reaching up to pick a piece of fruit from a tree branch. It is not breath holding per se that is the problem. It is excessive breath holding.

CHILDREN AND BREATH HOLDING
As children we hold our breath to control the level of fear, anger or even love or excitement.  This becomes chronic and if nothing is done about it, it stays with many through their entire lives. I sang solo for my entire student body at age 11 and then received several beatings and lost my ability to sing. http://www.breathing.com/articles/mypath.htm 

(From Arthur Strauss, DDS, OSB -

For 40 years after that I yawned constantly, felt tightness in my chest, was often anxious, could not "hold on to/contain" high energy, was always in a hurry and could not catch my breath.  I could not sing any more either.  

You do not have to be traumatized to lose your breathing. Even "normal" parenting can create chronic tension in a sensitive child. As an infant or child, hearing NO!! when you are about to pull a pot of boiling water on top of your unsuspecting little head, or DON'T!! loudly as you totter toward a steep flight of steps or throw your food across the room for the tenth time stimulates the  "startle reflex" that Thomas Hanna talked about. Repeated often enough and this sets in to causes your entire body to remain tightened up to foster potentially very irregular breathing patterns.

To get an example of how this effects your breathing, tighten up every muscle in your body.  Now try to breathe in.  Can't do it very well can you. This is a severe example of what has happened.  Do this tightening enough times and trust me, you will not breathe very well even when you try to relax. 

SO CALLED "HEALTHY BREATHING" TECHNIQUES
Beware of breath-holding exercises.  Most of us got into emotional, energetic and personal power breathing trouble in the first place because of some sort of breath holding. The breath holding "hunger-for-air" illness model approach conditions the body to function with less air and this can have temporary benefits but I have not seen it to increase a coordinated lung volume, breathing ease,  and nervous system balance to any great degree.  I believe that if you breathe bigger, easier and in balance,  the oxygen cost of breathing goes down.  If you hold back your deepest easiest effortless  breathing, if you inappropriately interrupt the natural ebb and flow of healthy respiration,  the oxygen cost of breathing goes UP. 

YOGA AND BREATH HOLDING
Yoga is so good for you it should not be hindered by poor breathing.  I often hear of yoga teachers and personal power experts advocating a pattern of say the 2:4:6:4 ratio; 2 inhale: 4 hold : 6 exhale: 4 hold; or 2:4:16:4 ratio; or whatever numbers they think are good or fit their ego. I totally disagree and caution everyone to not hold their breath nor try such difficult lengths of breathing extensions. Your diaphragm can support the voice best when it keeps moving.  Listen to people's voices.  See if they sound deep, full and resonant or thin dry or raspy.

Observe the below breathing pace. Not the most perfect for everyone but at least a serviceable speed and pattern for many. Breathe with it for a few moments. See how it makes you feel. 

Note the figures on the right and the corresponding emotions. Breath holding often distorts the energy flow of healthy breathing.

I often see chronic migraines, seizures, and anxiety that to me are associated with various forms of breath holding. Breath holding causes us to tighten our throats causing or worsening vocal dysfunction as well as restricting the thyroid and thymus glands (thyroid = energy and metabolism: thymus = T cells).  These techniques may cause tension.  It is to me a HUGE mistake for most people.  I often see its damaging results in Pilates teachers and their students that attend our clinic for people with speech problems.  Many teachers swear they are doing it right, that is until they open up their minds enough to let me or one of my students work on them and show them where the deepest easiest breathing is.

As long as you disregard the oxygen cost of breathing you overlook the fundamentals of enhanced reflexive natural breathing and its innate vitalizing and healing potential. 

Using breath holding techniques, one tightens up the upper chest, diaphragm, throat, jaw, tongue and  face. 

These tensions add to or create vision and voice problems and gasping on the inhale. The body gets less oxygen and may build up excessive carbon dioxide (for some this can be initially beneficial but with potential long term repercussions) . Many become more inclined to mouth breathe and then snore into sleep problems due to the sudden and intense need for air that breath holding causes.

Breath holding techniques to raise CO2 levels may cause chronic tensions and vocal restriction.  This is why I often use a special biofeedback instrument to monitor CO2 levels during breathing development trainings because I occasionally ask them to slow their breathing for a specified time and want to make certain this does not throw off their optimal CO2/O2 balance.

Most of us have excessive tension in our present day to day living. So with breath-holding to increase CO2, the tissues may get more oxygen but due to the tensions, the oxygen cost of breathing may skyrocket. This is often a delicate balance best monitored by a skilled health professional trained in Optimal Breathing Techniques.

ATHLETES AND BREATH HOLDING 
Sports related asthma is becoming epidemic. I understand that many swimming coaches train students to not breathe. Your cells, particularly your muscle cells, undergo a chain of reactions known as cell respiration. "Respiration" in this sense, does not directly mean breathing, but rather a breakdown of the body's main source of energy, glucose. (sugar.)

So, make sure your breathing is as big and easy as it can be. Then go have a great workout. WE counsel to undo the tension and restriction from physical work(outs) with our 176 DVD. There are several breathing oriented exercises using weight training equipment outlined in the Secrets of Optimal Natural Breathing Manual.

BLOOD PRESSURE
Holding your breath when you perform stomach crunches may cause your blood pressure to spike higher than it normally would during resistance training. In a study, people who voluntarily held their breath during abdominal exercises had higher peak blood pressure elevations compared to when they breathed during the exercises. I suspect that a significant number of strokes may stem from this.  Then there is Valsalvas maneuver where the people hold their breath to force out a bowel movement and die on the toilet from a heart attack.