Important
It is a general rule that if you are prone to respiratory problems you should only do breathing exercises under the supervision of a breathing specialist. Unsupervised breathing exercises can cause hyperventilation, headaches and even asthma attacks.
Breath and posture
It is important to remember that good breathing and good posture go hand in hand. You cannot breathe properly if you are slumped in a chair or tied in a knot on the couch. The lungs cannot expand to their full capacity when the body is contracted or contorted. To breathe properly the body should be relaxed with the spine straight, the neck centred, the shoulders held gently backwards to expand the chest and the abdomen loose.
Breathing with awareness
To improve the quality of your breath you should practise breathing with awareness. This means being conscious of the breath as it enters and leaves the body. Mostly we are not conscious of the fact that we breathe at all. Being able to observe the breath is the first step towards being able to breathe at the optimum level and releasing abnormal breathing patterns in your muscles. Most people find their breathing slows down when they breathe with awareness.
Breathing with awareness exercise
Lie on your back and allow your body to be relaxed and heavy. Listen to the sounds around you. There may be traffic noises, voices, clocks ticking. See how many different sounds you can hear. Now, let these sounds fade away and begin to concentrate only on your own breath. Let the breath be natural - do not hold your breath or alter your normal breathing pattern.
Follow the air as it enters your nostrils and travels down the airways to reach your lungs. Sense your whole body expand without force or muscular effort. As the air leaves your lungs feel your body relax.
As you breathe in, imagine your body being filled with fresh life and as you breathe out imagine peace coming over your body.
Allow your whole awareness to become nothing more than the rhythm of the breath in and out, expansion then release.
Practise this exercise from time to time and you will become more aware of your own breath and how intrinsic it is to your existence. Also, the breath intimately connects you with the world around you, as air enters and leaves your body. Of course, it is not necessary to breathe with full awareness all the time - just take a moment every now and then to stop, observe and appreciate your breath.
Ways to breathe
If the first step to improving the quality of the breath is being aware that you breathe, the second step is being aware of how you breathe.
The way you breathe depends a lot on the activity in which you are engaged and your emotional state. For example, you will breathe differently when you are running to catch a bus than when you are relaxing in a warm bath. Generally, however, there are two ways in which we breathe: (1) chest breathing and (2) diaphragmatic breathing.
Chest breathing
This is the term used to describe how our respiratory system automatically functions during exercise and times of stress, anxiety or fear. The ribs contract and the air is drawn into the upper chest area.
Chest breathing occurs when your breathing becomes rapid. It may be useful in certain situations; however it can become a habit and is very unhealthy if maintained as a regular breathing pattern.
Generally, chest breathing will overstress and tire rather than relax the body. People with chronic chest breathing patterns will often have a tense and tight abdomen. Chest breathing is the type of breathing used in hyperventilation.
When we hyperventilate we actually utilise less oxygen. Those people with severe hyperventilation problems often gasp, sigh, yawn and feel breathless.
The tendency to predominantly chest breathe is very common in our society. This is because we have "unlearnt" our natural breathing pattern of babyhood. This has a lot to do with the encouraged body image of "chest out and tummy in", which forces us to breathe in a shallow manner. Daily stress and anxiety is also a contributing factor.
Chest breathing exercise
Place your hands on your upper chest area. As you inhale force your chest upwards and outwards so the air moves into the upper portion of your lungs only. Feel the expansion of your chest beneath your fingers. This is chest breathing - the abdomen remains still and only the chest expands. Repeat the breath five or six times only. Observe how this style of breath makes you feel.
There is nothing wrong with using the upper portion of your lungs, as you do in chest breathing. The problem arises when you use only the upper portion. It is better to utilise the whole of your lung cavity, as is the case with diaphragmatic breathing.
Diaphragmatic breathing
This is the best way to breathe for your overall health. It is the normal, natural way we are all designed to breathe but many of us lose the habit during childhood and as a result breathe poorly.
When you breathe in this manner, the air is taken down into the abdominal region filling your lower lungs first, and then the middle and upper regions. Your breathing quietens and slows. More oxygen is released into the body tissues and less muscular effort is used in breathing (thus less energy is wasted). With the proper balance of gases, your metabolism improves and less lactic acid is produced.
Diaphragmatic breathing exercise
Place your hands above your waist with your fingers interlaced on the stomach. As you breathe in, allow the air to travel down into the abdominal area. Feel the stomach area filling and rising. Let the tummy be loose and relaxed. If you are breathing in the proper diaphragmatic way, you will notice your fingers moving outwards on each side and a space forming between the fingertips of each hand.
As you practise the diaphragmatic breath, notice how calm and relaxed this style of breathing makes you feel. Compare it with the effect of chest breathing. From time to time, practise breathing with the diaphragm and before long this method of breathing will seem completely natural once again.
In essence, the breath comes naturally with the rhythmic contraction and relaxation of the diaphragm. You can feel your diaphragm as the dome-shaped muscle between your ribs and abdominal cavity. When you use your diaphragm to inhale, it contracts, flattens and moves downwards, increasing space in your chest so that air is sucked into the lower lungs. As the diaphragm relaxes and moves up into your chest, air is forced out of the lungs.
Breath as a tool
Once you understand the nature of the breath and how it can be manipulated, you can begin to use it as a tool in everyday life.
You can use it to calm the emotions and alleviate stress. Notice how your breathing increases and how you tense your abdomen and hold your breath when you are under pressure or feeling angry, anxious or afraid. Try three or four long diaphragmatic breaths (see above) and you will be able to deal much better with any situation.
The breath can also be used to combat tiredness. Often we become tired because the body is not receiving enough oxygen to function at optimum level. Learning to breathe well will help greatly with fatigue.
In turn, an increase in relaxation and energy levels will stimulate the working of the immune system, improving overall health.
The value of breath work has been recognised for thousands of years by Eastern culture. Today the breath is an intrinsic part of many physical therapies such as The Feldenkrais Method, The Alexander technique, Shiatsu and Yoga. If you are interested in learning more about the power of the breath, try attending classes or visiting practitioners within these disciplines. There is also extensive information available on self-help breathing techniques in books and on tape.
Breathing for relaxation
Try this exercise that involves breathing, body awareness, mental focus and relaxation: Begin by making sure your spine is straight. At first you may find it easier to either sit or lie on your back with your knees bent.
Breathe in gently.
As you breathe out, focus your mind on the feeling of relaxation that comes with exhalation. Use no force or muscular effort with the exhalation - just follow the exhalation to its end point by allowing the muscles to let go.
When your exhalation has reached its end point, WAIT until you feel the urge to breathe coming from your diaphragm. Feel the peace and stillness that exist at this point of the breath. You can repeat the word "peace" if you wish. Put your mental focus into waiting for the sensation that is the desire to inhale coming from your diaphragm area.
Breathe in again - gently. Keep repeating this sequence.
As you relax while you do this exercise, the period at the end of each exhalation will get longer. It will take a few complete breaths before you get into a steady rhythm. Then, your breathing will slow and your respiratory muscles will relax. (When you are tense, your breathing speeds up or you hold the in-breath, and there is less of a break after the out-breath.)
Practise this exercise regularly until it becomes an unconscious signal for your mind and body to relax. This breathing will create chemical changes in your body that will make you relax automatically. You can do it when you are walking, taking a work break or any time when you need release. It can also be used to bring relief in a stressful situation.
The Buteyko Breathing Technique
The quality of breath has become paramount in the discovery of ways to control debilitating conditions like asthma, emphysema and breathing disorders such as sleep apnoea (where breathing pauses during sleep), and for those who rely on breathing in their work or anyone involved in physical labour.
The effectiveness of breathing techniques is particularly attractive given the side effects of bronchodilator medication and other asthma drugs, but care should be taken in reducing any steroid medication and only in consultation with a doctor and a breathing specialist.
One effective method of breath control is the Buteyko Breathing Technique.
The technique has been gaining international recognition since its development in Russia in the 1960s by Dr Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko. It achieved a greater than 90 percent success rate in trials held at the Hospital for Children in Moscow with children suffering from asthma. An Australian study showed asthmatics were able to reduce the use of bronchodilators by 90 percent after six weeks and steroids by 50 percent after three months.
The technique uses breath-control to alter your breathing pattern. The average asthmatic is known to hyperventilate or "over-breathe" three to five times the recommended amount. It is simply the hyperventilation that can and often does trigger an asthma attack.
Hyperventilation triggers an asthma attack because it causes a loss of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the body. This is a problem because when the level of CO2 is too low the lungs spasm, thus the body uses CO2 as a marker for correct breathing.
The correct level of CO2 in the lungs is 6.5 percent. If it gets down to 2.5 percent the body systems begin to shut down. When the body gets used to a low CO2 level chronic problems like asthma can develop from the body's automatic defence mechanism.
The theory that the body has an automatic defence mechanism when it thinks the CO2 level is too low, was formulated by Buteyko. The defence mechanism is as follows:
• the bronchi and blood vessels spasm
• the mucus and phlegm production is increased
• the production of cholesterol in the liver is increased which makes the cell membranes in the lungs and blood vessels thicken which means that less blood will reach areas of the body
• the blood vessels spasm to try to slow CO2 release from the body, affecting blood pressure.
Carbon dioxide is also needed for oxygen to be properly released into the tissues. If you hyperventilate and there is too little CO2, the blood cells become sticky which makes it harder for the oxygen to travel around the body.
The Buteyko method's object is to achieve the optimum CO2 level - by altering a person's breathing pattern to increase the "control pause". If you breathe in then out then hold your breath the "control pause" is the number of seconds before your first level of discomfort before you take the next breath in. It's the "space" between each breath.
The control pause is a Buteyko method of measuring the percentage of CO2 in the lungs and the severity of asthma or abnormality of breath.
A sixty second control pause is the ideal and ten seconds or less is not very good.
Buteyko should also help your nervous system to get back to a better state because hyperventilation or "overbreathing" makes your nervous system become hyperactive.
Asthmatics can be taught to use the Buteyko technique to control an attack by enlisting the natural properties of CO2 that dilate the bronchi. They can also be taught to alter their breathing pattern between attacks to improve their general condition and prevent attacks.
The technique is not hard to learn but it needs to be supervised and monitored by a trained Buteyko practitioner while your breathing pattern is altering, particularly if your condition is severe. Initially, you will need to attend workshops and classes. Children as young as four can start learning the technique.
Extracted from The Complete Guide to Health & Well-Being, Complied by Toni Eatts, Medical Consultant Dr Giselle Cooke and published by Lansdowne Publishing.
10 Remedies For Gorgeous Summer Hair
Margaret Ambrose
Every woman who values her skin knows that you wouldn't dare bare it during the summer without slip, slop, slapping, and yet most of us, come summer, seem quite content to expose our previously pampered locks to the harshest of treatment. You just need to look at what a day in the sun does to skin not wearing sunscreen to know that what those rays are doing to your hair can't be good. Stop accepting that dry, frazzled hair is just a part of summer, when just 10 steps will ensure your tresses will look their best no matter what you put them through.
1. Prepare your hair for summer
Heat, sun exposure, salt, sand, chlorine - your hair's in for some pretty tough treatment come summer. And if your hair is curly , leaning towards frizzy, if it's coloured or permanently straightened, or if years of abuse have taken their toll you could be in for a rocky summer of hair. That's why now is the time to get your hair ready- you are going to want it to be fit and fighting when summer hits. It's your best chance of getting great summer locks.
Start with a trim. Split ends wouldn't be so bad except they rarely stay on the ‘ends' of your hair for long. When ends fray, the split starts to work its way up the shaft - so if you want to keep your locks long, you'll need to get them trimmed regularly. Start treating yourself to conditioning treatments to help improve the condition.
2. Avoid excessive heat
The outer layer of your hair consists of many overlapping cuticles that, under a microscope, look kind of like roof tiles. When hair is healthy the cuticles lie flat and are able to reflect the light, making the hair appear shiny. When hair is unhealthy or damaged, the cuticles sit up and are unable to reflect light, making the hair appear dull. What you need to know is that heat raises the cuticles. Avoid using anything hot on your hair, and that means hairdryers, curling wands and straightening irons. If you want to use hot rollers, here's a nifty trick: section the hair as normal, but wrap the ends (they're the bits that end up sitting directly on the roller) in a sheet of toilet paper before winding.
3. Remove chlorine and salt without wrecking your locks
It's a tricky question: how do you remove and prevent a build-up of chlorine, salt and oil without using a heavy-duty shampoo that can strip and damage your locks? The answer is by using a product especially designed for this purpose, such as Redken's Sun Shape Shampoo and Conditioner. "It's great for removing after-swim mineral residue and embarrassing chlorine-green," says Ann-Maree Mason, from Redken.
4. Wash less
You're going to wash your hair when you go swimming, so try to use the days in between as non-hair-washing days. When we shampoo we strip away the oils that are naturally secreted by our scalps. This can be a good thing - who wants an oil slick happening on their head? But during summer it's not such a good thing. The natural oils moisturise dry, hot hair and protect it from further sun and heat damage. Try to go as long as you can without washing - pin your hair up with a gorgeous clip, twist it in a chignon, slick it back in a ponytail or wrap it in a scarf. And use the extra 15 minutes in the morning to sleep in.
5. Use sunscreen
Of course hair never gets sunburnt like skin does, but that doesn't mean that you should expose your tresses to the sun any more than you would your skin. Exposure to UVA and UVB rays can cause the cuticles on your hair to become raised, dry and brittle. If you have short hair you can slick it back with hair wax or a thick gel, but if your hair is longer, you can use a special sunscreen that isn't so thick and gluggy but protects your hair just as effectively. Gelée Waterproof by Kérastase Solaire is non-greasy and waterproof, making it perfect for a day at the beach.
6. Keep your hair on
Because your hair is so easily damaged during the summer, it's even more prone to breakage, so you have to handle with care. Tie your hair back with cloth-covered bands - never elastic bands - and avoid dragging clips out of your hair. Instead unclip them, remove the hair and then gently take out the clip. Wet hair is particularly fragile because when it's wet it stretches, and like everything that can be stretched, it has its breaking point. Never brush wet hair and if you are tying back hair that is wet make sure it is done very loosely.
7. Leave in conditioners
Conditioners that are left in the hair all day differ from regular conditioners because they are generally lighter and contain less oil. Some people are reluctant to use leave-in conditions because they believe their hair is unable to "breathe". This is a myth - hair doesn't have lungs.
8. Cover up
When you choose to wear a hat in the sun, you're not only protecting your face, you're also protecting your hair. But if you're not a hat person, you can still get the protection you need by wrapping a scarf around your head - and it's trés chic.
9. Treat yourself
We all have those days when we're cleaning the house, doing the ironing or pottering around the garden. If you don't have to be seen in public for a few hours, take the opportunity to give your hair a deep-conditioning treatment. There are so many on the market and which one you choose will depend on your hair type or the level of conditioning you require. Many brands now sell treatments in trial-size sachets, so grabbing a few different ones can make choosing the one for you cheaper and easier. Avoid treatments that require heating up - they may do more damage than good. Apply the treatment and then wrap in Grad Wrap - the trapped heat from your scalp will allow the cuticles to open enough to let the goodness sink in, but not enough to damage them. Rinse in cool-ish water to close them again.
10. Look after yourself!
People often comment that when they are unwell or taking medication it reflects in their hair. Even pregnant women sometimes see changes in their hair. The reason for this is that hair is excreted from your body. If your body if fit and healthy it's going to show in your hair. So this summer, take advantage of the fabulous fruits and vegetables available, and get outdoors and get active. You'll look better, feel better, and have great looking hair to show for it.