The link between breath and the soul is recognized in many cultures throughout the world.

The Chinese considered the breath so vital that the symbol for it in the Chinese characters of writing is the same as that for rice, the staff of life for the Chinese people.

The Romans coined the Latin word respiritus for breath. Re means “return to” and spiritus is the word for “spirit.” In everyday English, “respire” just means “to breathe,” but in its Latin origin, it means “return to spirit.” “Expire” is the word for “breathing out,” but also means “to die,” or a disconnection of spirit from body.

In Hebrew, the word ruah means “spirit,” “breath,” or “wind.” In Tibetan, the word lung (pronounced “loong”) has a similar reference and is employed in Tibetan medicine to describe a necessary element for balance and well-being of the body, mind, and spirit, the lack of which results in disease. It involves not only breath but also cognitive and emotional energetic pathways and their resultant flow through the body.  

The Taoist, Tibetan, and Ayurvedic traditions of medicine rely on the breath as the source of evenness, not only on a physical level but also emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. In the Tibetan tradition, it is said that the breath is the horse and the mind is the rider, the point being that we must tame the horse and also the rider. From the point of view of these Eastern medicine practices, balance is found with breath, creating a condition in the body and mind less conducive to disease and distress.

In our Western culture, the only way that many of us seem to get breath is to run or work ourselves into a cardio frenzy in a sweaty, loud-music environment, which involves a lack of sensitivity to the breath and its profound effects. While there are certainly many benefits to be gained from this kind of exercise, the slower, gentler methods of breathing are often what we as a culture need more.

Inspiration: Breath brings life

Learning the techniques of correct breathing is essential. Most people living with high levels of anxiety and/or stressful lifestyles tend to breathe from the chest rather than the abdomen. Shallow breathing disrupts the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide necessary for a relaxed state. Shallow breathing actually perpetuates the symptoms of anxiety.

In addition to reducing anxiety and depression, breathing into your belly and holding it there for a short count brings balance to brain chemistry and hormones. Breathing in this way also helps “the wave”—the peristaltic movement that assists the digestive process of ingestion, appropriation, assimilation, and elimination. Low-belly (abdominal) breathing helps to eliminate fat in the belly area. This type of belly fat is generated by insulin resistance and the accumulation of estrogen-retaining fat in both men and women.

In addition, at times of stress the adrenal hormone cortisol causes fat to be deposited in the abdomen. Released by the adrenal glands, cortisol can cause major imbalances in blood sugar levels and a decrease in bone density and pain response. Deep breathing reduces stress, and thus an overproduction of cortisol.

In Tibetan medicine, it is thought that by changing our habitual pattern of shallow breathing, which is believed to contribute to congestion in the head and solar plexus areas, perhaps we can shift the propensity for a variety of conditions and diseases which can affect these areas, and at the same time change some of our emotional leanings as well.

The natural pattern of breath

Deep, diaphragmatic breathing is an efficient way to assist the body in reducing anxiety, depression, and the effects of stress. We automatically breathe this way when we are born and continue breathing this way as young children. If you watch children sleeping, you will see their belly rise and fall with each breath.

This style of taking in breath uses the diaphragm muscle, the strong dome-shaped muscle located under our ribs and above our stomach. When we breathe in, we push the muscle down, and our lower belly (abdomen) moves out. When we breathe out, the diaphragmatic muscle moves back to resting position and our belly moves back in. This breathing is most effectively done in and out of the nose.

During infancy and early childhood, we breathe naturally from the diaphragm. As we grow older, most of us change from our original pattern of breathing and start breathing from our chest. At this stage, we are no longer breathing naturally. This can be the result of a number of factors, such as poor posture, too much time spent in a seated position, or the depression posture of a caved-in chest and slumped shoulders. Other reasons for this unnatural form of breathing can be the tendency to focus energy in the head by thinking and worrying, and then taking short breaths when under duress.

Lack of physical exercise, current fashions, and the pressure on women and men to have flat stomachs (muffin-tops over the jeans and beer bellies are not considered cool) add to the problem. Holding in your stomach for fashion is good for the muscles and the look, but not for healthy breathing. A soft belly is not as fashionable, but it is much easier to breathe into. Most shallow or chest breathing is associated with some form of stress or distress, a type of holding, either physical, emotional, or both.

Coming in Part 2 — The Tibetan Breathing Technique, Step by Step

Rae Hatherton is the author of Alive! An Energy Plan for Life, and The Alive Recipe Collection Sculpting Your Body With Food (http://alivethebook.com). A naturopath, certified massage therapist, teacher and body/mind energy coach, Rae works with food combining, circadian rhythms, breath, meditation, acupressure, teas, movement and coaching to help her clients transform their health, their hormones, their energy and their lives. She lives and works in Toronto and has an office in Louisville, Kentucky. To learn more about Rae’s work, visit http://tibetanenergymedicine.com.