Why Breathing is so Powerful
"Afferent information from the respiratory system provides an enormous amount of data from millions of receptors (each alveolus contains three types of stretch receptors); bronchial, laryngeal, pharyngeal, and nasal passages; baroreceptors; chemoreceptors (registering changes in pO2 and pCO2); and receptors in the diaphragm, thoracic cavity and chest wall. Every millisecond, respiratory information streams up vagal pathways to brain stem nuclei and from there to central nervous system networks regulating emotion, perception, cognitive processing, and behavior" (Brown and Gerbarg 2005; 2016a; Brown et al. 2009).
Polyvagal Theory link to Breathing
"Through evolution, the primary vagal regulation of the heart shifted in mammals from unmyelinated pathways to include myelinated pathways. The myelinated vagus functions as a brake on the heart’s pacemaker, resulting in a substantially slower heart rate than the intrinsic rate of the pacemaker. Thus, the myelinated vagus via rapid inhibition and disinhibition of the pacemaker can quickly calm or mobilize an individual. Consistent with the calming function, the myelinated vagus actively inhibits the influence of the sympathetic nervous system on the heart and dampens the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity" (Porges 2001).Â
The Vagal Brake
"Thus the vagal brake, by modulating visceral state, enables the individual to rapidly engage and disengage with objects and other individuals and to promote self-soothing behaviors and calm states.Â
"Breathing is the only autonomic function that can be easily controlled voluntarily. Thus it is an efficient, easily accessible voluntary behavior that regulates the vagal brake by reducing and increasing the influence of the vagus on the heart." Porges 2017
Shifting States via Breathing Patterns
"Breath and emotion are bidirectional. Each emotional state is associated with a particular breathing pattern. By consciously changing the pattern of breath, one can shift emotional states" (Philippot et al.2002).Â
Mind-Body Practices
"Numerous mind-body practices involve shifts in voluntarily regulated breathing patterns. These include changes in the rate and depth of respiration; vocalizations such as sounds, chants, and songs: breath holds; and changes in the relative duration of inhalation and expiration, which manipulate the respiratory gate. Other practices, such as meditation, also affect breath patterns. " Porges 2017
"Posture shifts, which trigger baroreceptors (blood pressure receptors) to adjust blood flow to the brain, also recruit systematic changes in vagal regulation of the heart to avoid dizziness and fainting (vasovagal syncope). These manipulations of the vagal brake exercise the inhibitory influence of the vagus on the heart as an efficient calming mechanism. " Porges 2017
Essential Benefits
The main purpose of breathing is:
Breathing is automatically adjusted as necessary to meet these demands.
Healthy, functional breathing is done using your nose and diaphragm when at rest, during sleep, and when engaged in light to moderate exercise. With training, you can learn to breathe through your nose during high-intensity exercise, and even during the maximal effort, resulting in a lower respiratory rate, higher oxygen exchange, and less fatigue. Â The longer you can maintain breathing through your nose while increasing intensity levels, the longer you can anchor your nervous system in a state "mobilized play" versus falling into a state of defense and protection.
Equally as important to these benefits during exercise or sport, if not more, is the relationship between your breathing and the physiological state of your autonomic nervous system. The rate, depth, and rhythm of your breathing are a direct reflection of your current state, and when you bring perception to your breathing, you are in the starting position for mapping, managing and mastering your own physiological state.Â
Don't Neglect the Importance of Carbon Dioxide
Breathing isn't only about oxygen. In fact, it's easily argued that Carbon Dioxide might be even more important. The vital functions that carbon dioxide is involved with include:
This last point is very important because as your baroreceptors become more efficient at detecting subtle changes in blood pressure, you gain better vagal regulation of your heart rate variability and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. Improved vagal regulation of the heart corresponds to a larger amplitude in heart rate variability (HRV), then speeding up of the heart rate during inhalation and the slowing down of the heart rate during exhaling, which is a measure of overall health and resiliency.Â