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Controlling Breath And The Urges To Breathe Copy

Controlling Breath

The function of our respiratory system is to take in oxygen to the lungs, transport it to the bloodstream, and remove excess carbon dioxide from the blood, exhaling it back out into the atmosphere, whilst keeping the required amount of carbon dioxide in the blood to keep the blood pH level within normal range. So, we come to understand that we breathe to take in oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. While this is true, it’s a massive oversimplification.

Watch someone breathe quietly and observe their breathing. Then, pinch their nose to stop them from breathing for about 5 seconds.

What you will notice is that when you release their nose, they will take one or two deep breaths, and for minutes to come, their breathing pattern (rate and depth) will be changed.

The typical explanation would be this: stopping the breath results in a buildup of carbon dioxide and a lack of oxygen, so the subject breathes deeply to make up for that.

This is just not true. Our breath is interrupted or prolonged for 5 seconds or more by several physiological processes like speaking a long sentence, singing, and even swallowing. None of these cause faster breathing to make up for anything.

What this means is that our breathing does not depend on the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. It depends far more on the impulses from our muscles, tendons, and joints that are received by the respiratory system regarding the amount of airflow in, and effort made by, the respiratory system. In other words, the “first urge” we get to breathe is an urge to have some sort of flow in the air passages.

Unlike the cardiovascular and renal systems, the respiratory system basically is a part of the central nervous system. This needs to be considered with greater detail.

The respiratory centre is a group of neurons in the pons and medulla oblongata: parts of the brainstem and central nervous system. This centre receives information from several cranial nerves and also from the nerve endings of the muscles, joints, and tendons, as well as the ribcage and their joints with the spine. The respiratory centre also receives and sends messages to and from the diaphragm, lower spine, and the muscles between the ribs.

In the cardiovascular system, the heart can continue functioning even when the sympathetic nerves and vagus nerves to the heart are cut. Likewise, the renal system (kidneys) can also function properly if the nerves are cut. However, if the nerves of the muscles between the ribs are cut, and if the nerves of the diaphragm are cut, the person dies.

The respiratory system must regulate breathing from minute-to-minute, second-to-second, all the way down to fractions of seconds in between: the respiratory centre needs all of its information in real-time. As well as this, information regarding the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood are being relayed back to the respiratory centre as well.

So, we can see how the respiratory system relies more on the respiratory centre in our brain and central nervous system than the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in our blood.

Why Do Feel Distress When We Hold Our Breath?

The sensation we get when we hold our breath for a prolonged period is described as tightness in the chest or suffocation. We can ward off these sensations by making false inhale and exhale movements, tricking the nervous system into thinking we are breathing.

We can tolerate a much higher degree of hypoxia than is produced by holding our breath beyond a few minutes. We know this because there are scientific experiments carried out where there is still a flow of gas through the airways, but the gas has been altered to contain less oxygen and more carbon dioxide than the usual balance.

The most likely reason for the feeling of tightness in the chest is just down to the lack of “in and out” information travelling to the respiratory centre. When this centre notices the absence of air flow, it basically sounds an alarm to the rest of the body that we are suffocating.

So why do we breathe if it is not due to a lack of oxygen or excess carbon dioxide?

If we couldn’t control our breathing, we wouldn’t be able to speak. We can hold our breath to a certain point, but when our lives are starting to be threatened, the involuntary breathing kicks in and in spite of our efforts we either pass out and breathing becomes natural, or we are forced to breathe to maintain consciousness.

The involuntary control of our breathing also takes place continuously as long as we do not think of it. None of the vital processes require our attention, yet we are able to play with our breath up to a point of danger, but no further.

In fact, these danger signs arise quite ahead of the real danger, with a more than adequate safety cushion. When we hold our breath, different urges come into action before we reach a state of actual hypoxia, which forces us to breathe and force us to start breathing again.

Urges To Breathe

In the breath retention phases, there are two urges to breathe that participants will experience.

The First Urge to Breathe

“Something must keep flowing along the airways!”

The Yogic way to overcome this first urge to breathe is by practising alternate nostril breathing. When you breathe through just one nostril, the closed one doesn’t send up a signal to the respiratory centre. Thus, you are only sending up half the information with each breath. The respiratory system will learn to cope better with less information.

The Second Urge to Breathe

“The structures concerned with breathing must keep moving!”

This is referring to the chest wall and diaphragm. The Yogic way to overcome the second urge is to make certain movements without allowing air to enter or leave the thorax (depending on whether you are holding an inhale or exhale). Here are some ways you can do this:

  • Contract your abdominal muscles repeatedly in smooth, consistent movements.
  • Make a “sucking in” movement of the chest wall.
  • Contract your diaphragm repeatedly in smooth movements.

These three things mimic the movements required in breathing, and have shown to increase the amount of time you can hold your breath. Other ways include:

  • Roll your shoulders backwards and forwards.
  • Swallow to keep the air in the lungs.
  • Be as relaxed as you possibly can.