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If you were at the zoo and a tiger escaped from its pen you would most likely take a quick upper-chest “gasping”
emergency breath. This breath would trigger a fight-o r-flight response in your nervous system as the upper lobes
of the lungs are primarily innervated by the sympathetic nervous system. The kind of “gasping” mouth
breathing, much like a hyperventilation breathing pattern, is a normal breathing response to extreme stress.
Unfortunately this how most people breathe during exercise and this triggers the same neurological response.
In contrast, the nerves that would calm, rejuvenate and regenerate the body are in the lower lobes of the lungs
along with the majority of the blood supply. The problem is that most people never breathe into these lower
parasympathetic dominant lo b e s. T h e y therefore create a minor but constant emergency situation which creates
stress hormones and releases excess toxins into t h e b o d y.
Thus, we can see that exercise can act as a double-edged sword, where it can either incur stress or remove stress,
depending on the quality of the breath. The best way to consistently breathe into the lower lobes of the lungs is
by nasal breathing. The nose is intricately designed to filter, moisten and rarefy the air we take in and drive it
into the small and distal alveoli of the lungs. It is when these distal lobes are fully perfused with air that the body
produces a neurological state of composure even while under extreme stress
If you are unfit or aren’t used to exercise first go for a short walk before attempting anything more physical. For
the first ten minutes breath in and out deeply through your nose as you walk fairly slowly. This ensures you are
exercising your lungs. Be vigilant and make sure that each breath is deeper, longer and slower than the one
b e f o re – however, the emphasis should always be on comfort rather than style. It is this experience of comfort
that you will eventually take you to higher levels of exertion. If you feel relaxed and comfortable, begin to walk
faster but be sure to maintain the same rhythm of the breath you established at the beginning.
At some point you will notice it becoming more difficult to get the air in through the nose and an ensuing urge to
take a mouth breath. When your exercise forces you to take your first mouth breathe, you have just forced the
body into an emergency breathing response to maintain that faster pace. Immediately slow down and recapture
the original deep, long and slow rhythm of the breath. Once it is re-established, try to walk faster again, telling
y our body you want more performance. When the breathing gets laboured and you open your mouth again, slow
down once more. Constantly tell your body that you want more performance but that you don’t want to create an
emergency response. Soon your body will accommodate a higher level of a natural and more permanent fitness.
Because of the years of lower rib cage constriction you will more than likely find this difficult at first. But, what
you couldn't do the first day, you will find yourself effortlessly doing within two or three weeks, whilst
comfortably breathing through your nose. When this happens your rib cage is effectively and efficiently
massaging your heart and lungs up to 28,000 times a day. When this starts happening, a natural calming
influence stays with you all day while you deal with all kinds of extreme stressors. Exercise has now become one
of the your most important health-enhancing tools.