Breath Practice for Reset, Performance Enhancement & Sharpen Focus

“Breathing is the vehicle of spiritual experience, the mediator between body and mind. It is the first step towards the transformation of the body from the state of a more or less passive and unconsciously functioning physical organ into a vehicle or tool of a perfectly developed and enlightened mind.”

Philip Kapleau. The Three Pillars of Zen 

Arriving at the corner of Aviation Blvd. and 33rd street having just ridden my bike to work, I’m feeling pretty good. But as often can be the case, there’s some tension in my mind and in my body, as I’ve been ruminating on a problem my mind has created from all  the vicissitudes of a busy life. It is a loud and hectic intersection of cars and commuters ,but it gives me the opportunity to do one of my  favorite breath practices. After looking around to see if anyone has their windows open, I take several very  deep breaths and on each  exhalation I release all the tension in my chest and throat with strong, loud  vocalization. Simply put, I breathe in deep and shout out my exhalation –hence my  reason I checked to see if anyone around  has their window open lest they think me a lunatic. For me,it is  the best way I’ve found  to release tension. The positive change I experience in my overstall  of state of being is worth the risk of being seen as eccentric. After several of these “ exclamations” I settle with a few slow breaths and a smile, the light changes and I’m ready to bring the best care to you.

Cultivating an intimate relationship with our breath, helps us reset, sharpen focus and enhance performance while supporting overall health and wellbeing. Breathing serves as the bridge between body and mind helping us stay active and aware as we prepare for the mental and physical challenges of life.

Here are three easy suggestions for accessing our breaths. I invite you to explore your practice with openness and curiosity.

Slow breathing or rhythm breathing:

It is here that we now slow our breathing down. Resting regularly with our breaths and gently slowing down the respiratory rhythm is an easy  relaxing and restorative activity. When we slow down our breath, especially exhalation, we stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for rest and recovery. We would do well several times a day (indeed whenever it occurs to us)   purposely slow down our breathing. We have the time we just need to develop the habit, and our breath, being so available, lends itself to helping us develop that habit. The more we occupy our bodies the more we discover how pleasant and beneficial it is, and I have found that to slow our breathing we can:

• Increase parasympathetic tone – rest and recovery.
  
• Intentionally slowing down our  breathing during aerobic activities   is challenging but can give us  back gains in performance quickly.
  
• By focusing on nasal breathing, we can improve  the functioning of our sinuses potentially improving sleep and possibly increasing resistance to infections. 

Intentional and vigorous breath practice: This has become the most valuable daily practice I have added to my life.

(*Vigorous breathwork can be intense. If you have any medical conditions-especially heart, lung, or mental health issues- please reach out to me personally before beginning.) 

Several times a day, especially when I want to change my state of mind or my level of energy, I will begin intentional and vigorous respirations. I will usually inhale through my nose and out my mouth. I will challenge myself to breathe strongly until I get a bit lightheaded or experience a bit of anxiety at which time I can either exhale, exhale slowly with resistance or simply hold my breath for a time. All of this will stretch and strengthen my respiratory muscles, improve my brain’s ability to handle an increase in Co2 and train my mind  to be more comfortable with the discomfort of the physiological stress this creates. Knowing that the lightheadedness and anxiety response is a normal response and can be trained and managed safely, I think it can condition us to be more relaxed in other challenging performances. It goes without saying not to attempt this while driving or say swimming. 

I have experienced several benefits of the practice:

• A reliable reset or re-energize within our days.
  
• By strengthening our deep respiratory muscles including the diaphragm, and external intercostals thereby reducing the chronic tension and pain in our neck and shoulders.
  
• We can improve our cardiovascular fitness.
  
• By pushing into the edges of deep breathing we can train ourselves to be more comfortable with physical discomfort.
  
• If we chose we can look like eccentric lunatic in public 

Using breath as an object of meditation:

Finally, when we use our breaths as an object of focus in our meditation, we begin to develop concentration and focus of mind  which is the first step in a successful meditation practice. The more we use our breath as an object of meditation, assuming we are meditating frequently enough, the more it occurs to us to access the breath during our days for either the vigorous breath work or the slowing work. The breath can then become a bridge between our formal meditations and a more mindful  approach towards  our days. 

By cultivating an intimate relationship with our breath by Intentionally and vigorously training our respiratory system, regularly slowing our breathing  and finally by  using our breath as an object of our mindfulness practice, we can experience noticeable  gains in our health and wellbeing. 

A few years ago, I had a friend and patient who died from mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs. I remember while sitting with him towards the end of his fight, I would watch every breath he took being an enormous effort and struggle – the idea of an easy breath- a restorative or powerful breath - would have been an absolute joy for him. We, for the most part, have that opportunity for joy. Let us bring our attention and practice to the art of breathing and let us experience an increase in performance, a deeper ability to rest and restore and a constant companion to our mindful lives. 

In health,
Dr. Steve 

A book I strongly recommend is Breath by James Nestor. It is an excellent and much better written resource on this topic. As a friendly reminder, LA Sports Performance clients enjoy 20% off my monthly book recommendations at {pages} Manhattan Beach. 

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