Just Breathe

The Faith Hill song, "Breathe" came to mind this morning.  I have actually thought of it several times lately, and will several times more, for a particular reason: it is a good way to cope with a stressful or painful situation.  (Note- the song is actually about love, it is only the one line 'just breathe' that I connect with in this context.)   I seem to go through periods where I am having many health-related procedures done, this is one of those periods.  Within the past week, I have had surgery on my hand, which included an IV, and resulted in 3 stitches; 2 blood draws; and removal of a spot on my leg for biopsy, that started with a Lidocaine injection, and ended with 2 stitches.  This afternoon, I get to have a pelvic exam and Pap smear. (Guys- imagine someone putting a cold metal thing into your penis, and spreading it open so they can look around for any problems...)  I have several other fun activities like these coming up in the near future.
So, has anyone figured out what this list of activities has to do with that song I mentioned?  "Just breathe" is what I tell myself whenever one of these unpleasant procedures begins.  I focus on drawing in a breath and then letting it out, sometimes counting, sometimes not.  The main thing is to focus on the breathing.  This does several things for me.  First, it distracts me and focuses my mind somewhere else.  It makes sure that I am getting adequate oxygen at a time when I might have held my breath instead.  And it also keeps me calm, a result of the distraction, the slow, deep, rhythmic breathing, and the mindfulness manner of breathing.

Paced Breathing

Last week I went to a two day workshop taught by Marsha Linehan, the originator of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).  She was fascinating, as much for her ego and humorous style as for her topic.  DBT is a therapy that helps a person change their thinking, and through that, change their emotions and behavior to be more effective and functional in their lives.  It will take me some time to process all that I learned, but I wanted to share with you one tidbit today.  It regards breathing.

I have written several times about mindfulness and breathing.  Dr. Linehan shared something that I had never heard before.  She said she asked Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese meditation teacher, peace activist and writer about how he teaches breathing. He said to breathe in slowly and deeply, pause, then breathe out a little longer than you breathed in.  I had always heard that the breath out should be ‘as long as’, or sometimes I heard ‘at least as long as’ the breath in. 

Dr. Linehan said for her, for example, a pace of 5 counts in, pause, then 7 counts out works best.  I tried that, and it worked for me as well.  Your pace may be a little different. Give it a try.  Count as you breathe in, pause, then breathe out, counting a little longer.  Find your own pace.  We tend to focus more on breathing in than on breathing out, probably because we know we need the Oxygen, and we think that breathing out just gets rid of the resulting waste air.  But think about it.  If we don’t breathe out enough, where is that Oxygen going to go when we breathe it in?  By breathing out longer than we breathe in, we ensure that there is sufficient room in our lungs for a good deep breath. 

This paced breathing is a way to focus your mind.  It influences the autonomic nervous system to slow down your heart rate and other subconscious functions.  It calms the mind, and reduces anxiety and panic.  (The symptoms of anxiety and panic are regulated by the autonomic nervous system).  It not only helps the mind to relax, but also the body.  When I breathe in and out without counting, my mind always wanders.  The counting helps to keep my mind on the breathing, improving the quality of my meditation.  I have also noticed that I am less likely to yawn if I breathe out longer than if I don’t.   

Pilates Breathing vs. Mindfulness Breathing

I have written about both Pilates and Mindfulness lately, as both are areas I have been pursuing in my quest for optimal health.  I discovered a dilemma between them the other day.  It concerns how I breathe, an activity that I am quite fond of, and plan to continue to do until the moment I die.  I have been reading the book Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, one of the big names in mindfulness.  One of the basic ways of meditating involves focusing on your breath. Kabat-Zinn recommends diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing.  In this type of breathing, you relax the belly, letting it rise and fall with each breath.  He states that this type of breathing allows the lungs to expand more and to take in more air with each breath, and is slower and deeper than chest breathing. 
In Pilates, the focus is on strengthening the core muscles, mainly the abdominal muscles.   To do this, we are instructed to 'pull the belly to spine', and to 'keep the abdominal muscles engaged' (or pulled in) throughout the exercises.  Breathing is an important part of Pilates, with specific breathing patterns. Keeping the abdominal muscles pulled in while doing the exercises can be a challenge at times.  Strong abdominal muscles support the torso and organs, decrease strain on the back, and provide structure from which the whole body can function better. 
When I am doing my water walking exercises, I often remind myself to pull in my belly, as I do in Pilates.  (I do Pilates and water walking on alternate days, generally doing each twice a week).  This morning, I started to do that, then I thought about mindfulness, and hence, my dilemma. Should I pull in the abdominal muscles to strengthen them, or should I relax them to allow my lungs to breathe more fully?  Both have their benefits.  I was watching my kitten this afternoon (as I often do, because she is so cute), and noticed that her belly rose and fell when she breathes.  This appears to be the more natural way of breathing.  
Here is what I have decided.  When I am exercising, doing both the Pilates and the water walking, I will pull my belly in, because one of the goals while exercising is to strengthen my muscles.  At other times, I will let my belly relax.  This way, I will get the benefits of both