Stephen Frost
Live each season as it passes
Breathe the air
Drink the drink
Taste the fruit,' and
Resign yourself to the
influences of each,
(Henry David Thoreau, 1817 -1862)
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Introduction Air, food and water are the three most essential elements needed to sustain life. Of the three, air is the most urgent of the body's needs. Air is taken in and utilised by our bodies through respiration (breathing). Without air we could live only for a few minutes. Given the importance of air and respiration, there is a surprising lack of research in this area with many myths being associated with the whole subject. Breathing is fundamental to our practice of tai chi and promises increased energy and vitality. Similar claims are made with other systems such as chi gong, martial arts, yoga and western physical exercise systems, so what distinguishes our breathing system and is there any research that may help us to learn more about the processes involved? Fundamentals of tai chi breathing We are reminded to only breathe through the nose and to take more care when breathing out than when breathing in. Each time we breathe out, the breathe should be naturally longer and finer. This method means that over time we tend to breathe out slightly more than we breathe in. I suspect that this would seem absurd to most methods that recommend deep breathing to improve lung capacity and increase oxygen uptake. The challenge, therefore, for me in preparing this paper was to see if I could find any evidence or research that would support our method that seems to be the opposite of what most methods propose. The Buteyko Method I recalled many years ago one winter when my daughter was only very young, she developed a cold and a cough. She recovered from the cold, but the cough lingered for many months. The doctors found that she was suffering from asthma, triggered by a viral infection. In the search for information I came across a breath therapy method called the Buteyko method. This method seemed to be similar to our tai chi breathing, but at the time I didn't follow it up. However, from time to time I came across the Buteyko method in a magazine article or heard about from other people who had tried it. Most recently, as part of the research for this paper I came across the method again and found that there is a great deal of information available about the theory . The Buteyko method aims to retrain breathing patterns. It does this by changing the habit of over-breathing to one of breathing less, which develops and sustains a feeling of a slight deficit of air. This gradually restores the carbon dioxide levels back to noffilal. I have not been trained in the Buteyko method and like our tai chi, it is not possible to learn the method from a book or a written description. However, from what I have read, it does seem to be similar to our method of breathing. The theory behind the Buteyko method may assist in learning more about what we have been trained to do. Professor Konstantin Buteyko Konstantin Buteyko was born in 1923 in Russia. In 1946 after the Second World War he went to the First Medical Institute in Moscow, graduating in 1952. During his time at the Institute he was given an assignment to monitor the breathing of patients and so was able to foffil a number of conclusions based on his observations. He observed that as patients came closer to death they began breathing more deeply. After graduation, he continued these experiments and researched the relationship between deep breathing and disease. Buteyko foffiled the view that certain diseases may develop as a consequence of breathing too deeply. He decided to see if there was any relationship between his own high blood pressure and his breathing. He measured the carbon dioxide levels in his lungs and found that they were quite low. By experimenting with taking various depths of breathing he found that he could eliminate his symptoms by breathing less deeply. Buoyed by his own success, he began researching his theory on other patients who suffered other diseases: from asthma to heart problems. He discovered that they were all over-breathing and by correcting their breathing pattern he could normalise the carbon dioxide in their lungs and cure their disease. Principles of the Buteyko Method Let's look at some of the basic principles that Buteyko therapy proposes. Over-breathing removes carbon dioxide from the body, reducing it not only in the lungs, but the blood and body tissues as well. This causes a change in the pH value in the blood and cells, affecting the activity of proteins and vitamins and altering metabolic processes in the body. Carbon dioxide is a strong physiological regulator and a lack of it can affect the state of the smooth muscles of the lungs and blood vessels causing them to restrict. When levels of carbon dioxide are increased in the body, airways and blood vessels open up (dilate) making breathing easier. Dilation of the blood vessels also explains why we tend to become warm when we are regulating our breathing during tai chi practice. If over-breathing continues, carbon dioxide levels are reduced in the blood. When you breathe normally haemoglobin, which is the major carrier of oxygen in the body, is saturated with oxygen. When you over-breathe, very little extra oxygen gets into the blood, but proportionately a lot more carbon dioxide is lost. When there is not enough carbon dioxide in the blood, oxygen is not released into the body's tissues, which causes oxygen starvation. This is illustrated by the potentially dangerous game that children play by over- breathing (hyperventilating) until they become dizzy and sometimes even faint. What they are actually doing by over-breathing is starving their brain of oxygen. A test for over-breathing How can you tell if you are over- breathing? The Buteyko method uses a controlled pause in the breathing cycle. This pause can be anytime in the cycle, but many practitioners seem to do it at the end, when you breathe out. Don't try and take a deeper breath before the pause. When you pause, time how long you are able to sustain your breath before you have to resume breathing.If you are an asthmatic or you have not been trained in breath control, you will usually be able to only pause for 5 to 15 seconds. The ideal time for a controlled pause is between 40 to 60 seconds. Sixty seconds would be considered the optimal level of carbon dioxide, which represents 6.5% by total volume of the air in the lungs. Like all tai chi principles, progress should be made gradually and naturally. Any attempt to strain or force progress will work against you. Healthy breathing In healthy breathing the lungs take in about four to six litres of air per minute. Asthmatics tend to breathe around 15 litres per minute and during attacks, up to 27 litres per minute. In other words, they over-breathe considerably. If your breathing were optimal you would normally take about twelve breaths per minute. With continued focussed training it is possible to reduce this naturally to four breaths per minute. Guarding the Tan (So Tan) People who breathe poorly tend to breathe in the upper part of the chest. Our tai chi requires us to lower our breathing from the upper chest to below the diaphragm, while keeping our intention (heart/mind) on the tan tien. This method is called "Guarding the Tan" (So Tan). "Guarding the Tan" is one of three methods that include "Nourishing the Tan" (Yang Tan) and "Refining the Tan" (Lien Tan). As an aid to guarding the tan, we keep the muscles of the lower abdomen relaxed, but still and use our mind intention to withdraw the tan tien back toward the spine by about one centimetre. Eventually, Guarding the Tan should become habitual, but in the beginning it is good enough to do it whenever, you have a spare moment or it comes to mind naturally. Using this breathing method allows slower breaths and prevents over-breathing. The movement of the diaphragm gently massages the digestive organs and enhances the proper functioning of the gall bladder and stomach. Exercise and over-breathing To enable the proper balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the lungs during exercise it is important that we stay relaxed, as stress and anxiety will stimulate our breathing causing us to over-breathe. This is one of the reasons why the slow even-paced movements of tai chi are beneficial, as it tends to keep the body's functions in balance. If and when we need to run or move quickly it can be done without shortness of breath, as we have built up a tolerance to carbon dioxide that enables us to return to a state of balance in a relatively short period of time. Healthy people make 93% of their energy aerobically (with oxygen) and the rest anaerobically (without oxygen). Those who breathe poorly decrease the amount of energy made aerobically to around 84%. Aerobic pathways use oxygen and make carbon dioxide as a by-product. Anaerobic energy is much less efficient.Anaerobic activity produces lactic acid, which stimulates breathing ( over- breathing). Free radicals, antioxidants and exercise In respiration, one of the by-products of the body using oxygen as fuel to generate energy is the production of free radicals. It is estimated that every day each cell in the body is bombarded by 10,000 "hits" from free radicals. Free radicals increase damage to DNA, muscles and other tissues. They have been directly linked to degeneration of the cells in our bodies and are suspected to be a major cause of the agmg process. Free radical production increases greatly as we age. Studies have shown, however, that the body has its own defence system to guard against free radicals in the form of antioxidants. This defence isn't perfect, however, and the free radical damage through oxidisation accumulates, turning good cholesterol bad, causing degenerations of cells that may be implicated in diseases such as cancer . Regular moderate exercise enhances the antioxidant response to counteract free radicals, but any increase in intensity must be gradual otherwise the body's defence system is overwhelmed, as it does not have enough time to adapt. The slow gentle regular movements of tai chi are ideal as they allow the body to build its defences day by day, improving and strengthening the immune system. Therefore, intense intermittent exercise is actually doing more harm than good. Free radicals are not all bad Are there any good points to free radicals? The Father of Free Radicals is widely acknowledged to be Dr Denham Harrnan, who conceived the free radical theory back in 1954. Free radicals are molecules with unpaired electrons in their outer shell. This makes them highly unstable molecules that are continually searching for another molecule from which it can "steal" an electron so it can become stable. This process of "stealing" an electron from another molecule makes that molecule unstable, causing it in turn to become a free radical. This sets off a chain reaction that can eventually disrupt a living cell. Antioxidants act like circuit breakers, interrupting the chain reaction, by remaining stable, even after donating one of its electrons to a free radical after an "attack". As with the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen it is the balance of free radicals and antioxidants that is important. Free radicals are not all bad; in fact they are essential for health. Viruses and bacteria infested cells are destroyed by free radicals. Dr Harrnan believes that free radicals may have even been involved in the chemical reacti,ons that caused mutations in DNA leading to the creation of the first life on earth. At one point in the early birth of our planet these life forms were microorganisms that existed in anaerobic conditions in an atmosphere composed primarily of carbon dioxide. They gave off oxygen as a by-product. The microorganisms were so prolific that the amount of oxygen given off was enough to form the oxygen rich atmosphere we now enjoy. In doing so, however, they sowed the seeds of their own destruction resulting in the first mass extinction of a life form on the planet. Carbon dioxide -the breath of life It seems to me that the focus of most breath therapy has been on methods of increasing oxygen intake. Carbon dioxide has received very little attention or credit for the role that it plays in respiration. I suspect that this is because carbon dioxide has always been seen as a waste product from respiration, with the connotation that it is somehow "dirty" or even bad. The reality is that oxygen and carbon dioxide work synergistically in respiration to keep the body in a state of balance. In fact, carbon dioxide exerts more influence than oxygen. Carbon dioxide is the chief regulator of the entire body. It is produced by every tissue and influences the acid- base balance of the blood. Carbon dioxide is critical for the release of oxygen from haemoglobin to the tissues of the body. Correct balance of the pH of the blood strengthens the immune system greatly improving one's ability to resist disease. Carbon dioxide is the principle controller and initiator of respiration. It is the main influencer of heart and peripheral circulation. A decrease in carbon dioxide also causes an increase in the number of metabolic disorders. In summary , it can be said that carbon dioxide takes part in the control of many of the most important physical functions in our bodies and therefore deserves the title of "The Breath of Life ". Conclusion My purpose in writing this paper is to challenge and stimulate interest in further research on the benefits of breath therapy using tai chi methods. I have not even mentioned the pivotal role that chi plays in respiration. However, I would conclude that from a layperson's perspective there is enough information available to take the lead from existing research to delve further into the complex interaction and balance of the air we breathe. |