Breathe

So, breathing is obviously pretty important.

But, when I used to think of the fundamentals I would always say “Eat. Move. Sleep.”

Then I added Focus.

Now… It’s clear to me that Breathe should be at the top of the list.

BREATHE. Eat. Move. Sleep. Focus.

Remember: You can live for weeks without food and days without water but only minutes without oxygen. Something THAT fundamental is worthy of some contemplation.

As it turns out, we pretty much all breathe incorrectly. Our stress and bad posture and all that has warped the most fundamental thing we do—at huge costs to our well-being.

Belisa tells us: “How well you breathe is the best indicator of how healthy you are and how long you’ll live. ‘If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip,’ says Dr. Andrew Weil, ‘it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly.’

The opposite is true as well, and even more extreme than you may realize: ‘All chronic pain, suffering, and disease are caused by a lack of oxygen at the cell level . . . Proper breathing nourishes the cells of the body with oxygen, and optimizes the functioning of the body on all levels,’ states the eminent Dr. Arthur C. Guyon.”

Wow.

If the renowned Dr. Andrew Weil could only share one piece of advice for healthier living it would be learning how to breathe correctly?

And Dr. Arthur Guyon is telling us that *all* (emphasis on “ALL”) “chronic pain, suffering and disease are caused by a lack of oxygen at the cell level.”

OK. You’ve got my attention.

VLC.

It’s short for “Vital Lung Capacity.”

It might be the most important metric you’ve never heard of.

Here’s how to calculate it: Wrap a measuring tape an inch below your sternum (you know—that bony thing that connects to your rib bones). Inhale and measure. Exhale and measure. Subtract the exhale from the inhale then divide that by the exhale. The result is your VLC, as a percentage. (Calculator will be your friend.)

Short story: You want that number to be over 100.

Even shorter story: To get that number over 100 you need to breathe into your lower body.

Getting us to do that is, essentially, what the book is all about.

P.S. Before teaching us how to work out our diaphragm, Belisa tells us that there are a few different ways we can mess up our breathing.

We *should* breathe deeply and fully into our lower body (she calls it “Lower-body Breathing”). Unfortunately, many (most?) of us breathe shallowly into our upper body.

She also separates “Vertical Breathers” (whose shoulders rise and fall when they breathe) and “Horizontal Breathers” (whose shoulders stay stable while their belly and lower ribs go in and out when breathing).

Note: We want to be Horizontal Breathers. If your shoulders are rising and falling when you’re breathing, drop down into your lower body.

Super-quick practical Pro tip: Practice inhaling fully into your lower body and (very importantly!) exhaling fully—squeezing every last little bit of stale air out of your body.

Did you imagine Clark Kent vs. Superman as you were reading that?

If not, take a moment to do so. (Please.)

See Clark all hunched over, looking goofy and timid and insecure. Then see Superman standing tall, chest up, head strong while gazing out at the world with confidence.

Now, imagine YOU in your worst Clark (/Clara) Kent posture.

Now, see yourself in your best Superman/Wonderwoman posture.

(Seriously. Try it! Which posture do you spend more time in?)

We’ve discussed the impact of poor posture in a number of Notes—from Amy Cuddy’s Presence and Joan Vernikos’s Sitting Kills, Moving Heals to Eric Goodman’s True to Form.

Amy Cuddy tells us that how we hold our bodies directly impacts our sense of confidence and power (and their underlying physiological biomarkers)—warning us against collapsing into ourselves lest we lose our presence and power.

We need to remember: Our posture matters. A LOT.

Get this: Belisa tells us that poor posture can affect our ability to breathe by up to 30 percent.

THIRTY PERCENT!!

(Note from Cap’n Obvious: That’s a huge negative impact on *the* most fundamental human behavior.)

Belisa gives us the CliffsNotes guide on how to optimize our posture. Here’s the PhilosophersNotes version:

Sit tall. Stand tall. Imagine having a book on your head. (Thank you, Joan!)

Think: Chest up, chin down. (Thank you, Eric!)

And, perhaps my favorite tool to get your optimal posture and optimize your breathing and your mojo: Sit/stand/walk like the most powerful version of you. (Thank you, Amy!)

All day. Every day.

That’s from a chapter called “Your Breathing Brain.”

In prior Notes (see, for example, The Happiness Diet) we chatted about the fact that, although your brain is only 2% of your total body weight, it consumes 20% of your caloric fuel.

Well, now we get to learn that your brain consumes 20% of the OXYGEN you breathe as well.

Think about that for a moment longer…

20% of all oxygen goes to your brain.

And then remember that Oxygen = CELL FUEL.

Conclusion: If you’re not breathing properly you’re simply not thinking/performing optimally. Period.

Belisa walks us through a bunch of different ways we can integrate a mindful breathing practice into our lives. She shares a few different “counting breath” practices and encourages us to integrate them into our lives.

One of the experts she talks about is Mark Divine. Mark is a former Navy SEAL Commander. He’s ALL about using breath for power and calm confidence. (See Notes on Unbeatable Mind and The Way of the SEAL for more.)

One of his techniques is something called “Box Breathing” in which you inhale for a count of 5, hold for 5, exhale for 5, then hold for 5 (or 4 or 6 depending on your style). It’s a powerful technique. And, fun fact: Mark was up in Ojai visiting us last month and walked Alexandra and I through a guided meditation based on that box breathing pattern. It was awesome.

My personal favorite is inhaling to six, holding for 2 and exhaling for 7+ (I’ve extended that to as long as I can squeeze it out as I learn more about the importance of a great exhale!).

As I’ve mentioned, I do that at the start of every single meditation, napitation and every night before I fall asleep. There’s something magical about having a consistent breathing practice that can become an anchor for us. What’s yours?

Good to know: “Whichever count makes you happy, the most important part is that the breath be Lower-body Breath, and that you focus on the exhale being thorough and long.”

P.S. I like the unequivocal way Belisa tells us we need to make meditation a part of our lives: “If you’re trying to be healthier, wanting to live longer and better, or wanting to heal, you must have a meditation or mindfulness component on your to-do list. Period. Recent research has been confirming this conclusion with ever more evidence as chemical changes, physical brain volumes, and meticulously set physiological markers are tracked and recorded.”

If you’re still trying to figure out how to make meditation a consistent part of your life, check out Meditation 101 and these Notes!

In The Oxygen Advantage (and Anxiety Free) we talk about the power of breathing through your nose. Now, I’m always Optimizing so it’s tough to say what specific thing has the biggest impact on my well-being but I’m willing to bet (a lot!) that my decision to go all in on Patrick McKeown’s recommendation to breathe exclusively through my nose has been game-changing.

Here’s what I changed: First, Patrick is unequivocal that we should breathe through our nose. All the time. Period. Our mouth breathing disrupts (aka diminishes) the amount of oxygen that is released from our red blood cells. Breathing through your nose helps correct that.

Inspired by Patrick’s rec, one of the goofiest things I’ve ever done (and I’ve done a lot) is to start wearing a piece of tape over my mouth at night to *force* myself to breathe through my nose.

Then I started training myself to breathe through my nose every other moment of the day. Specifically, I trained myself to exercise (even at high intensity) breathing through my nose. It was incredibly unpleasant in the beginning but the idea is that by breathing properly you get the right amount of carbon dioxide in your body which triggers the optimal amount of oxygen from your hemoglobin which increases performance and recovery. I’m sold.

And… I changed my morning meditation so the first ten minutes are focused on Patrick’s recommendation of “breathing less to breathe right.”

Short story: I place a hand on my chest and the other on my belly button area. I breathe into my lower hand but try to reduce my breathing as I press gently against my belly. Briefly inhaling (less than I’d like) then exhaling completely. It’s a little weird but great.

I started practicing this several months ago. I’ve never felt more grounded and stable. I used to have a baseline of anxiety that was kind of ever-present. In high school I was so nervous I’d bring an extra t-shirt to school because I knew I’d sweat through the first one early in the day. After meditating for years I quieted my mind and body considerably but still had some of that underlying baseline stress. Then I eliminated all grains as I went from being a low-fat vegan to following a high-fat, tons of greens, lower-carb Paleo-esque approach and I dropped to a whole ‘nother level of calm.

But since I started training myself to breathe right my whole being has shifted. I feel more grounded than ever. A sort of energized tranquility.

Again, I’m always optimizing so I can’t say for sure what % of the gains is due to optimal breathing but it’s huge. Try it. (More soon in Optimal Breathing 101.)

Those are the final words of the book.

The “Recovery Breath” Belisa is referring to is a super cool energizing practice I’ve been playing with. Check out the book for more on this and a ton of other breathing exercises/workouts.

Very quick look: While lying on your back with nothing under your head, place one hand on your belly and another on your chest. Inhale fully into your belly. Then, without exhaling, take another inhale into your chest—not just moving the air but bringing more oxygen in. Basically, two inhales. Then exhale (enthusiastically!) for about the time you inhaled.

<— Five minutes a day = magic.