Take a deep breath.
You’ve probably heard this phrase about breathing more than once, or someone has given you this advice to help you relax. In fact, it’s a folk remedy that has stood the test of time. And no wonder, since for centuries, different philosophers have referred to the incredible power of breathing, emphasizing its importance in caring for our body and mind. Unfortunately, we seem to have forgotten how to breathe properly.
The incredible function of breathing on our body
Breathing is one of our body’s basic functions, without which we couldn’t live. However, the problem is that, since we breathe automatically, we don’t usually pay much attention to it.
To understand the power of breathing, we must start from the fact that our body has two opposing peripheral nervous systems that act as a kind of accelerator and brake, influencing functions such as heart rate.
The parasympathetic nervous system is the brake, while the sympathetic nervous system is the accelerator. The parasympathetic nervous system exerts a major influence on heart rate through the vagus nerve.
Our body constantly tries to maintain balance. When we inhale, blood flows from the heart to the vascular system of the lungs. This creates a relative blood deficit for the rest of the body, which the heart must compensate for by increasing the heart rate and pumping more blood to the body.
When we exhale, blood returns to the body from the lungs, and the heart slows down. The increase in heart rate during inhalation and the decrease during exhalation is known as respiratory sinus arrhythmia and is a sign of a healthy heart.
The lungs contain slowly adapting stretch receptors, which are activated during the expansion that occurs when inhaling. This activation causes an inhibitory signal to travel to the brainstem and suppresses the acceleration of the sympathetic nervous system, leaving more room for the relaxing effects of the parasympathetic nervous system.
Therefore, the sympathetic nervous system decreases its action when we inhale and the lungs expand, and the parasympathetic nervous system improves during exhalation as blood returns from the lungs to the body. This means that by slowing the respiratory rate, we allow our body to emphasize those self-regulatory mechanisms, especially the parasympathetic nervous system.
This is the main mechanism, briefly explained, through which breathing allows us to relax, not only physically but also psychologically. In fact, it was recently discovered that the rhythm of breathing also creates electrical activity in the brain that can improve our emotional judgments and enhance our memory.
Quotes about breathing to remember its enormous importance
These quotes about breathing will help us always keep in mind the enormous importance of this process for our physical and psychological balance. These are breathing quotes that remind us of the enormous miracle of life and the central role of breathing.
- Air is your food and medicine – Aristotle
- There is a common circulation, a common respiration. All things are related – Hippocrates
- He who breathes the most air lives life best – E. Browning
- To the extent that we ignore the respiratory pause, we rob ourselves of our health – H. Coblanzer
- Feelings come and go, like clouds in the sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor – Thich Nhat Hanh
- If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have a new opportunity before you – Andrea Boydston
- The quality of your breathing expresses your deepest feelings – TKV Desikachar
- Breathing is the vital connection to the source of life and beauty in the world. It makes you feel loved and strong – Jay Woodman
- When we breathe deeply, it’s easy to sense how good the world is, how just and beautiful. We are inspired. How tragic, then, that so few people breathe freely and well – Alexander Lowen
- Remember to breathe. After all, it’s the secret of life – Gregory Maguire
References:
Gottfried, J. et. Al. (2016) Nasal Respiration Entrains Human Limbic Oscillations and Modulates Cognitive Function. Journal of Neuroscience ; 36 (49): 12448-12467.
Grossman, P., & Taylor, EW (2007) Toward understanding respiratory sinus arrhythmia: relations to cardiac vagal tone, evolution and biobehavioral functions. Biological Psychology ; 74(2): 263-285.
Eckberg, D.L. (2003) The human respiratory gate. The Journal of Physiology, 548(2): 339.
Berntson, GG, Cacioppo, JT, & Quigley, KS (1993) Respiratory sinus arrhythmia: autonomic origins, physiological mechanisms, and psychophysiological implications. Psychophysiology ; 30(2): 183-196.
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