I was surprised to learn that approximately 80% of the world’s population has a dysfunctional breathing pattern. This dysfunction of the respiratory system leads to a plethora of physical symptoms, including, but not limited to, blood pressure changes, heart rate changes, lack of oxygen in the blood system, poor concentration and anxiousness, posture, balance and even quality of sleep. It’s clear from this list that learning to breathe functionally can have a significant impact on health, wellbeing and mental clarity.
Functional breathing is when the breathing system is optimized in the body, and a person can train themselves to make improvements. Breathing is considered functional when it is done through the nose, is diaphragmatic and is rhythmic in its pattern.
Invincible breathing (where you can train your body to breathe more effectively) has three parts to it.
Biomechanics of breathing, biochemistry of breathing and resonance frequency.
Biomechanics in functional breathing is about breathing low, to activate the diaphragm. This low breath activates and increases IAP (Intra Abdominal pressure) which impacts spinal and postural control.
Biochemistry of breathing is when the breath is light - to optimize the boor effect and increase the amount of oxygen in the red blood cells, as well as increasing the nitric oxide to build in the nasal cavities
Resonance Frequency is where cadence breathing is activated, slowing the breathing rate from 12-15 breaths per minute to around 6 per minute. This helps a greater volume of air to reach the alveoli.
In practice, training the breath for invincible breathing is about creating an ‘air hunger’ by doing breath holds. This helps the body to be able to tolerate more CO2, and then as a result deliver more oxygen around the body.
Knowledge on Functional Breathing has encouraged me to think through what is happening inside my body during various breathwork exercises, and the immediate and long term effects the breath has on me.
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