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Contents of this
Page Breathing Defined
And "Jump To" Links
Breathing Defined
Taking Air Into & Out From The Process of Taking Air Into & Out from Lungs
LungsStarts with
Independent LifeExchange
of Oxygen & Carbon
DioxideAn Interface
Between Organs &
MovementTorso Divided
into CavitiesCaused by
Cavities Changing
ShapeThe Diaphragm's
Key Role
Breathing is the process of taking air into and expelling it from the
lungs... The passage of air into and out of the lungs is movement, one of
Breathing Anatomy the fundamental activities of living things. – Leslie Kaminoff, Yoga
Primary vs Accessory
Anatomy © 2007 p 4
Muscles
The Nose Starts with Independent Life & Ends When Life
The Lungs Ceases
The Diaphragm
Intercostals
The Abdominals
Anatomy of
Breathing in Yoga
Increasing Respiratory
Efficiency
Conscious Exhalation
Clavicular, Thoracic & Respiration is essential for sustaining all forms of animal life—from the
Diaphragmatic single-celled amoeba to man. It is possible to live without food or water
Iyengar's Classifications for a few days, but when respiration ceases, so does life...
Erich Schiffman on
Breathing starts with independent life outside the mother and ends
Breathing
when life ceases... During most of one's life, the depth and rate of
Diaphragm Can Also
Expand Rib Cage breathing are self-regulated through the nervous system to meet the
Beginner vs Advanced purposes of breathing: to supply in a regulated and controlled way the
Practitioners fresh oxygen which is constantly needed by the cells, and to discharge
Improper Breathing the carbon dioxide accumulated in them. – B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on
Symptoms Prãnãyãma © 2010 pgs 18 & 20
Breath Rates Cellular Respiration is the Exchange of Oxygen
Practices & Teachings and Carbon Dioxide
More Resources
Perspectives
& More
Resources
***
There are numerous
perspectives from The unchanging and constant goal of respiration is the oxygenation of
which to consider the blood. The cells in the tissues need oxygen to function properly, and
pranayama teachings, it is brought to them via the arterial blood, which comes from the lungs
including: and the heart. This mechanism produces a waste product, carbon
dioxide, which is carried in the venous blood back to the heart and
The Breath lungs... Since oxygen cannot be stored in the body, respiration is
Physical process of required without cease, day and night. However, the act of breathing
breathing does not always strictly depend on the oxygen needs of the body. [It]
Impact of breath on may also serve other purposes, and be dependent on other
nervous system circumstances. – Blandine Calais-Germain, Anatomy of Breathing ©
Fundamentals of 2006 pgs 15 & 16
natural breathing
Breathing is an Interface Between Organs and
Breathing in Yoga Movement
Breath awareness
Basic breathing
practices/techniques
Our torso is divided into two main sections: the thoracic cavity and the
abdominal cavity. The thoracic cavity includes everything contained in
the rib cage which extends from the base of the neck to a few inches
above the navel. Essentially, it is a sealed-off container for the lungs,
with the heart resting in between. The abdominal cavity consist of the
part of the trunk that begins at the lower border of the rib cage and fills
the space down into the pelvis. This sack contains the digestive organs.
The two cavities are separated by a thin strong muscle called the
diaphragm. – Irene Dowd, Taking Root to Fly © 2007 pgs 13-14
Although both the abdominal and thoracic cavities change shape, there
is an important structural difference in how they do so. The abdominal
cavity changes shape like a... water balloon. When you squeeze one end
of a water balloon, the other end bulges... Your hand's action only
moves the fixed volume of water from one end of the flexible container
to the other. The same principle applies when the abdominal cavity is
compressed by the movements of breathing; a squeeze in one region
produces a bulge in another. That is because in the context of breathing
the abdominal cavity changes shape, but not volume. In life processes
other than breathing... the abdominal cavity does change volume. If you
drink a gallon of liquid or eat a big meal, the overall volume of the
abdominal cavity will increase as a result of expanded abdominal organs
(stomach, intestines, bladder)...
In contrast to the abdominal cavity, the thoracic cavity changes both
shape and volume; it behaves... similar to an accordion bellows. When
you squeeze an accordion, you create a reduction in the volume of the
bellows and air is forced out. When you pull the bellow open, its volume
increases and the air is pulled in. The thoracic cavity can change its
shape and volume.
Breathing, the process of taking air into and expelling it from the lungs,
is caused by a three-dimensional changing of shape in the thoracic and
abdominal cavities. – Leslie Kaminoff, Yoga Anatomy © 2007 pgs 4-5 & 7
Thoracic Cavity
Heart
Lungs
When breathing, this cavity changes shape and volume
Respiratory muscles increase the dimension of the thoracic cavity,
lowering air pressure in the lungs (i.e. creating a vacuum); air is
received into the lungs
When the muscles relax and the diaphragm billows back up, the air in
the chest is compressed, allowing it to move out
Abdominal Cavity
Stomach
Liver
Gall Bladder
Spleen
Pancreas
Small and large intestines
Kidneys
Bladder
When breathing, this cavity changes shape but not volume
To be precise when speaking of abdominal changes during normal
breathing, anatomy experts use terms such as "bulge," "swell" or "puff
out." This is because the belly is not actually "expanding" as noted in
the previous point about volume.
The Diaphragm's Key Role in Normal Breathing
***
Breathing Anatomy
Primary vs Accessory Respiratory
Muscles
The way in which the muscles of respiration accomplish breathing is
more complex than the relatively simple way a muscle creates
movements around a joint. Three main sets of muscles are active when
you breathe normally: the intercostal muscles, the abdominal muscles,
and the respiratory diaphragm. – H. David Coulter, Anatomy of Hatha
Yoga © 2001 p 74
Primary Respiratory Muscles*
Diaphragm – responsible for 75% of all respiratory effort
Intercostals (muscles between the ribs)
See note below regarding how some sources classify abdominals as
primary and some as accessory
The Nose
The Nose Warms, Humidifies & Cleans Air Before
it Reaches Lungs
Nasal Cycle
Ancient yogis detected what scientists now refer to as the nasal cycle.
Humans (and other animals) cycle alternately from breathing through
one nostril to breathing through the other, for periods ranging from a
few minutes to a few hours. This pattern continues even during sleep. In
one area of investigation, yogis compared the effects of left-nostril
breathing, right-nostril breathing, and breathing through both
simultanesously... More and more scientific research is supporting th
notion that breathing through different nostrils has very different
effects on the body. – Timothy McCall, Yoga as Medicine © 2007 p 62
Tubes in the nose moisten air from the in-breath and fine hairs filter it.
People from hot, moist climates tend to have shorter noses with large
nostrils as the air needs little preparation; people from cold regions tend
to have long, wide noses to warm the air.
The right nostril corresponds to the left side of the brain (which governs
thinking, intellect, and reason) and is connected to the sympathetic
nervous system.
The left nostril corresponds to the right side of the brain (responsible for
feelings and intuition) and triggers the parasympathetic nervous
system.
See Nadi Sodana/Anuloma Viloma Pranayama for more information.
The Lungs
Lungs have five lobes: three in the right lung (upper, middle & lower
lobes) and two in the left (upper & lower lobes).
Because lungs are pear-shaped, the fill capacity of the upper lungs is
less than the lower.
With a full inhalation, air reaches the lower lungs where, according to
one source, there is more blood available for oxygen exchange.
(Mukunda Stiles quoting John Douillard)
The Diaphragm
Intercostals
The external intercostal muscles run between the ribs in the same
direction as the most external sheet of abdominal muscles; they lift and
expand the rib cage for inhalation, like the movement of an old-
fashioned pump handle as it is lifted up from its resting position. The
internal intercostal muscles run at right angles to the external layer;
they pull the ribs closer together as well as down and in for exhalation
(usually a forced exhalation). – H. David Coulter, Anatomy of Hatha
Yoga © 2001 p 75
The Abdominals
The [abdominal] muscles shorten concentrically, pressing the abdominal
wall inward, which in turn pushes the abdominal organs up against the
relaxed (or relaxing) diaphragm. In combination with the action of the
internal intercostal muscles, this forcibly decreases the size of the chest
cavity and pushes air out of the lungs... In yoga the abdominal muscles
are important for what yogis refer to as even breathing, and they are
also key elements for many breathing exercises. – H. David Coulter,
Anatomy of Hatha Yoga © 2001 p 76
Anatomy of Breathing in
Yoga
Increasing Respiratory Efficiency
It surprises many people to learn that the lungs are not muscles.
Without help, they cannot move air in and out of the body. This fact lies
at the heart of breath instruction: Questions about how to breathe are
really questions about which muscles to use in order to expand the
lungs and draw air into them...The muscles of the neck and upper torso,
by themselves, have a relatively minor effect on breathing... The
isolated use of these muscles for breathing, called clavicular breathing,
is most commonly seen in people who have lung illnesses, such as
emphysema, that limit their ability to draw a deep breath.
The bands of muscle (the intercostal muscles) that lie between the ribs
account for about 20% of normal breathing...
The sadhaka must first direct his awareness specifically at the lower
anterior abdominal wall just above the pelvis. To accomplish this, move
the lower abdominal wall towards the spine and against the diaphragm
as if massaging from the skin to the muscles and muscles to the inner
organs. This sense of active conscious contraction is associated with
visible movements of the abdominal wall from the surface skin to its
deepest layers and can be directed at will. After that, direct your
attention to expand the lateral and posterior regions of the chest.
Elevate the lower chest wall, simultaneously expanding the top chest
wall with its skin and muscles. The diaphragm gradually and smoothly
resumes its domed shape as it starts to relax towards the end of
inspiration. During exhalation the dome moves up again. It is active at
the start of expiration to encourage a smooth slow start to the elastic
recoil of the lungs. – B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Prãnãyãma © 2010 p 25
Just as you can think of the psoas as either a "leg mover" or a "trunk
mover," you can think of the diaphragm as either a "belly bulger" or a
"rib cage lifter." The muscular action of the diaphragm is most often
associated with a bulging movement in the upper abdomen, which is
commonly referred to as a "belly breath," but this is only the case if the
diaphragm's origin (the base of the rib cage) is stable and its insertion
(the central tendon) is mobile. If the central tendon is stabilized and the
ribs are free to move, a diaphragmatic contraction will cause an
expansion of the rib cage. This is a "chest breath," which many people
believe must be caused by the action of muscles other than the
diaphragm. – Leslie Kaminoff, Yoga Anatomy © 2007 p 7
One type of breathing, however, strongly activates the upper torso yet
creates a full, deep pattern of breath. We’ll call it diaphragmatic rib
cage breathing, because it uses the diaphragm to lift and spread the
ribs on inhalation and ease them back down on exhalation, while
keeping the belly relatively still. Belly breathing, which massages the
abdominal organs more than rib cage breathing, often feels more
natural and soothing and is easier to learn. It’s an excellent introduction
to breath awareness for beginners and a good way to teach people to
calm themselves quickly, especially during an anxiety attack, because it
strongly discourages use of the accessory muscles of inspiration.
In general, you'll feel a great deal of tension in your upper body. You'll
tend to accumulate tension in your neck and shoulders and between
your shoulder blades in your upper back. You may feel tension in your
jaw, facial muscles, and around your eyes, possibly in the form of a
headache. These are but a few of the symptoms of poor breathing,
which can be as extreme as the sensation of having a heart attack. No
passive massage or physical therapy will remedy this chronic tension for
it will be recapitulated the moment you continue breathing poorly. –
Donna Farhi, The Breathing Book © 1996 p 58
Breath Rates
The average unconscious resting or "normal" breath rate is 12 to 16
breaths per minute
At the average rate of 15 breaths per minute, we breathe over 20,000
times per day.
Simply instructing students to be aware of their breath will tend to
lower this rate to around 6 times per minute while advanced yogis drop
their breath rate to 4 or fewer per minute.
Another way awareness affects the breath, as noted by B.K.S. Iyengar
(Light on Pranayama © 2010), is that when we take a consciously deep
inhalation, we take in six times the amount of air than during average
respiration.
Breathing Practices & Teachings
See Breathing Fundamentals for more information.
See the green bar on the upper left-side of page for a more complete
list of categories for study and teaching.