Back to the Basics: The Importance of Turning up the Heat and Optimal Oxygenation

Healthy babies breathe from the belly. You can see it. What happens as we age, however, is that we stop using the diaphragm muscle to breathe and we start to breathe with the muscles of the upper chest. This doesn’t happen consciously. It happens because pain, fear and stress over time cause us to reactively hold the breath. It is a protective mechanism: the fight or flight response. When we hold the breath, the production of adrenalin and related hormones increases, enabling us instantly to access greater strength and power. Unfortunately, pain, fear and stress are no longer “in the moment” experiences; they are present in our lives all the time. As a result, we have developed a habit of holding our breath. This doesn’t mean we don’t breathe. The body is built for survival. But what happens is that secondary muscles kick in: the muscles of the upper chest.

We have to consider the mechanics of this to see how it affects long-term health. The diaphragm muscle resides in the core of the body. When properly functioning, it moves up and down. This continual action heats the area. The diaphragm is the foundation of the rib cage and serves both as floor to the heart and lungs and ceiling to the abdominal organs. Thus proper breathing gives these organs a constant internal massage, ensuring optimal blood and oxygen delivery to and removal of waste from the cells. This is how a healthy body maintains proper tissue temperature.  

The diaphragm is a muscle, and, like any muscle, will weaken if not exercised regularly. A weak foundation results in a collapse, in this case, of the rib cage into the core. This carries with it a tremendous force. The weight of the head, arms and rib cage, combined with the forward pull of gravity, creates what is called an energy cyst. An energy cyst is like a black hole, pulling everything into its vortex. The force propelling this engine is magnetic and over time can contort us with a grip of two thousand pounds per square inch. No wonder it is so difficult to stand tall and sit up straight for any length of time. Your body is literally sucking itself into itself. 

This internal collapse displaces tissue outwardly. We become shorter and wider as we age. Organs get squished and pushed around, and there is less room for happy, healthy cells. Cells that aren’t being fed and cleaned properly are agitated. They cry out. Watch “The Inner Life of a Cell” to see the absolute beauty and wisdom in each and every one of the trillions of cells that make up the human body. Imagine all that activity with no room to function. 

Interestingly, this doesn’t only affect the way we look and feel, but also the way we think. We experience emotionally what our cells are feeling. That emotion in turn is linked to established patterns of thinking. Notice how, if you have been sitting too long and eating unhealthy food, your mood changes. There is an uneasy feeling. Ultimately, the very way we think, and what we think about, are a result of our posture and how we breathe. Once we start breathing from the right place, in the right way, we will begin to regain inner and outer health and beauty. 

Optimal Oxygenation - The Key to Health

We have all heard that if we are deprived of oxygen for 5 minutes, the brain will die. So, think of each cell as a brain. The body is designed to feed those cells through diaphragmatic breathing. Unfortunately, this is not a reality for most of us. We ignore our most basic cellular needs when we do not pay attention to our breath andposture. To appreciate the full significance of this focus, we need to understand the mechanics of respiration.