Using your lungs to the fullest in Tai Chi breathing is a very important step to your health and well being. As we age we tend to shallow breath more often so going to a Tai Chi class can help you with your breathing.
1. In shallow breathing, only the top compartment is being used for fresh air, the other two-thirds are left to stew in stale air.
When a person is under stress, their breathing pattern changes. Typically, an anxious person takes small, shallow breaths, using their shoulders rather than their diaphragm to move air in and out of their lungs. This style of breathing disrupts the balance of gases in the body. Shallow over-breathing, or hyperventilation, can prolong feelings of anxiety by making the physical symptoms of stress worse.
2. Middle breathing, or “ordinary” breathing, uses half to two-thirds of the lung capacity but still leaves the lower compartment untouched. At least middle breathing makes for a better balance of oxygen, supplies more energy and helps purify the blood.
3. Complete breathing, is the way we were supposed to breath if not our lungs would be much smaller in size but they are not. Our lungs are there to be completely filled with fresh air and emptied. When practicing Tai Chi it helps to shift the breathing filling the lungs completely massaging the internal organs which in turn has many health benefits.
Relaxation response
When a person is relaxed, they breathe through their nose in a slow, even and gentle way. Deliberately copying a relaxed breathing pattern seems to calm the nervous system that controls the body’s involuntary functions.
Controlled breathing can cause physiological changes that include:
- lowered blood pressure and heart rate
- reduced levels of stress hormones in the blood
- reduced lactic acid build-up in muscle tissue
- balanced levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood
- improved immune system functioning
- increased physical energy
- increased feelings of calm and wellbeing.
Breathing is an automatic function of the body that is controlled by the respiratory centre of the brain. When we feel stressed, our breathing rate and pattern changes as part of the ‘fight-or-flight response’.
Fortunately, we also have the power to deliberately change our own breathing. Scientific studies have shown that controlling your breath can help to manage stress and stress-related conditions. Breath control is used in Tai Chi to help promote relaxation and reduce stress.
The primary role of breathing is to absorb oxygen and to expel carbon dioxide through the movement of the lungs. Muscles that control the movement of the lungs are the diaphragm (a sheet of muscle underneath the lungs) and the muscles between the ribs.
