Breathe, Naturally . . . and Lose the Fat!

Breathe, Naturally and Lose the Fat

(How to Breathe the Way Nature Intended)

ISBN #: 978-1-387-12116-8

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About the Author: Special Forces Snipers need to remain immobile for long periods as they wait in concealment for their target. They’re taught a natural breathing technique so they can be relaxed yet remain alert and maintain a rock-steady body until the shot is taken.

Luigi Kleinsasser was one such patient individual. During his service, he was shocked at how the system of natural breathing he was taught had the by-effects of reducing stored body-fat and improving his overall health and sense of well-being.

In this brief e-book Luigi reveals those breathing secrets. If you’re tired of doing sit ups and have lost all hope of ever getting a six-pack, if you feel chronically stressed out, are tired with weak muscles, have skin problems, get frequent colds and headaches, suffer from lack of sleep, digestive problems or any number of annoying health conditions your salvation may be right here.

Breathing is not something we think too much about yet many of the world’s chronic, poor health conditions are caused by shallow breathing.

INTRODUCTION

Please take a deep breath. Fill up your lungs and note what happens with your body.

Good. Did you tuck in your tummy, expand your chest and feel your shoulders rise?

Breathing must be important. It’s the first thing we do at birth and the last thing we do at death. Between those two extremes, how you breathe will determine how healthy a life you lead.

Natural breathing is “healthy”. Un-natural breathing is deadly. The ability to breathe “naturally” is essential for anybody who walks,runs, exercises, has any recurring health problems such as: frequent colds, headaches, bad skin, restless leg syndrome, varicose veins, poor sleep, digestive problems, reflux or bowel elimination difficulties. Now, that’s just a short list of the “conditions” caused by faulty un-natural breathing. But, what’s the difference?

If you suffer from any of those ill-effects, your body system is not getting sufficient oxygen to give the trillions of its cells the tools they need to perform their autonomic capability of repairing and regenerating themselves and strengthening your immune system. You may not be breathing “naturally”. If you ignore your body’s needs, its autonomic functions will become impaired and your health will deteriorate.

To clarify, you don’t need to tell your heart when to pump, for your mouth to inject saliva as you chew, for your two-way valve, the epiglottis, to determine when to open the throat so food can be swallowed into the stomach or for air to flow into the lungs. Coughing and sneezing are autonomic reactions. Have you really ever thought about “breathing” at all? The body’s nervous system takes care of all those functions autonomically. However, knowingly or unknowingly it is possible to undo the way we were born to breathe.

When you are subjected to stress or fear, the autonomic nervous system takes control. It rapidly prepares your body to flee from danger or to stay and fight, or to freeze if the danger might be avoided simply by not moving. In all three cases, flight, fight or freeze, the autonomic nervous system quickly readies your body by tightening your abdominal muscles, creating short, rapid, forced breathing through the nose which primes your brain with oxygen and expands your chest so your lungs can increase their rate of inhalation. And as soon as that shallow, panting, “vertical” or “backwards” breathing begins, the autonomic nervous system demands glucose to fuel your body’s subsequent actions for your preservation. It shuts down the use of fat for fuel and stores any fat in the blood-stream as body-fat. Those are the autonomic reactions to stress of any form. And more on that in a moment.

But back to the question posed at the beginning:

Did you tuck in your tummy, expand your chest and feel your shoulders rise?

Well, if so, I’m sorry to inform you that you failed at normal, natural breathing. That sequence is what is induced autonomically by any form ofstress; fear, sudden loud noises, driving in congested traffic, a heated argument, anger, being late for an appointment, boredom, anxiety, depression, sorrow,sadness, loneliness or frustration. Our lives are filled with so much unrecognized stress!

And all of those stressors result in shallow, rapid, “vertical breathing”into the upper chest as was described in that question. Breathing in such a way “normally”, when there’s no imminent danger or any form of stress, means that your brain is being bombarded non-stop with stress-signals and your endocrine glands are being autonomically pushed to exhaustion. The result of that is the constant release of the hormonesadrenalin andcortisolto prepare you for flight, fight or to freeze. Oh, and don’t forget the fat storage.

Now, cortisol is released in the morning to wake you up feeling energetic, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and that’s a good thing. That little flush of cortisol improves your short-term memory, keeps your mind sharp and normalizes your mood. However, excess cortisol in the blood-stream causes your blood-sugar to rise and makes you crave foods high in calories that are easily convertedinto glucose and body-fat. Your hormonal system is thrown into a nosedive!

So, to breathe as though you were under constant attack when you’re just reading a book or lounging on the beach, creates the damaging effects of excess cortisol in the blood-stream.

All day and all night long!

If you have sleep problems, your “vertical” or “backwards” breathing and the resultant excess cortisol in your system may be the cause. When you “backwards breathe”, your brain responds by sending a message to the nervous system warning that for some unclear reason you’re under attack and at all costs you must be kept alert!The medical profession calls that “insomnia” and will prescribe a pill. A better, healthier option is to simply re-learn to breathe “naturally”.

If you look forward to a breakfast consisting of such things as: cereal with sugar, donuts, toast and jam, latte, Coke, candy, then you are suffering from the effects of unrecognized stress caused by your self-imposed, backwards stress-breathing.

The only other possibility is that you’re addicted to sugar.

The primary muscle which facilitates breathing is the diaphragm, yet the majority of the Earth’s Western inhabitants no longer use their diaphragms to breathe. They simply sniff a little air into their upper chest and never take advantage of the enormous health benefits that full diaphragmatic breathing offers.In a moment, we’ll discuss the “natural” way to breathe which may help to alleviate some of those ill-health conditions mentioned above. But first . . .

My Transition to Vertical Breathing

It must be said that we and every animal on the planet are born breathing correctly. If I relate my own adventure with breathing it might help you to remember and relate as well.

When I was about two years of age I had a cat and a dog as pets and as I watched them sleeping together I observed their bellies slowly inflating and suddenly collapsing. I noticed that my belly did the same thing as theirs and I became intrigued with my belly-button as it moved out slowly than collapsed inwards. I had no idea I was “breathing”. But, I became emotionally connected with my pets. We were “one”.

A year or so later, my tailoress-mother decided it was time to dispose of the pants with shoulder straps and make me some “big boy” shorts with a secret flap-fly and an elastic waistband. With her tape-measure wrapped around my abdomen at belly-button level she instructed, “Take a big breath, fill up your chest with air and tuck your tummy in as far as you can.” I complied.

She then cut a piece of wide elastic to the length she had measured, made my “big boy” shorts from a pattern and inserted the elastic into the waist band which made the waist of the shorts pucker. But when I slipped them on, the elastic stretched and the pants didn’t fall down.

But I kept on breathing the way my mother had instructed me to during the measuring process. And then I migrated to trousers with stiff belts which required me to keep my abdomen still and breathe into my chest. It wasn’t until I joined the army and a physical training instructor commented, “Son, you’re breathing backwards,” that I had my first epiphany about breathing.

What was he talking about? I’d always breathed that way, no?

Well, after he explained the natural way we should breathe and our stress-induced flight, fight or freeze mechanism, my pets (by then long-dead) flooded my memory and I realized the instructor was right.

So, in a moment we’ll discuss the way our bodies were programmed to breathe at birth.

But we need access to a little anatomical knowledge to get everything right, so:

Essential Anatomical Knowledge

The torso is comprised of threesections: the thoracic cavity, the abdominal cavity and the pelvic cavity.

A thin, asymmetrical, umbrella-shaped, skeletalsheet-muscle called the thoracic diaphragm divides the upper torso into two cavities.Theupper section or thoracic cavityis surrounded by the ribcage which connects to the spine at the rear and the sternum in front. Between each rib are the intercostal muscles. The thoracic cavity contains the heart and the two lungs.

Below the diaphragm is the abdominal cavity holding theliver, stomach, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, adrenal glands the small intestinesandthe abdominal colon. Underneath that is the pelvic cavity confined by the bones of the pelvis. It contains the reproductive organs, the urinary bladder, the pelvic colon and the rectum.

The solar plexus is a complex bundle of nerves located roughly just below the xiphoid process at the base of the sternum where the ribs form a “Ʌ”. The thoracic diaphragm attaches to that xiphoid process and to the seven lower ribs on each side of the ribcage and at the rear to the thoracic vertebrae T12 and the lumbar vertebra L1 and L2.

So, the diaphragm is not a perfect “umbrella-shape”, it’s more like an elastic, domed cape slanting downwards at the rear. It has the muscular capacity to flex up and down and to contract inwards, but even when fully flexed it always maintains a slight umbrella shape. Have you seen a jelly-fish swimming?

Our two lungs may be likened to two long balloons inside a flexible cage, the ribs. They consist of divisions termed “lobes” making it possible (with the correct focus) to direct air into their lower sections, the middle sections, the upper sections and the rear sections of each lobe.

From your solar plexus down to your pubic bone is the abdominal “ten-pack” divided into the upper “six-pack” situated over the front edge of the thoracic diaphragm down to the umbilicus (navel) below which is the lower “four-pack”. It’s possible to flex each of the individual ten sections, but you only need to be able to operate the six-pack and the four-pack independently.

The reason you need to be aware of all that anatomical information is because you are about to locate your diaphragm.

When you flex your diaphragm, the abdominal muscles assist by contracting as well. But you can flex just the lower “four-pack” which will flatten and lift the lower abdomen upwards, or, flex just the upper “six-pack” which will draw the diaphragm and rib cage down. That downward flexing of the rib cage is what starts an inhalation. If you dig the fingers of both hands deeply into your abdomen just below the rib cage then flex your abdomen firmly, just behind the top of that “six-pack” you’ll feel the front edge of the diaphragm thrusting downwards. Try it a few times.

Here is an illustration of the lungs, diaphragm and abdominal cavity and the same illustration with the rib cage, the “10 pack” and the approximate location of the navel super-imposed onto it.

Horizontal Breathing

As previously stated, every animal on the planet is born breathing the same way ‒ flexing the diaphragm and sucking air down deep into their lungs. The lungs should be filled from the bottom up and is termed “horizontal” breathing. Taking shallow breaths only into the upper chest is termed “vertical” breathing.

Learning (or re-learning) to breathe “horizontally” is best done lying flat on your back with a pillow under your knees. Place your hands on your belly with the palm of your left hand pressing against your solar plexus and the middle finger in your navel. You’ll need to bend and raise the left elbow to accomplish that! Rest your right hand across the abdomen below the navel (on the “four-pack”.)

Phase One ‒ Part A

Do a pretend cough. You know, like when you enter a shop and the clerk is busy texting and is oblivious to your presence? Fake cough and the hardness you’ll feel in the Ʌ where the ribs meet is your diaphragm flexing. The diaphragm initiates coughing but the external oblique abdominals (the six-pack) which lie in front of the diaphragm running from just below the pectoral muscles to your navelalso become involved.

When you force your belly forward those abdominals are doing all the work. While on your back, thrust your belly skywards. At your belly’s highest point flex everything under your hands ‒ all of the ten abdominal muscles, then forcefully expel all the air from your lungs, as in coughing and the whole abdominal area will collapse towards your spine. If you then tuck your navel under and up towards your solar plexus, that’s your diaphragm contracting upwards. Press the fingers of your left hand into the V and you’ll feel the flexed diaphragm under where your left middle finger joins your palm.

Slowly inhale downwards. Practice alternately contracting the diaphragm up and down.

Relax = down, cough = up. Your aim is to “sense” the difference when flexing just the diaphragm or the diaphragm with the abdominals.

Now, thrust your belly forward and through your open mouth start a slow inhalation directing the air to flow deep down onto your diaphragm. Your hands will be forced a little higher and you might feel your diaphragm pressing against where your fingers join the palm of your left hand. Keep inhaling. When you simply cannot add another cubic centimeter of air, hold that expansion for a second then open your mouth wide, say a breathy “HAAH” to initiate the exhalation and allow the abdomen to simply collapse.

When everything is flat, use the lower “four-pack” to pull the abdomen further down towards your spine, tuck your navel under and pull the diaphragm firmly up towards your solar plexus. That action will empty the lungs further.

Check out the illustrations below: