Perfect Breathing

Although we’ve known this for years, the hard scientific evidence continues to pile up with a new study done at Indiana University showing that by training the inspiratory (inhale) muscles, athletes can improve their competitive performance.
This supports earlier studies by the U.S. Navy and others that demonstrated stunning performance improvement in divers, runners, rowers, and cyclists.

Ok, I have to admit that some of our posts may get a bit geeky from time to time. Information about how brain cells affect the breathing process may not appeal to your average Joe Sixpack. But fear not. Here is news you can use!

Dallas free-lancer Jenny Block wrote a great piece a while back regarding her foray into the world of yoga and how the breathing techniques she learned have provided her with new inspiration (pun intended) and pleasure with her partner.

It seems like hardly a week goes by that there is not some breaking news regarding new discoveries regarding the breath and the impact that it has on the different dimensions of our lives.

I have to say that for as much of a flag-waving proponent of the amazing effects of conscious breathing techniques (CBTs) as I am, I've always been a bit skeptical of some of the techniques and claims.

Our good friend Fred Muench over at Mobile Health Interventions just let us know about a great new service they have just recently launched called Health Txts. This handy new service allows you to have specialized messages sent to your mobile device to help you change behaviors and reach your goals more quickly. Message categories span the spectrum - everything from healthy eating and exercise, reducing drinking and drug use, gambling and smoking cessation, to stress management and dental hygiene.

The benefits of conscious breathing techniques have been demonstrated once again in a study at the University of Arizona as reported in PAIN, the refereed journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain. The study was conducted with patients who suffer from Fibromyalgia, and demonstrated that chronic pain sufferers can reduce their pain through the use of slow, deep breathing.

In our book "Perfect Breathing" we spent a lot of time writing about the many ways that top athletes and performers use breathing techniques to elicit the absolute best from their minds and bodies. This week, when it's all about the Olympics all the time, we've come across a couple of great examples from the frozen (or slushy) slopes of Whistler.

I saw the question in Valerie Reiss' post on Belief.net. "What makes you hold your breath?" What a great question! We talk a lot about developing an awareness of your breath as a means to improved health, performance, and emotional wellbeing, but directing your focus to mentally note the things that steal your breath can be quite illuminating.

Just in time for the holidays!

If you've been enjoying Perfect Breathing: Transform Your Life One Breath at a Time ($19.95), you'll want to pick up our new companion workbook, Perfect Breathing: A 28-Day Transformation to Better Living ($17.95), and our new Perfect Breathing Guided Relaxation CD ($12.95). Just head to the Products section of www.perfectbreath.com. We're now shopping-cart equipped!

Couldn't help but read a recent post in the Economic Times. It contained the usual stuff about breathing, that most of us breathe on average 15 times a minute, that slowing that rate down is better for you, that yogi masters like B K S Iyengar and Sage Patanjali have studied breathing for most of their lives, the latter mentioning that "it’s not for nothing that in the Hathayoga-Pradipika, Swami Swatvarama likens the taming of the breath to the mastering of wild lions, tigers or elephants, to be carried out gradually (shanai-shanai)."