“The secret of making progress is to get started. The secret to starting is to divide your complex, overwhelming task into small, manageable tasks, and then start the first.” - Mark Twain
Slow breathing has many benefits. For example, it improves cardiovascular and autonomic functioning. However, as we mentioned last week, you can quickly get “lost in the crabgrass of details” if you’re not careful, which is basically what I do every day :)
For instance, there are several ways to breathe slowly. You can use equal inhales and exhales, extended exhales for more relaxation, or you can include ujjayi breathing if you’re a trained yogi.
The study I’m sharing this week examined some of these nuances to determine which is best for beginners.
Cardiovascular and Respiratory Effect of Yogic Slow Breathing in the Yoga Beginner: What Is the Best Approach?
(Click Here to Read Full Summary)
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013
The study had seventeen non-yoga practitioners perform several different breathing protocols:
Spontaneous breathing
Controlled breathing at 15 breaths/min
Slow breathing at 6 breaths/min, 5 sec inhale, 5 sec exhale (equal)
Slow breathing at 6 breaths/min, 3 sec inhale, 7 sec exhale (extended)
The above two slow breathing protocols, but with ujjayi
Measurements of baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), blood pressure, and several respiratory variables were taken during the experiment.
Most Improvements from Slow Breathing without Ujjayi
They found that slow breathing without ujjayi was the most effective at improving cardiovascular and autonomic function (as measured by BRS) and at reducing blood pressure.
However, keep in mind that these were not trained yogis. Therefore, the added effort of ujjayi likely dampened the parasympathetic response. The results would likely be different in a trained ujjayi practitioner.
Getting Started: Breathe at a Ratio That Is Comfortable For You
All of their results revealed that slow breathing with an equal inhale-to-exhale ratio performed best. However, the differences between the balanced and extended exhale techniques were small. Therefore, they concluded that “practitioners can engage in a ratio that is personally comfortable and achieve the same BRS benefit.”
For us, the take-home message is that slow breathing at a rate of 6 breaths/min improves cardiovascular and autonomic function. The best way to begin is to choose a ratio that is comfortable for you.
I suggest that you start with a 4 second inhale and a 6 second exhale and see how it feels. Begin with a five-minute session first thing in the morning and build up from there to reach three 5-minute sessions a day.
In good breath,
Nick
P.S. Me. Also me.