Exploring the respiratory system. Beginning with the nose, we brought our attention to the air as it moved in and out of our sinuses. We explored the mouth, lips, and tongue and brought our attention to the air as it passes through on its way into the body and its way out of the body. Bringing our attention to the these two spaces and following them to where they meet in the larynx. Continuing further, we enter the trachea and imagining this major airway as it divides into the bronchi and then subdivides into ever smaller and smaller passages.
At the end of these subdivisions, there are alveoli, small grapelike structures where oxygen enters the bloodstream and carbon dioxide is released. Once the blood has been oxygenated, it is then pumped throughout the body.
At the base of the lungs is the diaphragm, a domed shaped muscle that draws air into the body as it moves toward the pelvis. We explored the movement of the diaphragm and the expansion and contraction of the ribcage in a few dance sequences. We explored why we breath rapidly into the upper lungs when startled as well as the calming effect of breathing while allowing the belly to respond as babies do. We tracked the four stages of breath: the inhale, the suspension, the exhale and the suspension that follows.
We also explored a couple of yogic breath practices. The video above gives a demonstration of opposite nostril breathing. The video below offers an example of the fire breathing. At the end of the class, we meditated while focusing and counting the breaths.
What was your experience of the respiratory system?
24 comments:
I enjoy breathing. I love to inhale and to exhale. It feeds me in times of stress and in bliss. Many people I have worked with in the moving/healing arts have commented that breathing is a large part of how I move; some have said that it is the catalyst for my movement. I see the two as interrelated; movement finds breath, breath finds movement.
Of today’s class I had fun doing the dance of the diaphragm. On an inhale I attempted to make myself big and tried to balance at the same time, holding breath and then upon exhaling coming into myself. Moving around the space with this pattern was super enjoyable. Experimenting with hyperventilating, breathing quickly was hilarious…I couldn’t help laughing and letting out little screams. I saw everyone in the room at once, the energy was electric. It was quite a juxtaposition going from the diaphragm dance.
I am familiar with the breathing exercises through my yoga practice, though I had never tried the “breath counting.” The simple technique was very effective. I stayed present throughout and afterward felt calm wash over my mind and body. It was lovely. I will continue this practice on my own.
Anatomy has taken on new significance for me as we learn about the different systems and their component parts through movement!
Lindsey G.
Isolating breathing through my nose made me realize how often I use my mouth and nose together for breathing and how much focus it takes to breath through just one opening. I couldn't feel the temperature of the air as any warmer or cooler than the surfaces inside my nose, but when we took breaths in through the mouth I could feel the air as cold and drying. Partially I think this is because of the extra moisture in the mouth as compared to the nose.
When we talked about breathing in the chest versus allowing the belly to move, I realized something I had been warned against a few times without understanding. Many people have told me that I carry my stress in my neck and shoulders, and recently I was told to allow my body to really expand while breathing. I didn't understand at the time, but now I see that I have been constantly breathing "up and down" only allowing air and expansion in my chest and shoulders. I haven't allowed myself to expand outwardly, using my belly to propell my diaphram. My stressed neck and shoulders would see some relief if I allowed myself some deeper belly breathing like the babies do so well, instead of the upper chest breathing of being startled.
The opposite nostril breathing really seemed to clear my sinuses. At least on the surface. I could feel drainage and moistening of the insides of my nostrils and the dry warm air of the dance studio felt more fresh. Although awkward at first, I really think this technique is most effective for its purpose.
-Jessica Jensen
Exploring the respiratory system seemed a lot more challenging than it is, especially, with a sore throat. During class I could not help but pause to normalize my breathing since I was getting light headed. Our focus was geared towards our breath that was being inhaled and exhaled though the sinuses.
I closed my eyes and let myself explore the world of the air that surrounded me. The little hair particles on my face felt the enormous grasp of oxygen that rushed through my nose to continue to provide life to the thousands of cells innervating my brain. Soon afterwards, my body became aware of the presence of air as well and I felt the gentle breeze peacefully blowing against the surface of my skin. Air surrounded me and pressed against the inner and outer core of my body. My body thrived for life by using air to purify my mind and soul.
I find it exhilarating when we began playing with movements while still having to maintain our attention on our breathing. As I inhaled for air and elongated my muscles, I felt enriched with empowerment. When we contracted our bodies to exhale, I felt relaxed and calm although I still felt the urge to gasp for more air. Throughout this whole exercise I found it difficult to breathe with my nose and not with my mouth.
My favorite part in this session was practicing alternative nostril breathing. While we were counting the seconds of inhaling and exhaling from each nostril, I felt the toxic waste of carbon dioxide exit out of my body. The fresh air came in and cleansed the toxin out of my body with one big breath. This exercise really emphasized the difference between inhaling and exhaling. Usually, one would think of breathing as just breathing but they do not realize the complexity in it. What is a breath? Is it the inhaling or exhaling part? To me, they are both equally important; without one, there would not be the other.
-QMLN
The more I practice and learn about these and other breathing techniques, the more I am able to see and experience their benefits. Breathing is something that we often take for granted and never really realize its importance. Until, that is, it's taken away from you or changed dramatically. I know, when I suffer from stress and anxiety my breath becomes extremely shallow and labored. I feel as though there is no way I can get enough air. I went years this way, thinking it may be asthma or some other rare condition, but as I go more deeply in a yoga practice and continuously focus simply on the act of breathing, I have found that not only the shortness of breath has faded but my stress and work load becomes easier. I've also been experimenting with doing the breath of fire in the shower in the morning. It's a great way to become more invigorated in a natural way, so not to have to rely on caffeine.
My favorite part of the class was when we were lying on our backs and you coached us through visualizing the passage of air through our nostrils, through the trachea, and down into the alveoli. I shrank myself to a microscopic size and began a journey in through my nose, wading around in snot and crawling through hairs, sliding down the back of my throat, and then floating around in the canals of the lungs. Very fun!
Working on breathing techniques in class was very benifical for me. I have practiced yoga and pilates in the past, and realize the importance of breathing while exercising. At the ends of today's class, I realized how breathing can be incorperated to your daily life, throughout the day. I enjoyed learning the significance that breathing tempo has on the body. I plan to practice different breathing techniques and focus more on my breathing and being aware of what I am doing.
During class when we lied on our backs and visualized the air moving through our system, I felt that I was able to really focus on my breathing. I felt very relaxed during this exercise. i also enjoyed when we danced around he room with varying breathing tempos. I found this activity fun and helpful.-Kristen S
This class made me notice that I do not like to breathe through my mouth,
especially in a medetative state. It feels very awkward for me, though
I'm not sure why. Surprisingly enough I was not lightheaded after the
fire breathing exercize. I'm now more aware of my breathing, and I've
noticed that I often forget to breathe during some more complex
excercizes in dance class, and I'm working on correcting this.
Jessica (Mairi) Holtzner
At the first part of the class when I inhale I can feel that the air that comes through my nose was so cold but it was warmer when I exhale. I think this exercise was very interesting part. I feel like I was doing a meditation. Another interesting exercise in this class is the part that we have to breathe rapidly. I think breathe rapidly into the upper lungs when startled as well as the calming effect of breathing while allowing the belly to respond as babies do help me more awake. I feel fresher after this exercise. It might be because of more oxygen goes into my body. However the part that I dislike the most is the part that we tracked the four stages of breath: the inhale, the suspension, the exhale and the suspension that follows or yoga breathe. I feel uncomfortable with this exercise. I don’t think I can stop breathing that long. However, after all, today’s class is interesting and useful, but I don’t feel comfortable in some exercises.
Pitchaya N.
This was not my favorite class. I have always struggled with focusing on breathing. Throughout my gymnastics career, I was constantly being told to concentrate on breathing, and it has always stressed me out. Even in class, I found myself feeling a slight sense of stress and at times felt faintish. One thing I noticed was that it is hard for me to exhale on count. I really prefer not worrying about exhaling and just letting my breathing come naturally. I also was reminded of how I sometimes forget to breathe when dancing or working out. I do want to someday master the ability to focus on my breathing without hyperventilating. It was fun to try the hyperventilating exercise. Breathing really quickly made me feel like I do when I’m snorkeling. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, like drowning. Also, did anyone else find it interesting how breathing through one nostril really changed the sounds of the room? It made me think there was a lot of sickness in the room.
Regrettably, I missed attending this class, however I did read the article and attempted two of the breathing exercises from the article. I tried the 1st one, where you breathe strongly through your sinuses, stick out your tough and make a throaty sound. I did this one while sitting in my car in the ferry line. I could easily feel my breath expand to different parts of my body, especially in my chest and belly. I wasn't successful being able to breathe in the uppermost part of my lungs - I've had this problem for a long time - I can't seem to breathe into my ribs. But I was able to engage my pelvic floor and allow for deep breathing even while sitting in a car.
Later during the day, I noticed I was stressed about something and I engaged this breathing technique (well, most of it, except for making the throaty sound because I was around other people). Believe it or not, it did help me release some inner stress. I need to try this more often.
The 2nd exercise I did was in the "heart" section of the article. I did, in fact, notice a substantial change in my breathing when I thought about positive vs negative feelings. While I've done a lot of deep breathing, relaxation exercises in the past, I don't recall ever trying an exercise in breathing which differentiated between thinking positive and negative thoughts. I am going to try to integrate this exercise in my every day activities because for me, it really illustrated how my breathing shifts depending on what I am feeling.
Since I have asthma, it is hard for me to exhale deeply without wheezing. I am curious to know about any breathing exercises which would help improve this. I haven't yet tried the breathing through one nostril but perhaps this is one that might help that problem.
When I heard we were exploring the respiratory system, I was super excited because I knew we were going to focus on breathing for the class period. I feel breathing is such an important stress/tension reliever and I was anxious to learn what new techniques we would learn. When we began with bringing our awareness towards inhaling through the nostrils and through the trachea and bronchi and into our aveoli, I was fascinated by the intricate path air must take in order to supply the human body with life. I also found the 4 steps of breathing concept to be interesting because I never really paid attention to those moments in our breathing called moments of "suspension." Sometimes when I catch my self holding my breath, say when I'm focused on a difficult, physical task, I wonder how long I tend to stay in suspension and how frequently I do it each day.
One of the last exercises we did was the accelerated breathing and I was honestly hesitant to participate. I personally did not want to formulate any stress in my body because I frankly have enough of it with my school load this quarter, but it was super entertaining to watch everyone else partake in the activity. I'm really enjoying going through all the systems, and the respiratory system exercises were probably my favorite so far!
-Hanalore Alupay
It was interesting to devote an entire class to simply learning about breathing and the respiratory system. Breathing is something I’ve never really thought about. It was simply an action that always occurred as a part of my autonomic nervous system. In fact, the only time I ever really seemed to notice it at all was when I was sick and got congested. So when we were in class and we breathed and simply focused on how the air felt as it passed in and out of our lips it was nice to just slow down and really feel how breathing actually occurred. I also really liked the yoga breathing technique where we placed our fingers against our nose. This controlled breathing allowed my head to become quiet and seemed to lull all of the thoughts that constantly swirl around. Although we have practiced quieting the mind several times already this quarter, it was easiest for me to do so with this breathing technique. It also probably had something to do with not directly being told to clear my mind, because normally once that is said it makes it much more difficult for me to simply empty my head of all thoughts. Overall I enjoyed learning different techniques of breathing, as well as recognizing how complicated the task of breathing actually was.
-Emily Stromme
I found the breathing exercises to be surprisingly difficult. Perhaps since breathing is ordinarily such a natural, mindless activity, my body was caught off guard when told to breath with specific techniques. The hardest part for me was experimenting with the opposite nostril breathing. I must have quick, shallow breaths normally, as the eight second wait to inhale really stretched by comfort level—I felt exhausted and out of breath after only a short practice period. The dance sequences were an interesting way to visually explore our patterns of respiration. Sometimes its easy to forget how complex the act of breathing truly is, until you break it down into individual steps/motions through an interpretive means, such as dance. –C. McCoy
Exploring the respiratory system was a very calming experience.
I didn't realize that changing the way you breathe has such an effect on your entire body.
When we ran around the space with short breaths, I could really feel my heart pump and my sense heightened. It was really fun and exciting.
While on the otherhand, the exercise where you blow out one nostril then switch, was very calming. This helped me notice my breathing.
I had a quiz after class that day and it was very calming to relax before I had to go to my next class.
Breathing may be so simple, but at the same time it is very complex. There is so much then just a simple inhale and exhale. The exercises that we learned today really helped me look at the respiratory system as a unique entity that can be challenged and also nurtured.
- jasmine boado
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I found focusing on my breath as it passed through my lips and nose and down into my lungs as a surprisingly invigorating exercise. I had never noticed the coolness of the breath as it enters as opposed to the warmth as it exits before this class. It helped me to really wake up and feel energized. I will likely use this technique out of class as I found it very helpful.
I thought the movements focusing on the diaphragm were particularly helpful as I have never really know where my diaphragm is and it is amazing what it does for us without us even thinking about it. I also enjoyed the dances that we did involving breathing in different directions, they helped open my chest, something I struggle with.
Then we partook in frantic breathing and running about the run. I was surprised that just by acting startled our body would so quickly respond and bring us to this startled state where even our hearts were racing, or at least mine was. This also gave me energy, but I’m not sure that I will practice it as much as just focusing on my breathing... .
Breathing into my belly on the other hand was much more difficult. I felt like I really had to force this motion and therefore I did not experience the relaxing sensation that should be associated with it.
When tracking the four stages of breath, I realized what often causes me problems with breathing. When I really focus on breathing I sometimes get stuck in the suspension stages and start to panic, not knowing if I am supposed to inhale or exhale. It sounds ridiculous but it has happened to me several times and it is not pleasant, in fact it happened in this class. Thankfully my body takes over and I can breathe again.
As for the yogic breath exercises, I enjoyed the opposite nostril breathing, but I did not enjoy the fire breathing. I felt like I was not getting enough oxygen when doing the fire breathing exercise. Overall, I really enjoyed this class and exploring the respiratory system. ~Miranda Schmidt
I’ve always found the opposite nostril breathing exercise to be a bit difficult; it’s hard to hold your breath and control the inhalation and exhalation to the extent that is required in this technique. This is strange because, as a singer and dancer, I’m used to controlling my breathing. I think the added weirdness of holding one nostril makes it challenging for me for some reason. Plus, everyone always seems to be sick every time a class tries this out, making it even more difficult to breathe.
The fast breathing – the one that seems like you’re hyperventilating – was, on the other hand, not as difficult as it would seem. I did this in another class for 100 fast breaths. When the teacher described the exercise, I thought we were all going to pass out, but it really wasn’t as challenging as I thought it would be. In fact, it went by more quickly than I thought it would. It’s also apparently a great workout for the abs! I thought it was fascinating how we didn’t have to inhale: the body just did that automatically for us. It’s so cool how the body works!
~Marcee Wickline
I enjoyed this class a lot. I always thought and learned from my previous instructors that breathing is really important especially when we do exercise. However breathing always makes me hard to do the exercise. I sweat more when I breath and whenever I do complex exercise, I forget to breath. When we did the nostrill breathing. I really felt the freshness of the breathing. I loved the feeling of when we breath in the fresh air. Fire breathing was very interesting. I never did this type of breathing before. As I do more fire breathing, I was having a hard time breathing regularly in a same repeated manner. Since I learend better about importance of breathing I will try to breath more and better in the class.
Living in the high stress, low relaxation times of this world, breathing is so important! Whenever I get stressed out or whatever, I try to take the time to take a few deep breaths and really focus on remaining calm and serene.
I have continued doing the yoga, opposite nostril breathing that we did in class and it is so wonderful! I am also taking Catherine's yoga class this quarter so I'm learning about the energy cycles and the nadi's and how each is connected to different parts of our body and mind. So the opposite nostril breathing was great, because on Tuesday morning I was really congested on the right side, but after the opposite nostril breathing that side was totally cleared up and I could breathe evenly through both nostrils.
It's weird how breathing through all the different pathways evenly can have such an impact, but it really does! Feeling the difference between being congested on one side and being clear in both in a matter of minutes made me realize how wonderful it is to be able to breath deeply and easily through both nostrils.
I also really loved thinking about breathing in fresh, ocean air. Then after holding it in, exhaling toxic air full of bad things. Having that image/idea in my mind while doing the opposite breathing really helped me understand and feel the respritory cleansing of the exercise.
What shocked me the most about this class was learning that our kidneys are in the BACK!!! I had no idea! I thought they were in the front, and whenever I would hear stories about people getting their kidney removed, I would unconsciously rub the side of my stomach. I also thought it was interesting when one of my classmates mentioned something about her kidneys feeling tight because she consumed some alcohol the night before. Usually after I drink, my whole body feels tired, but I definitely feel it more in my stomach. Maybe this is why I had always thought my kidneys were on the sides of my stomach.
The whole brushing of the nervous system was great! It felt like I was getting a backrub, which is always nice :) It really did woke me up and made me feel less tired, which was extremely needed that morning. It was cool to feel how our nerves branch off the spinal cord since it’s not every day I randomly rub my back and feel my nerves.
The Magic School bus tour was weird at first because all of us were so close together. It was cool to visualize and act out the whole movement within our Digestive System, but at the same time, it was a little gross. I did learn a lot about the whole process thought, and it has made me more aware of what my body has to do to accept and digest the different kinds of food that I eat. After this class, I have made it a point to eat more slowly and chew everything completely before swallowing it. It’s surprising how much more I enjoy eating when I take the time to do it, as opposed to just gobbling everything because I am always in such a hurry!
Felicia Widjaja
I loved meditating by focusing on our breathing. I was so tired in the morning that I didn’t really feel like doing a lot of movements, but I was glad to know that we were working on the respiratory system and we had a chance to meditate. I realized how good it feels to take deep breaths again. I am constantly running to classes or work because of my busy schedule, and I never really take time to take a couple of deep breaths and really give my body the oxygen it needs. Doing the breathing exercises, especially the yoga breathing method felt really good and refreshing for me. I also really liked lying on my back and hearing about where/how the air is traveling through my body. It was very interesting.
Sahar Z.
I thought the lungs dance was a really good learning tool for understanding how
the lungs worked. It was fun to act out the different organs that were working
as well as dancing to use the clean air that we breathed in. I never though of
dancing through the respiratory process in order to understand it, but I think
that would have saved me some time and would have provided me with a better
understanding while I was taking introductory physiology last quarter.
The breathing exercises were really helpful. During my yoga class this quarter,
my main goal has been to incorporate breathing into my practice in a productive
way rather than just breathing the way I have been told to. This class helped me
focus on breathing into different parts of my body without also having to
concentrate on moving.
Joanne Pontrello
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I'm particularily enjoying learning about our own anatomies. The experiments and exercises from this class have shown me how many funny or even calming things my body can do. But learning about the respiratory system made me think about how important the entire diameter of our trachea is. I learned the volume of air inhaled is proportional to the diameter of that little tube raised to the fourth power. I think this because there are four dimensions to our breath: the length, width, height of the tube, and the speed or flow of the air. Thinking about this caused me to ponder how little anatomical differences there are between asthmatic and healthly persons. Also, the amount of dead space, space unusable for air storage, there is in the lungs with the actual structures of the bronchi and alveoli. Ironically, I felt deflated after learning about the respiratory system. Our own is so limited to having to be surrounded by a specific pressurized air and so inefficient compared to that of geese. An interesting animation of fairly new discoveries about the workings of goose lungs:
http://lamesbond.20megsfree.com/2.swf
-Eugenia Prezhdo
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