Holding your breath: revealing some secrets
Holding the external breath is a unique exercise for harmonizing the soul and body, known since ancient times. They are given a special place in oriental practices, however, studies carried out in countries of different cultures and religions confirm the conclusion of the sages of bygone days, whose heritage is used by modern mankind. Holding your breath can have a beneficial effect on the physical, psychological and moral state of a person.
Why is it beneficial to hold your breath?
During the period of conscious cessation of breathing, the body receives a unique opportunity to distribute the available vital energy among all its components, or, in other words, restore balance. “Fine tuning” of a person is a complex phenomenon that has not yet been fully investigated, but concepts such as lack of energy, inexplicable loss of strength, unbearable heaviness of life are known to everyone. And the desire to throw off the shackles and breathe deeply is not only metaphors. It is believed that holding your breath helps to “restart” the body.
What happens to internal systems?
In those minutes and even seconds when a person does not breathe, the body begins to vigorously cleanse itself, a rush of blood is provided, and therefore, the flow of oxygen to the heart and lungs, gas exchange processes are accelerated.
As you know, holding your breath significantly increases the concentration of carbon dioxide. But it is this that serves as a signal that an emergency “supplement” of oxygen is needed, therefore, its assimilation also improves. There is no paradox in this, since only when the level of carbon dioxide increases, the body is given a clear command that gas exchange should be continued. Many people also know that with an increase in carbon dioxide content, blood acidification occurs. But it is this that facilitates the performance of the main functions by hemoglobin, which, in fact, is responsible for the transport of respiratory gases.
In addition, the functioning of the vagus nerve is stimulated, which is responsible for the respiratory system, optimal digestion processes, cardiac activity and the functioning of the blood vessels. If the sympathetic system serves to activate the body, this nerve, on the contrary, muffles the heart rate and slows down the pulse, helps to absorb nutrients more efficiently.
External and internal respiratory processes
From the course of biology, we know about two types of respiration – external, which consists in gas exchange between the organism and the air of the atmosphere, and internal, that is, tissue or cellular. In fact, by his own effort, a person can only hold the external breath. But what happens at this moment? Cellular respiration is activated, which few people think about, but the balance in the work of the internal systems of the body, and longevity, also depends on its quality. Many pathologies that arise at the cellular level are the result of a lack of internal respiration.
We have the ability to hold our breath either on inhalation or on exhalation, and the second option is much more difficult, shorter, but also more important than the first. After a person has taken a breath, there is enough oxygen in the lungs for the gas exchange processes to proceed in the usual way. And it takes time for an acute urge to inhale to appear, after which further conscious cessation of breathing is no longer physically possible.
If you hold your breath while exhaling, this will be the stage when the blood is actively filled with carbon dioxide and signals a lack of oxygen, so it is more difficult for a person to resist the temptation to stop breathing exercise.
What Should You Know About Carbon Dioxide?
Carbon dioxide stimulates the differentiation of bone marrow cells, leads to the activation of hematopoiesis and cellular immunogenesis, activates the factors of the blood anticoagulant system. CO2 also activates reparative tissue regeneration in the focus of inflammation, stimulates the function of the endocrine glands, including the genital.
