Breathing techniques for gut health
Controlled breathing can be one of the most potent tools for managing symptoms, creating and sustaining wellness. Breathing techniques provide an easy, drug free option to reduce symptoms of gut disorders and improve digestion.
Controlled breathing, often called breathwork, is also very effective for pain management and helps with many other maladies, like stress, anxiety, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, attention deficit disorder and high blood pressure, to name a few.
Breathwork helps boost the immune system, increase alertness, and improve vitality. Studies demonstrate that breathwork can lower levels of three cytokines that are associated with inflammation and stress. Consciously changing our breath patterns sends a signal to the brain to adjust the nervous system and slow heart rate and digestion.
“Breathing is massively practical, It’s meditation for people who can’t meditate.”– Belisa Vranich, a psychologist and author of the book “Breathe”
Here are some of our favorite resources for beginners, kids, and adults:
Helpful Books
Online resources for adults
- How Breathing Exercises Relieve Stress and Improve Digestive Health
- Non-Drug Pain Relief: Relaxation with Breathing Exercises instructions
- Relaxation techniques: Breath control helps quell errant stress response
- A different approach to breathwork
Video
- Dr Weil – why breathwork is important
- The correct way to breathe in
- Physical therapy breathwork for COPD is healthy for all
- Breathing for pain relief
- Breathwork for sleep and stress 4-7-8
Longer, but very helpful presentations:
- BREATHE. | Joe DiStefano
- How to breathe | Belisa Vranich | TEDxManhattanBeach
- How the Buteyko Breathing Method Can Improve Your Health and Fitness
- How to Breathe Less to Do More with Patrick McKeown, King of Oxygen
Online resources for kid
- Breath meditation for kids
- Breathing for kids
- Breathing butterfly
- Parents teachers and kids together
- Buteyko Method for kids
Sample studies and research
- Yogic breathing when compared to attention control reduces the levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers in saliva: a pilot randomized controlled trial
- The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human
- Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation
- Mindfulness meditation boosts the immune system