Correct exhalation? All the way out until you can't go further?

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May 29, 2013
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I tried to research breathing exercises but couldn't find anything that relates to this specifically.

Should you keep exhaling until your lungs are completely empty? I find I naturally stop at a certain point, but could continue to exhale for another 2 seconds if I consciously push it a little. However, I find that if I breathe like this for 10 seconds or so, from min to max, I get light headed.

Is it healthy or beneficial to do this? Have I just got a weak diaphragm? Or is this the body's way of holding on to a little carbon dioxide?

Hope that question makes sense!
 

Beastmode

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Feb 7, 2017
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1,258
I tried to research breathing exercises but couldn't find anything that relates to this specifically.

Should you keep exhaling until your lungs are completely empty? I find I naturally stop at a certain point, but could continue to exhale for another 2 seconds if I consciously push it a little. However, I find that if I breathe like this for 10 seconds or so, from min to max, I get light headed.

Is it healthy or beneficial to do this? Have I just got a weak diaphragm? Or is this the body's way of holding on to a little carbon dioxide?

Hope that question makes sense!
An ability to do so isn't a bad quality. Doing it all the time isn't a great idea I say due to losing too much Carbon Dioxide.

As an experiment, try doing a full squat (heels down) and holding onto something in front if needed. See what happens when you don't breathe all the way out vs breathing all the way out. Getting the spine to full flex, relative to it's capacity in a squat position, mimics what most can do as kids and slowly lose it. I think part of this is the inability to use their diaphragm fully. In this squatted position with the spine flexed, you can get your posterior lungs to really open as you realize how much we don't expand them when breathing.

At 43, I do this position daily as an exercise to see how well I can get the air out and in.

Hope that makes sense.

p.s- Also, a game changer for getting bowel movements, etc flowing.
 
OP
T
Joined
May 29, 2013
Messages
351
An ability to do so isn't a bad quality. Doing it all the time isn't a great idea I say due to losing too much Carbon Dioxide.

As an experiment, try doing a full squat (heels down) and holding onto something in front if needed. See what happens when you don't breathe all the way out vs breathing all the way out. Getting the spine to full flex, relative to it's capacity in a squat position, mimics what most can do as kids and slowly lose it. I think part of this is the inability to use their diaphragm fully. In this squatted position with the spine flexed, you can get your posterior lungs to really open as you realize how much we don't expand them when breathing.

At 43, I do this position daily as an exercise to see how well I can get the air out and in.

Hope that makes sense.

p.s- Also, a game changer for getting bowel movements, etc flowing.
Thanks, this is really interesting. Is this something you've discovered yourself or can you recommend any reading on the subject?

Lately, I've been very interested in how the mechanics of the body influence it's processes, like posture, movement and lymph flow, toilet sitting/squatting and bowel clearance, yawning and compression of cartoid body etc.
 

Beastmode

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Joined
Feb 7, 2017
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Thanks, this is really interesting. Is this something you've discovered yourself or can you recommend any reading on the subject?

Lately, I've been very interested in how the mechanics of the body influence it's processes, like posture, movement and lymph flow, toilet sitting/squatting and bowel clearance, yawning and compression of cartoid body etc.
Originally, I noticed a lot of asian people (old ones as well) could hang out in this full flexed position very comfortably. They were also very vibrant and youthful.

When I studied biomechanics in college, I started to look at what the body was able to do and not to get in this position. Posture is often thought and driven by way too much "extension" driven idea (i.e- shoulders back, stand up straight, etc) which never made sense as they're consciously driven and not what the body is doing naturally (i.e- like a child who has great posture without any "cues".)

It's pretty integrated in our life as our toddler uses a very low potty to where her knees are at or above her belly button level when using it so she's in that fully flexed position for optimal bowel release and breathing in that position.
 

Phosphor

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Jan 30, 2021
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That "exhale ALL the way out" is supposed to stimulate the vagus nerve in a beneficial way. However, it isn't "normal breathing." I don't see that it is harmful, but you're not going to breathe that way unless you're thinking about it. Always....I look at what animals and babies do, which is very likely the natural way to do it. They don't do that.
 

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