How to change your autoimmune physiology using breath
Autoimmunity and breath
When I work with autoimmune clients, I usually find that they have a multitude of various imbalances within their physiological systems. This can be disheartening for clients, because they assume that each of these issues will need to be addressed individually.
However, this is not the case. What is wonderful and fascinating about autoimmunity (and health in general), is that beneath these seemingly disparate symptoms and imbalances lies a web of connections. This means that working on a particular part of this complex web automatically also resolves or improves other areas within the web.
Breathing is a good example of an intervention that has the ability to positively impact numerous imbalances. There is good evidence to show that intentional breathing practices can improve cortisol levels, sIgA secretion, sleep, blood sugar balance, toxic load, and digestive secretions. As you may be aware, problems in these areas are common drivers of autoimmunity.
(If you want to know more about how these areas impact autoimmune health, here are links to some articles: cortisol, sIgA, blood sugar balance and diet and blood sugar balance and lifestyle.)
Breathing can alter our state in various ways, depending on the specific practice. In autoimmunity, we usually employ practices that promote the parasympathetic state (‘rest and digest’). This is the state that those of us with autoimmune conditions often need to spend more time in.
The ‘rest and digest’ parasympathetic state promotes certain functions over others. In particular it prioritises immune and digestive function. We often see in autoimmunity that these functions have been neglected by the body as it has been spending more time in sympathetic mode (‘fight or flight’), which happens when we feel unsafe or threatened.
In ‘rest and digest’ parasympathetic state, cortisol is reduced, which makes it easier for us to our balance blood sugar levels, as well as allowing sIgA levels to increase, which protect our guts from pathogens and food intolerances. Being in parasympathetic state increases the secretion of digestive juices, which have all sorts of positive impacts, such as helping us to absorb more nutrients from our food, lowering the risk of food intolerances, and increasing short chain fatty acids that feed our beneficial bacteria, which go on to reduce inflammation. Since everything is connected, these benefits bring a cascade of further benefits, such as improved sleep, lower toxins and increased energy levels.
Ultimately, changing our breath to promote the parasympathetic state can positively affect all of these different areas and the cumulative impact over time is to significantly reduce inflammation in the body. As the research shows, when we reduce inflammation, our autoimmune conditions improve.
Breathing practices for autoimmunity
As with most nutrition and lifestyle interventions, consistency is key. It is hard to form a new habit, but the body likes routine, so once you have established a regular breathing practice, it should feel fairly easy to stick to it.
Here are a couple of examples of breathing practices that promote the ‘rest and digest’ state.
Always practice these in a position that allows your spine to be nice and straight.
Bumble Bee (Bhramari Pranayama)
The humming involved in this breath helps to improve vagal tone. The vagus nerve runs all the way down our bodies and can influence both our parasympathetic nervous system and our connective tissue.
Practice: Start by sitting in a position which allows you to have a straight spine. Take a moment to observe how you are feeling. Soften your breath and soften through your whole body. Make sure you are not holding tension in your hands, shoulders, stomach, eyes or toes. Tuck your chin down slightly.
Inhale through your nose. Exhale through your nose (keep your mouth shut) and simultaneously hum. You should feel this humming in your vocal chords in the back of your throat. Experiment with pitch and see what feels nice. Just try to enjoy the vibrations.
Repeat this eleven times in total. You can use your fingers to count, so that you don’t have to focus too hard on counting.
Left Nostril Breathing (Chandra Bhedana)
The left nostril is known as ida nadi, which means ‘comfort channel’ in Sanskrit. When we breathe solely into the left nostril, this stimulates the parasympathetic nervous function and so helps our bodies to focus on these key immune and digestive functions that may have been neglected. It also helps us feel calm, relaxed and compassionate.
Practice: Close your eyes and bring your awareness to your breath. Take a big cleansing breath in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Take your left thumb and use it to close off the bottom of your right nostril.
Breathe in through your left nostril. Remove your thumb and breathe out through both nostrils. Your out-breath should be slightly longer than your in-breath.
Repeat this 26 times in total.
See what you notice afterwards, such as tingling (increased circulation) or improved clarity of mind. It can also work well before bed to promote good sleep.
You could try an experiment. You could commit to doing a breath work practice each morning for a week and take some time to consider at the end of the week whether you think it has been of any benefit for you. In addition to improved digestive and immune function, you may notice benefits such as being less reactive, making better decisions, and making choices that are kinder towards yourself.
Resources
It can often be easier to be guided through breath work by an expert. I find Angie Tiwari’s website Tiwari Yoga helpful for this. She is a breath work expert and has lots of breathing practice videos which work really well.
Dr Chatterjee has covered the topic of breathing in several of his ‘Feel Better, Live More’ podcasts. Here are a couple of links:
Episode 124: Why Changing the Way You Breathe Will Transform Your Body and Mind with James Nestor
Episode 99: How Breathing Through Your Nose will Change Your Life with Patrick McKeown