We take breathing for granted, but did you know that we take up to 20,000 breaths daily? None of this would be possible without the respiratory system and a fully functioning one. There are two openings or passageways for the air to filter; the nose and mouth mean you breathe in and out. The respiratory system connects the pathways with the throat and lungs to maximise your breathing capacity and fill your body with clean air.
The Respiratory System: The Pathway To Fresh Air
The Respiratory System is designed to keep you alive and live without restrictions. Doesn’t finding it hard to breathe seem a little scary? The panic you feel is a trigger that reminds you that you can’t live without it. So, how can you help this system work? How can you avoid that feeling of helplessness when, for a moment, your life flashes before you?
This life-saving system comprises organs and tubes that exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. The diaphragm pulls air inside through the nose and mouth, which then makes its way to the lungs through various tubes. You might think that the diaphragm is only used when you’re singing. You would be correct, but its primary function is to welcome the air your body needs to sing harmoniously.
Environment and personal choices reflect a healthy respiratory system and the opposite. The air around us seems out of our control, but our awareness about our environment has grown as we are more and more educated about the implications of abusing it. Car emissions have been cut, products made that are paraben-free have entered the market, and hard-hitting advertisements on anti-smoking have caused a stir with their scare tactics. We only put in what we breathe out a circle of life that comes back to you and every living organism on this planet.
Respiratory disorders: organs and tissue conditions
Asthma
Asthma is a condition that can be easily managed. When air doesn’t flow through the airways as it should, the muscles around the tube walls tighten, causing an Asthma attack. The cause of Asthma is not clear, and many factors, such as environment and family history, are believed to contribute to this illness. The most common symptoms include coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
Sinusitis
Viral infections and allergies generally cause sinusitis. You will find sinuses in your cheekbones and nose, and you will find them between the bridges of your eyes, too! Anyone who has suffered from sinusitis knows how painful and debilitating it can be. A cold and mucus build-up can cause infections, but the environment plays a big part. There are things in the air you may not be able to see, but your sinuses can feel; dust mites, air pollution, and household sprays must be considered when determining the root cause.
Cystic Fibrosis
Difficulty in breathing is the main symptom of this disorder. Cystic Fibrosis is usually diagnosed during infancy with poor growth, weight and height gain. This is not an illness that can be managed easily as it is a chronic condition that affects nutrition and worsens with respiratory infections. Strengthening the lungs is the best way of living with and dealing with this illness with a daily exercise regime that can limit its debilitating effects. Medical intervention is inevitable and necessary, but much can be done in the way of self-awareness and well-being to counteract the symptoms.
Common cold
The one thing we all want to avoid each winter but somehow can’t seem to escape its clutches! Adults can have between two and four colds a year, and children can have more colds simply because their immune system has not yet developed. A cold is a mild viral infection passed through the air around us…this is why you should put your hand over your mouth and nose when you sneeze. A cold usually lasts two weeks, and your surroundings will have much to do with why you caught one. Travelling on public transport, being around children and touching a door handle that someone with this bug has already touched are all ways of getting the dreaded lurgies!
Symptoms of respiratory disorder
- Is coughing becoming a habit? If it is frequent without a hint of a cold, get checked out.
- Short of breath when you exercise? Be honest; how much do you smoke?
- Are you getting enough fresh air? Do you have back pain? If you work in the city, when was the last time you walked in a forest or on a beach?
- Do you think about how you breathe? Maybe it’s time you started. Breathing exercises are no effort.
Respiratory disorder how to take action
If your breathing appears to be laboured, don’t ignore it. Why would you want to take the one thing that keeps you alive and kicking for granted? Admittedly, some things are out of your immediate control, but if you gently push them in another direction, their effects can change dramatically, meaning your life changes, too. Look into every possibility; there are many, both conventional and healing. Your life’s blood is the air you breathe, and as with all vital components within the body, Massaggi believes everything needs to flow. To ignore is to put up a wall that will be hard to break down…you may crumble.
Air is the primary source of life source?
Breathe life into those lungs and make things happen! Look at your surroundings as if for the first time and make changes to your environment that will be positive for you. Exercise, protect yourself from harmful emissions, and be aware of how you breathe. Is it laboured? Are you short of breath when doing the most inactive jobs? Ask yourself the questions you need to hear. Only you and you and your breath can do that. Filter the information; filter the air you breathe.
Okay, deep breath…Do you know that relaxation massage treatments and breathing exercise is an effective way to calm body & mind?
Regular relaxation massage is essential to physical and mental well-being, yet stress often prevents us from entering a naturally relaxed state. One of the most effective ways of counteracting this is using breathing exercises to ease tension and promote calmness. Many ancient traditions, such as yoga and meditation, use special breathing techniques to alter mental states. Western medicine also increasingly recognises how different breathing patterns are connected with general health. For example, anxious people are known to breathe more rapidly than others, using only the upper part of the chest and talking with the lungs full of air, while depressed people sigh more and tend to speak more after exhalation.
Breathing is a unique way of directly influencing the unconscious process of the body since, of all the functions directed by the autonomic – or involuntary – nervous system, it is the easiest to control by will. Some yogis and experienced meditators are said to be able to lower their heart rate and blood pressure voluntarily, but few of us realise we have such control over our bodies. Everyone, however, can alter their breathing patterns and, through them, another part of the nervous system, giving them control over their general level of bodily relaxation or tension.
The fundamental purpose of breathing is to provide the lungs with a constant supply of air from which essential oxygen can be absorbed into the blood and circulated to all body tissue. Breathing out empties the lungs for the next breath and allows the body to expel waste gases such as carbon dioxide. The respiratory rate changes naturally at different times of the day and in other situations, such as walking, sitting, or running for a bus, to accommodate changes in oxygen intake and carbon dioxide expulsion. These correspond to a different level of relaxation and tension and are reflected in two basic types of breathing: chest and diaphragmatic (or abdominal) breathing.
