Yogic Breathing - A Pathogenic Filter and Natural Ventilator

Could it be that yoga practitioners have unique protection against the Coronavirus?

Although many people who are infected with coronavirus remain symptom free, in those who display severe symptoms, it mainly attacks the lungs leading to pneumonia, a shortness of breath and potentially to the need for an artificial ventilator to aid breathing.

Covid-19 is part of the SARS family of viruses - SARS - Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - a virus that attacks the breathing system.

The virus has been shown to primarily affect those with compromised immune systems and especially those with poor lung health, which is often severely weakened in our modern society due to air pollution, lack of exercise and bad habits. Poor breathing tendencies also stem from anxiety, depression, poor work conditions etc. - thus further contributing to bad respiratory health and vulnerability to disease.

Natural Protection - A Pathogenic Filter?

According to yoga and Ayurveda, breathing should always be done through the nose. It is said that the nose should be used for breathing and the mouth for eating and speaking - it is unhealthy to breathe through the mouth for various reasons.

There are many benefits to breathing through the nose, rather than the mouth. The primary benefit may be to protect the organism from infection. When breathing through the nose, the air is filtered of hostile particles and bacteria * - this is one of the physical advantages, a second advantage is to adjust the humidity and warmth of the air before it enters the lungs.

While there has been some evidence of the Covid-19 virus affecting the upper respiratory tract, it seems its main attack is initially on the throat and lungs (lower respiratory tract). It is unclear whether Covid-19 would directly infect the upper tract by breathing through the nose. ** There has been so much conflicting conjecture. However, since the lungs are the primary target, it would seem logical that nose breathing would at least give some physical protection, while mouth breathing would draw the virus more directly to the throat and lungs. Even if nose breathing is no protection from Coronavirus, it does filter other harmful particles that contribute to poor lung health and the worsening of SARS symptoms.

Another benefit of breathing through the nose is the inhalation of Nitric Oxide (NO) that is produced in the nasal cavity. Amongst many other essential biological functions, nitric oxide is a vasodilator - ie it dilates blood vessels and facilitates greater blood flow, lowers blood pressure and improves respiratory function.

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/nitric_oxide

NO is used therapeutically for the treatment of heart problems, high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. "The endothelium (inner lining) of blood vessels uses nitric oxide to signal the surrounding smooth muscle to relax, thus resulting in vasodilation and increasing blood flow."
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_oxide

Could it be that mouth breathing starves the system of this essential gas required for many processes in the body and contributes to heart disease, as suggested by Ayurvedic medicine?

Breathing through the nose also has the psychological effect of calming the mind. The volume of air flow is reduced when breathing through the nose - the effect of this is to lengthen the duration of the inhalation and exhalation - ie it slows the breath down. Breathing and heart rate are related - breathing slowly reduces heart rate and at the same time diminishes anxiety, stress, distraction and other unwanted mental pressures.

"Mouth Breather - noun, informal - a stupid person" - Cambridge English Dictionary

Natural Ventilator

The lung capacity of an adult human is approximately 5-6 liters, but in general, most people only inhale and exhale around 500 ml (tidal volume) when at rest - ie, only 1/10 of the lung volume is breathed in and out, while even after a strong full exhale, there is always about 1 liter of air remaining in the lungs.

"Our lung capacity naturally declines with age, starting at age 30. By the age of 50, our lung capacity may be reduced by as much as 50 percent. This means that the older you get, the harder it is for your lungs to breathe in and hold air. When we breathe in less oxygen, our body and cells also receive less oxygen, forcing our heart to work harder to pump oxygen throughout the body. The heart working overtime long-term can lead to heart failure. Earlier symptoms of reduced lung capacity include shortness of breath, decreased stamina and reduced endurance and frequent respiratory infections... lung capacity is a long-term predictor of respiratory mortality, and should be used as a tool for general health assessment."

https://lunginstitute.com/blog/lung-capacity-what-does-it-mean/

Yoga practitioners can do a great deal to reverse this process. Yoga practice is all about breathing, about deepening, strengthening the breath and improving lung health. Yoga practice is targeted at maximizing the utilization of full and deep respiration and increasing the lung capacity.

Breath and heart rate are linked together. If you slow down the breathing, you also slow down the heart rate. The heart is "nestled" between the lungs. As you inhale the heart is physically "massaged". Rapid breathing may act as a stimulant to rapid heart rate both from direct mechanical pressure and from the rapid transmission of blood flow from the lungs. Slow breathing has also been found to stimulate a parasympathetic response that lowers blood pressure and reduces heart rate.

Yogic breathing (pranayama) focusses on the exhalation: the only specific pranayama suggested by Patanajli to control the mind is exhaling and holding the breath. It has been established experimentally that the heart beat slows on exhalation - yogic breath focusses on longer exhalations - eventually exhale is twice as long as inhale (the classic breath ratio for inhale retentions is 1:4:2 - for inhale:retention:exhale).

According to yoga, all actions within the body are initiated by the breath. While the Western perspective regards the heart as the engine that drives all functions in the body, the Eastern perspective is that the breath is primary and all other functions follow it. Breath and heart rate are intimately connected - in a ratio of roughly 1:4 - heart rate is reduced as the breathing slows down. Yogis who are able to stop their heartbeat do so by slowing down and stopping their breath.

Breathing is the most essential human act. Life starts with the first inhale and ends with the last exhale - in between, the breathing works incessantly.

Yogis measure a person's lifespan by a finite number of breaths - the faster you breathe, the shorter life will be and the slower you breathe, the longer life will last. If you restrain (hold) the breath, life-span can be extended still further.

Breath and Mind - Reducing Anxiety and Cultivating Equanimity

“Mind and breath are linked together. Like milk and water, once mixed, they cannot be separated. When the mind moves, the breath is unsteady, when the breath is unsteady the mind is agitated. When the breath is under control, the mind can be concentrated.” - Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Controlling the breath is the most fundamental tool in yoga practice - it is the central theme in asana, pranayama and meditation. Most of the time breathing is unconscious, but it is the one autonomic function that can be deliberately adjusted or regulated and controlled. Through this control of breathing one can influence and modulate the activities of the mind.

One of the primary side affects of the Coronavirus is the spread of universal anxiety. While yoga practice radically improves lung health, it also addresses the mental side of disease. Mind and body are intimately connected. Anxiety directly and indirectly exacerbates the morbidity of disease - especially, as in this case, morbidity leads to and results from a difficulty in respiration.

Breathing normally occurs as an unconscious reflection or mirror of our mental states - changing according to what is being experienced psychologically - but in yoga practice the aim is to regulate the breath with the conscious intention of influencing metal states. Adjusting the way you breathe affects emotion.

Breathing slowly through the nose calms the mind. It is an effective way to instill tranquility, peace and calmness in the face of anxiety, stress and confusion. It can alleviate depressive feelings and energize lethargy or sleepiness. It can release tension, relax digestion and aid concentration.

This conscious control of the breath is a valuable tool that can be employed in any challenging practical situation - not just during yoga practice. This is easy to observe: if you find yourself in a stressful situation, instead of venting or reacting, just keep your mouth shut and breathe evenly through the nose and observe the calming effect on your mind. The calming effect of conscious breathing can be increased by lengthening the exhale and holding the breath for a short time after exhaling.

Through deliberately changing the way one breathes, one modifies the way one feels and experiences on the physical, emotional and mental level. Moderating the breath has a fundamental impact on the biological functions of the body, sensations, actions of the nervous system, heart rate, blood pressure... in short, changing the breath has a comprehensive impact on the whole organism.

Conscious calibration of breathing is the central method utilized in yoga for relaxing the body and stabilizing the mind.

Hatha Yoga - Asana and Pranayama for Vibrant Health and Mental Calm

In asana practice, the aim is to make the breath slow and even, smooth and consistent. Modulating the breath in this way facilitates vinyasa - the movement into and out of each asana. Through softening, lengthening and smoothing the breath, the mind relaxes and the muscles release tension allowing for a deepening of posture.

Asana practice provides vibrant good health and helps the body feel relaxed and comfortable. Once one has the capacity to sit comfortably, the next stage of yoga is pranayama.

Pranayama means to slow down, control and hold the breath. There are many pranayamas, but two basic types - holding the breath after inhaling or holding the breath after exhaling. Pranayama is the gateway to meditation and the introversion, stilling and controlling of the mind.

The breath moves predominantly through either the left or the right nostril at any one time - this is an easy to observe cycle - the dominance moves from one side to the other approximately every 40 minutes.

Breathing through the right nostril is associated with extraverted activity and the sympathetic nervous system, while the breath moving through the left nostril is associated with internal processes of the body (such as digestion) and the functions of the parasympathetic nervous system. The purpose of yoga practice is to make the breath move evenly through both nostrils - this is known as shushumna breathing and is associated with calmness and the ability to introvert the mind and concentrate.

This is the meaning of hatha yoga - ha refers to the breath moving through the right nostril - it is associated with heat, the sun, male, extraverted energy, while tha refers to the breath moving through the left nostril - it is cool, lunar, feminine and introverted. Hatha yoga is the practice that makes the breath move evenly through both nostrils, creating balance and facilitating concentration, meditation and samadhi.

Pranayama increases the lung capacity and radically improves lung health through gradually slowing down and holding the breath for longer and longer periods of time. Starting with breath holding of just 10 seconds or less, breath retentions are gradually increased to 30, 40 seconds and even more.

Pranayama has many benefits, physical and mental, and may be, if not a complete protection against Covid-19, at least a good way to improve lung health and mental calmness.

Notes:

* "The nasal cavity... is entirely lined by the nasal mucosa... which forms the physical barriers of the body’s immune system. These barriers provide mechanical protection from the invasion of infectious and allergenic pathogens.

... The nasal mucosa plays an important role in mediating immune responses to allergens and infectious particles which enter the nose.... and spreading to other body structures, for example the lungs. The mucus which lines the mucosa... is sticky and traps pathogens when they enter the nasal cavity.

Trapping pathogens enables components of the mucus to attack and destroy the microbes. For example, an antibody called IgA prevents pathogenic microbes from attaching to cells of the mucosa and in doing so prevents them from invading the cells. Lysozyme (an enzyme which breaks down bacteria) is another component of the nasal mucus. It works to degrade pathogenic microbes.

The epithelial or outer cells of the nasal mucosa are constantly being worn away and replaced by new cells from the underlying proliferative (regenerative) layer. This provides additional protection as it ensures that pathogens which do manage to invade the outer cell layer are removed as the epithelial cells are sloughed off."

- Virtual Medical Centre - https://www.myvmc.com/

** “Upper respiratory tract symptoms occur in a minority of SARS patients and SARS‐CoV RNA can be detected in nasopharyngeal aspirates 17. However, tissues of the upper respiratory tract, such as oral and nasal mucosa and nasopharynx, did not show ACE2 expression on the surface of epithelial cells, suggesting that these tissues are not the primary site of entrance for SARS‐CoV.

Upper respiratory tract symptoms occur in a minority of SARS patients and SARS‐CoV RNA can be detected in nasopharyngeal aspirates 17. However, tissues of the upper respiratory tract, such as oral and nasal mucosa and nasopharynx, did not show ACE2 expression on the surface of epithelial cells, suggesting that these tissues are not the primary site of entrance for SARS‐CoV. The upper respiratory tract symptoms cannot be explained by our findings, but patients with SARS might be susceptible to secondary infections. Moreover, SARS‐CoV RNA detected in nasopharyngeal aspirates might be derived from the infected lower respiratory tract.”

- Tissue distribution of ACE2 protein, the functional receptor for SARS coronavirus. A first step in understanding SARS pathogenesis

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/path.1570