We can all agree that breathing is essential and one of the most important life-sustaining functions, if not the most important. We can go without eating, drinking and sleeping for days and only minutes without breathing. Besides the apparent gas exchange function, breathing also regulates our pH and can quickly influence our autonomic nervous system. Thus, knowing how to breathe well can positively affect our health and well-being, decrease stress and increase our mental and physical performance. When done well, altering our natural breathing pattern, which is what we do when practising pranayama or other breathwork techniques, can be very beneficial. However, altering our breathing patterns can be detrimental if the technique is not for us, is too advanced, or is based on misconceptions and pseudoscience.
Unfortunately, many people that teach various breath-altering techniques such as pranayama or yogic pranayama don't understand the physiology of breathing and are not taking an individual approach which, in this case, is crucial. That is why there are so many misconceptions about breathing everywhere, and amateurish posts on social media have only perpetuated them. We live in an era of easy access to information. However, that doesn't mean all the information we find is correct or accurate, and we must be wise when choosing what information to believe and from which sources.
Deliberate hyperventilation
One of the most common misconceptions about altering our natural breathing pattern is related to hyperventilation or deliberate overbreathing. If you have never studied the physiology of breathing, it might seem logical that breathing more will increase oxygen in our bodies. However, that is not the case. Even though it might sound counterintuitive, it actually does the opposite. Unless you suffer from chronic lung disease or sleep apnea, your blood is already highly saturated with oxygen (95%-100%) when you breathe normally and optimally. Overbreathing will not increase that percentage. However, exhaling too much carbon dioxide (CO2) can lock the oxygen in haemoglobin (a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen), not releasing it into the brain and other tissue, causing symptoms such as lightheadedness, dizziness, weakness, feeling as if you can't catch your breath, increased heart rate, muscle spasms etc. I am sure you agree none of these symptoms have health benefits. Furthermore, deliberate hyperventilation can trigger anxiety, panic and other mental health disorders.
So, why does anyone practice or teach hyperventilation? One reason is the misconception of increased oxygen. For example, a popular surf-coaching IG account that I follow(ed) recently posted a video in which a pro surfer is practising a hyperventilating technique before he goes into the water. The captions read this can "hyper oxygenate your blood" and enhance performance. Besides this statement being wrong, deliberate hyperventilation can be dangerous, especially if going in the water afterwards. And even though some people who know what they are talking about tried to point out this fact in the comments section, after which I had hoped the surf coach would take it off or at least educate and correct himself, it's still out there, going strong, creating visibility (1,2 million views and almost 81k likes at the time of writing).
What about Yogic Pranayama?
Translated from Sanskrit, pranayama means to 'extend the vital force'. Yogic sages who lived in a time when people did not understand human anatomy and physiology seemed to have understood that breathing well means breathing less and not more. Yes, a few yogic breathing techniques, such as Kapalabhati and Bhastrika, involve hyperventilation. Still, traditionally they are taught as kriyas which prepare for pranayama (or yogic breathing techniques). I always find it funny that Kabalabhati, often translated as skull-shining breath, possibly got its name from the symptoms hyperventilation causes which are lightheadedness and dizziness. To unpack the terms, Kapal means 'skull', and bhati can mean 'light'. Nothing mystical is happening there, only good old hypoxia or a state in which oxygen is not available in sufficient amounts in the tissues (including the brain), causing an altered state of consciousness. For these reasons, I haven't practised or taught Kapalabhati or Bhastrika for many years. If a technique might cause harm, I will avoid it regardless of the tradition.
One of the ideas yogis had when it comes to these kriyas was to prepare the respiratory musculature and system to extend the breath, not shorten it. In part, they were not completely wrong; techniques involving a forced exhale might strengthen the respiratory musculature. However, today we know there are better ways to do this, which have all the benefits without counterindications. Old yogic sages were ingenious in so many ways, but that does not mean they were always right.
In summary, there are many breathwork involving deliberate hyperventilation. Unfortunately, many of those techniques are based on faulty theories which arose from misconceptions and a general lack of understanding and knowledge of the science behind breathing. And while when done right, various breathing techniques (mostly involving breathing less and not more) can be beneficial, altering your breathing pattern in any way can disrupt homeostasis. Ensure you know what you are doing before practising or teaching it. Unless suffering with already mentioned conditions most people tend to overbreathe. In this case, the theraputic protocole would be to breathe less, not more. Meaning, slower, fuller breaths.
