Breathing in Budo

The importance of breathing in Budo is often mentioned in dojo and of course we have been breathing since the day we were born so we have had plenty of practise! But very rarely is an explanation given of how it should be performed in the context of Budo. I suspect it’s mention is lip-service by teachers who generally are ignorant of the mechanics of Budo breathing. Again, Zen psychophysical training appears to be the origin of ‘correct breathing’ in Budo and the two methods are known as ‘fukushiki kankyo’, everyday ‘belly breathing’ and ‘tanden soku’ a more complex method employed in seated Zen meditation. A quick  online search for these terms with provide you with an explanation of how to perform them but for a superbly lucid account I would suggest getting hold of a copy of ‘Hidden Zen’ by Meido Moore. Tanden soku is ultimately the method that we as Budoka should be engaging performing during our practise.

 

Breathing has long been known to influence higher-order behavior and thinking. Slow, controlled breathing is used by practitioners of all forms of meditation to promote mental calming and contemplative states, and it is used clinically to suppress excessive arousal and stress such as certain types of panic attacks. Respiration is unique in that it may be controlled automatically (your breathing as you sit reading this), autonomically (decreasing pH of one’s blood will produce an unconscious increase in respiratory rate and depth to blow off acidic CO₂) or voluntarily (you can hold your breath, change it's rate and depth). The centres of control of respiratory effort are located deep in the brainstem, a phylogenetically ancient area of the brain, sometimes referred to as the reptilian brain.

 

 

 The pre-Bötzinger complex (blue-green) located in the ventral respiratory group in the brainstem 

The Pre-Bötzinger complex is a cluster of interneurones (‘connecting neurones’) in the ventral respiratory group of the medulla. It is essential in the production of respiratory rhythm in all mammals and is referred to as the ‘Primary Breathing Rhythm Generator’. It also regulates the balance between calm and arousal behaviour states because of it’s connections to the noradrenergic (norepinephrine for any US readers) centre, (locus coeruleus) of the brain. The locus coeruleus release noradrenaline (a slightly different chemical structure to adrenaline but with very similar properties) into many areas of the brain causing arousal and if overdone, panic and anxiety.  In a careful series of experiments, destruction of a subset of neurones in the pre-Bötzinger complex left respiratory effort entirely intact but increased calm behaviours and decreased the amount of time spent in arousal behaviours! Thus voluntarily slowing and deepening ones breathing, will inhibit the excitatory effects of the pre-Bötzinger complex bring about calm.

 

 

 

 

Flow diagram showing the pathways that lead to excitation and relaxation by altering respiratory effort. On the right, a stressor stimulates the pre-Bözinger complex which produces irregular, rapid and shallow breathing whilst simultaneously stimulating the locus coeruleus which releases noradrenaline readying the person for 'fight-or-flight'. On the left side, it can be seen that slowing and deepening breathing inhibits the pre-Bötzinger complex which decreases the activity of the locus coeruleus, decreasing the release of noradrenaline and decreasing the activation of brain areas involved in fight-or-flight. The person is thus calm and relaxed.

 

 

 

Voluntarily slowing and deepening breathing, inhibits the pre-Bötzinger complex and produces relaxation and calm. 

Something to keep in mind the next time you're taking a grading!