🌿 Folk Prescriptions

"Breathing" is the most natural act
Claiming you don’t know how to breathe
Will surely earn you countless tomatoes and bricks
But here’s health survey data to prove it:
Over half of people have unhealthy breathing habits
And upon closer thought, you’ll realize
Yoga, qigong, tai chi—these wellness practices
All begin with learning how to breathe
Recently, American health experts conducted a survey revealing that in both developed and developing nations, at least half of urban populations (mostly sedentary office workers) have unhealthy breathing patterns. Typical issues include shallow, brief breaths—fresh air hasn’t even reached the alveoli in the lower lungs before being exhaled.
This problem is especially pronounced in winter, as people spend long periods in poorly ventilated indoor spaces, leading to insufficient oxygen intake. Blood becomes more alkaline, impairing hemoglobin’s ability to release enough oxygen to the brain, heart, and other organs, causing dizziness, blurred vision, and fatigue. These symptoms further induce shallower breathing, creating a vicious cycle.
Some may find it hard to believe, but infants are the ultimate models of healthy breathing. Their immature physiology means breathing primarily relies on diaphragm movement, causing full-body expansion and contraction—not just chest movement—which is the most natural and healthy breathing pattern. After infancy, as our bodies mature, we forget how to breathe properly and lose the ability to gain health through breathing. To reclaim breathing energy and return to optimal bodily comfort, let’s assess whether you’re breathing healthily…
Are You Breathing Healthily?
Use the following method to check your breathing pattern:
Rest quietly, place one hand lightly on your chest, the other on your abdomen.
• Healthy breathing: During inhalation, both chest and abdomen rise; during exhalation, they fall. The hand on the abdomen moves noticeably more than the one on the chest. Normal breathing rate is 12–18 breaths per minute.
• If the chest and abdomen contract during inhalation and bulge during exhalation, the breathing is incorrect.
• If the chest-hand moves more than the abdominal-hand, or the abdominal-hand remains nearly still, the breathing is shallow and unhealthy.
Winter Health Breathing Prescription
Follow these steps to cultivate healthy breathing habits this winter, maximizing the power of every inhale and exhale.
Daily Practice: Sit upright, focus attention; gently place one hand on your abdomen; inhale slowly through the nose, filling the abdomen first, feeling your hand pushed outward; then slowly fill the upper chest—this usually takes 5 seconds; hold your breath for over 5 seconds; now exhale slowly through the nose, first feeling abdominal muscles relax, then chest—this also takes about 5 seconds; rest 1–2 seconds, then repeat.
When Emotionally Agitated: Emotional excitement often triggers shallow, short breaths. Immediately cover your nose with both hands or use a disposable cup to breathe deeply several times, inhaling some of your own exhaled carbon dioxide to raise blood CO₂ levels and balance alkalinity; then resume the “Daily Practice.”
When Insomniac: Healthy breathing helps correct imbalanced sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, relieving insomnia caused by autonomic nervous system dysfunction.
TIPS:
Special Breathing Reminder During Exercise: Proper breathing during exercise not only enhances fitness results but also prevents potential injuries. Professional trainers specifically remind us to pay attention to three points:
• Control Breathing Rate
Exercise medicine experts recommend keeping breathing rate below 30 breaths per minute for general exercise. Faster rates worsen oxygen deficiency, accumulate more oxygen debt, significantly reduce workout effectiveness, and may cause chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and inability to continue exercising.
• Reduce Airway Resistance
During exercise, using both nose and mouth or switching to mouth-only breathing reduces airway resistance, increases oxygen intake, and delays fatigue.
However, note: when exercising outdoors in winter, avoid opening your mouth too wide to ensure inhaled air is warmed by the mouth before passing through the throat into the lungs.
• Coordinate Breathing with Movement Techniques
Practical evidence shows that coordinating breathing with specific movement techniques prevents possible injuries. Examples include:
Tennis — Deep exhalation during swing;
Strength Training — Deep exhalation during pushing, pulling, lifting, or kicking;
Crunches — Inhale when lying down, exhale when sitting up;
Push-ups — Inhale when lowering, exhale when pushing up;
Slow Running — Inhale for 2–4 steps, exhale for 2–4 steps;
Tai Chi — Inhale during upward, outward, or backward arm movements; exhale during downward, inward, or forward movements.