Exhalation and Diaphragm Tension
Take a deep breath and then breathe out. Pay attention to how the breath is released in a steady stream of air upon exhalation. This slight resistance in exhalation is due to the constant tension in the muscle just below the lungs and trachea, known as the diaphragm. The tension in the diaphragm is partially retained during an exhalation of breath, which slows down the release of air from your lungs. (This is important to musicians who play wind instruments like the flute or clarinet. If the breath were released rapidly, then a musician could not hold a note on a wind instrument.) Abdominal pressure on the diaphragm causes a gradual release of muscle tension.
How Air Filtration Works in the Body
The first step in air filtration in the body is breathing. Breathing incorporates the work of the diaphragm to expand the stomach upon each inhalation. The diaphragm literally pulls at the bottom of the lungs, resulting in a pressure differential between the air surrounding your body and the air inside of the lungs. Air is sucked in through the mouth and nose and is naturally filtered by the body's heat before entering the windpipe. From the windpipe, air travels through a series of bronchial tubes, which spread out inside of the lungs. Alveoli are the tips of the bronchial tubes, which are populated with porous membranes. Oxygen leaves these membranes and mixes into the blood. Upon exhalation, the alveoli absorb carbon dioxide from the lungs and then carry it back up the bronchial tubes. Carbon dioxide (and other impurities) are moved up the windpipe and expelled through the nose (and sometimes the mouth) in the form of mucus. Over 30 thousand pints of your body's blood are cleaned by this process each day.
How the Diaphragm Works in Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is the healthiest kind of breathing because it exercises the entire lung. (Physical exercise only uses two-thirds of the top portion of the lungs, and shallow breathing leaves the lungs filled with air contaminants and carbon dioxide.) In deep breathing, the diaphragm pushes the stomach out upon inhalation (resembling a beer belly). To breath a full deep breath, push out your belly and allow air to flow in slowly through your nose (not your mouth, as this will allow more contaminants to enter). After your belly has expanded comfortably, begin expanding your chest. Draw in more air into the chamber of your throat. Let the air out of your mouth or nose. Allow the chest to deflate first, and then push your stomach in to clear the air contaminants out of your lungs. Do this technique for three breaths. Remember that the diaphragm is what is really doing the work for deep breathing. When you expand your stomach, it is the diaphragm doing the work. Likewise, when you pull your stomach in, the diaphragm exerts pressure below the lungs to force contaminants out of your body.
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