This is the second in a series of academic papers that Iâve written as a doctoral candidate at the Pacific College of Health and Science. Iâll be sharing these along with my references throughout the program, peppered between my regular essays. Here is the first paper in the series.Â
A note about subject matter: As with all of the academic work that I share, each one is edited to (I hope) better suit the essay format. For this particular missive, I wanted to expand the discussion concerning breath as a site of racial and ecological injustice. In the process of writing, I realized that this topic deserves a more nuanced and deeper exploration, which I will address in a future essay.
In the midst of the Anthropoceneâwhich includes racial, environmental, and economic injusticeâwe are turning our attention to the study of breathing. Evidence-based research on the physiology of the breath has been on the rise in the last ten years, and in direct alignment with the increased visibility of fatal attacks against Black, Brown, and Queer communities. The breath, along with its constellation of connections, has thus become a site of racial and ecological injustice, leading to a host of physiological consequences that we are now starting to grasp.Â
In a 2020 study on âembreathmentâ, researchers found that ecological mapping of respiratory patterns onto a virtual body directly affected an illusory sense of corporeal awareness. This experimental research unites the technology of virtual reality with human physiology to better understand how the breath interacts with the brain to relay vital information about the body, such as emotional states and cognition (Monti, A. et al, 2020). Additional studies conducted with human participants help to underscore the relationship between breathing and proprioception (Janssens, L. et al, 2015), further illuminating the potential that respiratory muscle conditioningâthrough controlled breathing techniquesâmight have for improving functional movement and the management of chronic pain. As a practitioner of Chinese Medicine and Breathwork, I have found an interesting correlation between breath, pain tolerance, and psychological flexibility in patients that come to my clinic. While I am still in the process of understanding the myriad factors that contribute to this triangulation, research data, and personal cultural knowledge, emphasize the possibility of an ecologically-based correspondence.
Water is where we begin, and is home to a community of organisms that make breathing possible for land-dwelling humans, and more than human relatives. When our planet first formed some 5 billion years ago, there was mostly carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water vapor. Earth began to cool and water vapor condensed to form our oceans, dissolving some atmospheric carbon dioxide. In the wake of this change, waterborne microbes became earthen and would eventually transform into plant life. The movement toward land set the stage for future migratory patterns and had a transformative impact on the atmosphere. As life developed, more carbon dioxide was consumed, creating a way for oxygen-dependent animals to survive (Javier, J., 2022). This is a simple retelling of how we came to breathe, but it points to a larger truth: Air, as a material and conceptual reality, is life itself; living occurs within air, and is made possible through air.
In Chinese Medicine, many of the classic texts address the operational movement of the cosmos as a motion, pattern, or breath. A few examples of this can be found in the annual growth rings in a tree, or the intelligence of a pinecone (Strobilus), which can open and close its scales as a direct response to climatic changes. A warm and dry environment signals the scales to open, to ensure proper absorption of moisture; damp and cold conditions cause the pinecones to close, where the conifer organ optimizes water retention. Put another way, life organizes itself around itself, or as abolitionist and geographer Ruth Wilson Gilmore says, âWhere life is precious, life is preciousâ.Â
The study of âembreathmentâ, or embodied breath, predates Western research and is evidenced in the worldâs oldest medical systems including Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine. In our evolutionary history, humans have developed a variety of techniques, tools, and methodologies to better understand and work with the breath. On considering the notion that the universe operates in patterns, theories related to fractal or microcosmic representations, such as the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) or Wu Xing (Five Elements), provide a practical framework. According to the Five Element Theory, which is central to the practice of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, the Lungs are associated with the skin and control the pores. Similar to a conventional understanding, the pores on the surface of the skin open and close depending on fluctuations in bodily temperature, physical touch, and other sensations. Like our pinecone relatives, humans also oscillate between drawing in the environment at one moment and offering ourselves out to the world with each breath. In this way, the breath is both form and function. As ecologist and philosopher David Abram wrote, âEach thing organizes the space around it, rebuffing or sidling up against other things; each thing calls, gestures, beckons to other beings or battles them for our attention; things expose themselves to the sun or retreat among the shadows, shouting with their loud colors or whispering with their seeds; rocks snag lichen spores from the air and shelter spiders under their flanks; clouds converse with the fathomless blue and metamorphose into one another; they spill rain upon the land, which gathers in rivulets and carves out canyonsâŠâ
Ecosystems rely on the exchange of molecules, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, to function and survive. The same is true for the human body, which we might describe as an ecology. Studies on acupuncture points have found increased nitric oxide activity along acupuncture meridians and acupuncture points, alongside higher partial oxygen distribution of the wrist at locations near acupuncture points. Data from these studies, and others, help to elucidate the interplay between acupuncture and increased circulation and propose that acupuncture can help regulate the composition of the breath on a molecular level (Thomas, D. D., 2015).Â
While the study of acupuncture and Chinese medicine has proven to be beneficial in the treatment of pain, it is not always accessible, or preferable. However, with the increased attention and research that breathwork has received over the last decade, it is quickly becoming a popular option for people surviving chronic pain. Perhaps the most well-studied is deep, slow breathing, which is useful for somatic disorders, as well as mental health conditions, and can be accomplished through a variety of techniques. A 2022 systematic review found that slow and deep breathing had beneficial effects for patients with acute pain from burns. While the study admits to its limitations, it does provide helpful next steps for better-designed randomized control trials (Joseph, A. E. et al, 2022). Perhaps future studies utilizing these insights might explore oxygen, nitric oxide, and carbon dioxide levels at acupuncture points before, during, and after breathing exercises.Â
Current research highlights the benefits that breathing and meditative practices can have on a psycho-emotional and psycho-physiological level. In particular, slowed breathing can enhance autonomic, cerebral, and psychological flexibility. It can also change the inflammatory response and thereby activate the innate immune system. On a somatic level, this equates to feelings of comfort, relaxation, pleasantness, vigor, and alertness, and reduced symptoms of arousal, anxiety, depression, anger, and confusion.
Dysfunctional breathing caused by respiratory insufficiency can direct health away from homeostasis, especially in the presence of concurrent pain patterns. In 2018 researchers worked with a group of women aged 34-67 years old diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic and long-lasting pain disorder with no definitive etiology. The study found that after 12 weeks of practicing controlled breathing techniques, significant improvements were observed, including changes to pain threshold tolerance on tender points, increased functional capacity, and decreased fatigue (Tomas-Carus, P. et al, 2018).Â
Beyond clinical trials, it is important that people feel supported to continue working with the breath to better manage their pain. The use of breathing exercises through Taiji, Qigong, and Yoga has been well-documented in the research literature and offers a solid opportunity for patients to establish a consistent practice. An interesting and first-of-its-kind meta-analysis conducted in 2019, explored the efficacy of Taiji and Qigong on blood pressure and blood levels of nitric oxide, and endothelin-1 in patients with essential hypertension (Liu, D. et al, 2019). Both nitric oxide and endothelin-1 work in a way similar to respiration, or inhalation and exhalationânitric oxide helps to regulate blood vessel dilation, while endothelin-1 is a powerful vasoconstrictor. In essence, the results of the study showed that exercise-related activities are directly connected to increased vessel relaxation and decreased vessel tension (Liu, D. et al, 2019). In this way, patients can be empowered to make changes to their health which can yield long-term benefits.Â
In Decolonizing Methodologies, Linda Tuhiwai Smith writes, â...research is not an innocent or distant academic exercise, but an activity that has something at stake and that occurs in a set of political and social conditions.â This also applies to research on acupuncture and Chinese medicine, which is now beginning to catch on to what indigenous communities in China have always known about the power of the breath. In many other cultures across the world, the breath is a sacred phenomenon, and Indigenous people from North America to Africa have specific practices, rituals, and ceremonies that involve its wisdom. Inuit communities utilize the breath during throat singing or katajjaq. This practice consists of two women singing a duet in close face-to-face proximity. Traditionally, this was considered a vocal breathing game and has since joined forces with mainstream musical genres to create a unique performative experience. Griots in West Africa utilize their voices as master orators and historians. In Afro-Indigenous cultures, singing often goes hand in hand with storytelling and working with the land. These are just a few examples of how Black, Indigenous, and People of Color evoke the breath as a means to transmit culture, healing wisdom, and ecological knowledge.Â
In the essay, Becoming Water: Black Memory in Slaveryâs Afterlives, poet, cook, and artist Makshya Tolbert writes, âWhere is home if not in the breathwork between water and sky? Breathing between water and Black memory, I place language at the shoreâ. Working with the breath is slow medicine. It is a direct-action: a solution-focused praxis on the other side of unjust systems and extractive practices, with benefits that reach beyond the individual, toward the collective.Â
ReferencesÂ
Busch, V., Magerl, W., Kern, U., Haas, J., Hajak, G., & Eichhammer, P. (2012). The effect of deep and slow breathing on pain perception, autonomic activity, and mood processing--an experimental study. Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 13(2), 215â228. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01243.x
Hong, M., Park, S. S., Ha, Y., Lee, J., Yoo, K., Jhon, J., Suh, M., & Lee, Y. (2011). Heterogeneity of Skin Surface Oxygen Level of Wrist in Relation to Acupuncture Point. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: ECAM, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/106762Â
Janssens, L., Mcconnell, A.K., Pijnenburg, M., Claeys, K., Goossens, N., Lysens, Troosters, T., & Brumagne, S. (2015). Inspiratory muscle training affects proprioceptive use and low back pain. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 47(1), 12â19. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000000385
Javier, J. (2022, September 28). Where are the real lungs of the earth? OpenMind. Retrieved February 25, 2023, from https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/environment/real-lungs-of-the-earth/Â
Joseph, A. E., Moman, R. N., Barman, R. A., Kleppel, D. J., Eberhart, N. D., Gerberi, D. J., Murad, M. H., & Hooten, W. M. (2022). Effects of Slow Deep Breathing on Acute Clinical Pain in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Journal of evidence-based integrative medicine, 27, 2515690X221078006. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515690X221078006
Liu, D., Yi, L., Sheng, M., Wang, G., & Zou, Y. (2019). The Efficacy of Tai Chi and Qigong Exercises on Blood Pressure and Blood Levels of Nitric Oxide and Endothelin-1 in Patients with Essential Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: ECAM, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3267971
Monti, A., Porciello, G., Tieri, G., & Aglioti, S. M. (2020). The âembreathmentâ illusion highlights the role of breathing in corporeal awareness. Journal of Neurophysiology, 123(1), 420â427. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00617.2019Â
Thomas, D. D. (2015). Breathing new life into nitric oxide signaling: A brief overview of the interplay between oxygen and nitric oxide. Redox Biology, 5, 225â233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2015.05.002Â
Tomas-Carus, P., Branco, J. C., Raimundo, A., Parraca, J. A., Batalha, N., & Biehl-Printes, C. (2018). Breathing Exercises Must Be a Real and Effective Intervention to Consider in Women with Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.), 24(8), 825â832. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2017.0335
Tsuchiya, M., Sato, E.F., Inoue, M., Asada, A. (2007). Acupuncture enhances generation of nitric oxide and... : Anesthesia & analgesia. LWW-Ambulatory Anesthesia: Research Report. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from https://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/Fulltext/2007/02000/Acupuncture_Enhances_Generation_of_Nitric_Oxide.14.aspx
ListeningÂ
This week Iâve been reintroducing myself to the music of Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott). âOf a New Coolâ is from the 2015 album, Stretch Music, and I dig the energy of the track. Â
ReadingÂ
Since its February 2023 release, Iâve been looking forward to reading Erin Sharkeyâs A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars. I began reading the book mid-May and have underlined many passages thus farâa sign that I am truly enjoying the reading process.Â
Creating
Last month I pushed myself to complete a goal that Iâve held close to my heart for many yearsâa website! This new online space will be the hearth and home for all of my creative work. I decided to keep the momentum up, and applied for two writing and photography projects. Iâll know how things go later this month. In the meantime Iâve been preparing my notes and slides for a class Iâm teaching in October for an upcoming breathwork course, created by my friend Jennifer Patterson in partnership with Sounds True.