We need to breathe anyway, and it's one of the fastest ways to alter our physiology when we need to, so why not learn to do it a little more effectively?!? Better breathing, like upper cervical chiropractic care, starts at the top.

Carbon dioxide is just a  waste product of breathing in oxygen, right? 

Not so! In fact, the experts say that carbon dioxide loosens the bond between oxygen and hemoglobin within our red blood cells.

So, as long as we have to breathe anyway, let’s try to do it a little better so that we can have better tissue repair and better fuel supply for our brain.

When we breathe too fast and too shallow (usually mouth breathing) it directs the incoming air toward our chest and we expel  the carbon dioxide too fast. This makes it so that the oxygen doesn’t get into our tissues as well.   Here are three tips…

• Breathe through your nose.  Your nose filters, conditions and humidifies the air.

• Use your belly.  Most of the oxygen receptor sites in your lungs are in the lower 1/3. The diaphragm muscle sits right under the lungs.  Start breathing with your belly more and your chest less.

• Take less breaths and breathe slower.  If you’re 5’ tall, you should try to take 6 breaths per minute and if you’re 6’ tall you should be taking 3.5 breaths per minute, at a resting rate.

See our YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi56SSkkRpQ for pacer video in which Dr. Pietrek plays notes on guitar, to the tempo of this formula, so you know when to breathe in and out. The goal is to pace your breaths accurately without thinking about it so much.

Better Breathing is Regulated by the Vagus Nerve

The Vagus Nerve ("The Wandering Nerve" in Greek) is Cranial Nerve #10 and exits from the brain at the level of the brain stem. This nerve plays a large factor in one's health because it controls much of the function of every organ of your body from the heart and lungs down to the first part of the large intestine.

As such, spinal imbalances in the top of the spine can alter the performance of the Vagus Nerve, which may result in limited function or poor health.

Upper Cervical (upper neck) based chiropractic care is an effective means for feeling great as well as optimizing function and healing.

To learn about upper cervical chiropractic, please visit the Upper Cervical Awareness site here. To learn more about the chiropractic method Dr. Pietrek practices at Prior Lake Spinal Care, please visit the National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association here. To schedule a free consult with Dr. Pietrek, please see our contact page here.