Hi stopyawning,
After about a year of feeling the constant need to yawn to get a deep breath, I was at the point where I was basically totally freaking out. I would feel like I couldn't get that sort of "satisfying" deep breath, which was baffling, because to my knowledge I had changed nothing in my overall behavior. It was like it just suddenly started happening more. Even more confusing, is that sometimes it would be happening, and I would think to my self , "Huh, I'm not doing that weird breathing thing anymore" and then I would immediately have breathing trouble, right after I noticed this! It was so confusing and nightmarish. So after going to multiple doctors, getting breath tests, and having them say, very nicely, that there was nothing physically wrong with me and that it was likely just anxiety, I did some research on my own. I discovered something called the Buteyko Method online, and found a local 4-day course to take in my neighborhood. It literally changed my life. I hesitate to describe the method in detail, because I am not licenses or anything. But basically, here is the premise in a nut shell:
The reason I was having trouble breathing, was because I was breathing TOO MUCH! I was not aware of this at all, let me assure you. As Human Beings on this planet, when we encouter any kind of stressor in our environment, the breathing center in our brain speeds up. Evolutionarily, this is quite handy -- if a caveman sees a tiger, he us going to need to either kill the damn thing or run for his life. He (or she for that matter) will need access to lots and lots of immediate oxygen. So the breathing naturally speeds up. When the danger is gone, in other words if the tiger is dead or the cave person has out-run it, the breathing naturally slows. Have you every been to a dog park and seen dogs playing and then one of them gets in a fight? Afterwards, the dog usually does this "shake" to shake off excess enerygy. The he or she just goes back to playing like nothing happened. I think it is the same principle: all of a suddent the body is flooded with energy and needs more breath, but when the activity is over, it very quickly re-establishes it self back to basline.
So now here's the problem: in our Modern world, as wonderful as it can be sometimes, there are so many damned stressors that our Human minds can't really every calm down and go back to that "baseline" resting place. There is ISIS and the threat of Global Terror; there is Ebola that will come and wipe us all out; there are Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Recessions, Bankruptcy, school shootings, all kinds of things that, while not necessarily likely to happen to us, are still there in the mind. Its like the mind is always on "Red Alert". There are some people who believe that this is largely due to the media, and I think there is some truth to this: just turn on the TV. All the news is basically telling us that there is the "Impending Disaster", this methaphorical Tiger coming to get us and no one know when or how but its coming.
My point is, and sorry for the rant, but our minds are on a constant of hightened anxiety. What happens? Our breathing speeds up. This happens automatically, is happens over months and years, and it happens totally without our knowledge of it happening. Suddenly one day you wake up, like I did, and you can't breath and you don't know why. The reality is that it comes from years of living in our modern world with all its problems. So, what to do?
Have you ever seen Buddhist monks mediate? One thing to note is that they do not take these huge, deep, heaving breaths. This is a bit of a misnomer. When I used to work in the emergency room, I was told to take a few deep, cleansing breaths before a stressful situation, to calm myself. This makes sense, to pay attention to the breathe, but they had it backwards: what I should have done was to slow slow slow down my breaht and intentionally make it shallow, almost imperceptible, just like the monks. There are some monks who only take in one breathe every couple of minutes it is so slow and light. There belly hardly moves at all.
So what is happening here? All it is simply the relationship between CO2 and Oxygen. If you google the "Bohr" effect, a well-known medically observed occurence, this will help to make this clear. When an animal, and a human, starts breathing too heavily, the balance of CO2 and Oygen shifts. Suddenly there is too much oxygen and not enough CO2. Like I said, this is helpful in an emergecny, but if it becomes chronic, the balance is shifted too much and for too long, and when it becomes out of balance, Oxygen actually decreases in the body. So when you intentionally slow down the breathing, expelling less CO2, the CO2 levels normalize, and thus the Oxygen levels normalize as well. I really hope you google this because as I am writing this I know I don't have a very solid grasp on how it works. But you will learn all of this if you take a Buteyko class, which I strongly suggest you do! Speaking of which, we come to the solution: the intentional, progressive slowing down of the breath, until the Oxygen/Co2 balance is restored. I.E Buteyko breathing. Thats all there is to it. I have found several things to be quite important, which I wil list below, but please take a damned course so you know this for yourself!
First of all, exercise is a must!! Every time you get aerobic exercise, you are helping to correct the problem. Just remember: breathe through your nose only. This is crucial. If you are breathing through your mouth, at any time, you are definitely taking in TOO MUCH oxygen. You are exacerbating the problem. This is why yawning is really, really bad. Its counter-intuitive; it feels like the only time you get a really good breath is when you take a deep, yawn. But this is the whole problem. You have to stop yawning with you moouth open. You have to stop doing everything for that matter with you mouth open (except eating, talking and kissing...have I forgotten anything?)
Also, one thing you can do right now, is find a comfortable position, either sitting or lying on your side (never on your back! you will naturally breath too deep and too much in this position). Now intentionally slow down your breathing and also make it very shallow. I am not saying to breathe high in your chest: this is completly wrong. Breathe with your abdomen ONLY. But don't breathe deeply; breathe lightly and slowly. At first, you are guaranteed to feel an increase in breathlessness. It is an awful feeling, I won't lie. Don't make yourself uncomfortable!! If you feel like you need to take a deep breath, then do so. But gradually gradually gradually, patiently and persistently, for 10 minutes, try to breath less and less, just like the Buddhist monks. See how you feel.
Sorry for this epic-length reply. It is just so important that you do this for yourself, because you will feel so much better!! After practicing this, you won't need any more convincing, because it works so well and you feel so good that it becomes totally natural. Nowm when I go for a jog, or I am driving, or even giving a presentation at work, I am aware that my breathing is very slow and peaceful, and that my mouth is closed at almost all times. It feels so wonderful, so peaceful, so calming. I hope this helps. Good luck. Will
