Breathing is one of the most important health factors in life and deep breathing exercises, when done properly, can have life changing results and benefits. These benefits include deeper relaxation, better athletic performance, a steadier mind, freedom from allergies and asthma, increase in confidence and overall healthier body.  

Deep breathing can be a very dangerous exercise though if done improperly. This is actually something that affected me and has led me on the pursuit of safe health exercises and breathing practices and to the discovery and application of JP Muller’s My System and development of the six week training course based on it . My System teaches you proper and safe breathing techniques that can be used throughout life. (You can learn more about my system here) 

So let’s take a look at how deep breathing can be dangerous, expert opinions on the matter and why and how the deep breathing in My System and the deep breathing between exercises is completely safe and beneficial for anyone who attempts them.

Muller Deep breathing between exercise

The reason deep breathing can be dangerous is because most people can’t and don’t know how to properly relax for breathing exercises. Unless you have spent a lot of time learning what muscles affect deep breathing, relaxing the entire body including the mind, and can practice these deep breathings without an ounce of strain, they will be more harmful than beneficial. When done incorrectly, deep breathing will add stress to your body and life and will injure your lungs and heart.

Some of the side effects I experienced from my time misusing deep breathing were lack of energy, pains in my head, stiffness, inability to focus and concentrate, depression, and lack of vitality. It robbed me of my ability to enjoy life and stripped me of joy. Experts agree on the matter too.

Dennis Lewis, author of Free Your Breathe, Free Your Life and expert on different breathing exercises, believes when performing deep breathing alone “that only after months (or even years) of progressive practice rooted in self observation and self awareness “ can someone from the west benefit in a lasting way from advanced breathing techniques. So according to Mr. Lewis, one can only enjoy the benefits of deep breathing, and there are many, through a long period of self reflection and learning to empty the mind and completely relax the body. Most of us don’t have this type of time in our daily lives or a quiet enough place to make this a practical reality.

So how do we get benefits of deep breathing in an efficient and safe manner? I’ll explain that later but let’s look at another expert’s opinion on deep breathing.

Self help author, breathing expert and well known spiritualist Vera Stanley Alder weighs in on topic in one of her books in a chapter titled Secrets of Breathing. She claims “all those who wish to obtain any degree of control of health, characters or circumstances must first begin at the very foundations of their lives – their breathings.” And that people who are “timid, cowardly, or shy narrows his chest and breathes feebly. Diseases such as asthma are probably the direct result of nervous breathing. If we are clam, confident and courageous we breathe deep and slow. As an aid to attaining these qualities we must first correct our breathing.” But she also warns   “it’s extremely dangerous for the average person to attempt any of the more complicated systems sometimes given out, which might lead them into a mental home or worse.”

proper movements during inhalation and exhalation

And even JP Muller, the author of My System, acknowledges the dangers of deep breathing and is against deep breathing as a practice alone, stating it could result in “derangement in the relative pressure of the vessels of the body will be caused, the equilibrium in the tissues will be disturbed and giddiness and dizziness results.” So how do you get the benefits of deep breathing in an efficient and safe manner? The answer is My System and the breathing theories of JP Muller.

Essentially you should take a deep breath only when it’s needed or you get the negative side effects from deep breathing because it becomes too strained; unless of course you take the months or years it takes to learn to relax the body and mind.

There are some breathing programs that recommend breath holding before the inhalation to create an artificial need for air, thus making the inhalation very big. There are cases where breath holding is beneficial but according to Muller “if you don’t have a strong heart to start with, the organ will certainly be injured.”  But a much more effective and comfortable way to create a need for air is through exercise.

Deep breathing in between exercise  is much more natural and comfortable than by breath holding. The breath smoothly enters and fills up every part of the lungs, and leaves the body in an equally smooth manner. It is completely safe to use without any fear of injury and you get all the amazing benefits.

The genius of Muller’s system is you get so many health benefits, in such a sort amount of time. In 15 minutes you exercise every part of your body, perform deep breathing and learn a self massage that wrinkle proofs your skin, strengthens it and has it looking and feeling more amazing than you could have ever imagined.

The system is life’s work of JP Muller and over 45 years went into creating this system. He was a health expert and knew the ins and outs of the body what it took to maintain it. Because of this My System can be complicated to learn. The video series here at Perfect Health at Home will completely take any difficulties out of learning My system and will take you step by step through each exercise and will guarantee you learn the system properly. 

Please feel free to comment below with questions or opinions.