Breath and cancer

Breath and cancer

Blog by Philip Booth

There are thousands of years of ancient wisdom about the importance of breath and breathing, yet it is only more recently that we are seeing a resurgence in interest and study.

Every day we take in 20,000 to 25,000 breaths, and most of us are shallow breathers. If we can improve this it seems that we have the chance to transform our physical, mental and spiritual health. Research is showing us that making slight changes to the way we inhale and exhale can improve athletic performance, rejuvenate internal organs, put a stop to snoring, improve autoimmune diseases and much more.

I have, in the past, done various breathing exercises in yoga and other sessions but it was only in 2018 I started to wake up to the potential of breath work. It was at the extraordinary Trew Fields Festival; ‘the UK’s first holistic health and cancer awareness Festival’. There, I signed up for a two minute ice bath with a team who prepared us for the bath with a particular way of breathing plus a series of other breath workshops.

You can see my film of the Festival 2018 here and 2019 here. Sadly Covid meant that the Festival hasn’t been able to continue. However the founder, Sophie Trew has gone on to specialise in breath work alongside her coaching. Her first experiences of breath work she says were ‘game changing’ and led (with other things) to her saying goodbye to her asthma. On her website (see here) she has details of the sessions she is offering and also this:

“The way you breathe affects every system and function in your body. Improper breathing and low levels of oxygen are a contributor to poor health. Shallow breathing increases stress and anxiety levels, affects the immune system, digestive health, sleep and the ability to detoxify amongst other things. By changing the way you breathe you can change the way you live, how you feel, your energy levels and stress levels. As a therapy, Breathwork brings in the mind, body and spirit.”

There is a growing body of evidence showing the benefits of Meditation and a key component to that is breathing. However it seems the breath work itself without meditation also has benefits.

Sophie Trew last month shared her learning and practice of breath work with Robin Daly, the founder and chair of the integrative cancer care charity, Yes to Life, in one of his weekly radio shows (listen here). At one point she talks about men who have challenges with meditation and how breath work can give us something to focus on. I do agree! I’ve found the limited amount of breath work I’ve done has been much easier to get along with than meditation.

Cancer

No one I’ve read is making claims that changing your breath will cure cancer – indeed breathing doesn’t even get a mention in most all my growing collection of ‘cancer’ books. However many argue that cancers develop and thrive in environments low in oxygen – hence hyperbaric oxygen (see here)  and exercise (see here) can play key roles in treatment.

It was Nobel Award winning Otto Warburg (1931) who was among the first to identify the role of oxygen. He wrote: “Cancer, above all other diseases, has countless secondary causes. But, even for cancer, there is only one prime cause. Summarized in a few words, the prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar.”

This view fell out of favour but is increasingly being revisited. It also seems to make sense to me that if we can improve our breathing then that can only help improve our health.

One of those that does mention ‘proper breathing’ is Dr Keith Block, one of the greatest pioneers of integrative oncology. In his ground breaking book ‘Life Over Cancer’ (2009) he says most of us are “shallow ‘chest breathers’, taking small, frequent breaths that fill only the top of the lungs.” He suggests one of the ways to learn is through Pilates saying that breathing is not something you practice at certain periods but “should become second nature, something you do while walking, reading, driving, shopping…living!”

The role of breath work

One of the books that has opened my eyes more to the importance of breath is ‘Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art’ by James Nestor. It was shortlisted for ‘The Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2021’. The book gives us a wonderful introduction to some of the techniques and research and he quotes researchers saying “The missing pillar in health is breath.”

I very much enjoyed the book but would have liked it to have taken a more skeptical approach to some aspects. For example, when he talked about the good health of hunter-gatherers being due to better breathing, I started thinking that surely they are also fitter and eat less sugar! Anyhow my criticisms were largely minor.

Shut your mouth

In the book Nestor claims that 90% of us breathe incorrectly through our mouths instead of our noses. Apparently unlike the mouth, the nose cleans, heats and moistens air before it enters the body. A big reason for this is related to our diets. The soft processed foods we eat today have led in the last 300 years to facial bones and jaws be underworked, smaller and stunted in development. This underdevelopment he argues had led to the smaller, cramped airways that can lead to, for example, sleep apnea, which in turn correlates with heart disease, diabetes and chronic insomnia.

In the book Nestor blocks his own nostrils for 10 days to highlight how bad it can be to breathe through the mouth. The results are surprisingly shocking.

I am unsure how much I breathe through the nose at night but am aware that at times I do. So inspired by the book I’m giving blocking the mouth off at nights a try for three or four weeks. Basically any of those hypoallergenic surgical tapes will do to tape the mouth. You can also get ‘sleep tape’ that I found was less irritating in the night, but having said that I was surprised that the tape didn’t really interfere at all with my sleep. However the tape is not conducive to bedtime conversations!

In the Nestor book Dr Mark Burhenne is noted as studying the links between mouth-breathing and sleep for decades. His research indicate it contributes to peridontal disease, bad breath, snoring, sleep apnea and was more damaging than sugar in terms of cavities. He argues that nose breathing is key to improving circulation and delivering oxygen to cells.

Different approaches

There are so many approaches to breath work and like much of healing it is individual. Nestor outlines many of the key ones, two of which I cover below;

Wim Hof

One of the techniques that has become increasingly popular has been promoted by the extraordinary Dutch guy, Wim Hof. He became popular for running in the Arctic Circle and breaking 26 world records.

Hof was also key to a study at a Dutch University where he was injected with an E. coli endotoxin. This is a safer way of provoking a bacterial immune response than using live bacteria. In a typical case the injection causes massive pro-inflammatory cytokines and flu-like symptoms. However when Hof was injected he produced 50% less cytokines, a large anti-inflammatory response and few flu symptoms. Hof was later able to train 12 volunteers in his meditation and breathing techniques, then have them injected. These volunteers showed similar responses to Hof’s experience and quite unlike the Control group.

Hof’s approach is based on Tummo, a method of breathing, meaning “inner fire,” that was developed by Tibetan Buddhists a thousand years ago. Its practitioners could survive under freezing conditions in the Himalayas in thin clothing. It is not gentle breath work but rather heavy and hard. Wim takes a three-pronged approach with the cold therapy, breathing and the commitment to stick with the approach. It was this technique that we were taught before going into the ice bath at Trew Fields and also inspired me to have daily cold showers (see more on cold showers here).

I have returned to this breathing several times for months but not managed to integrate it into my protocol properly. It is not comfortable as it is pushing us into a position of stress. However some of the results seem extraordinary. You can find out more at: https://www.wimhofmethod.com

Resonant (Coherent) Breathing

This is perhaps one of the most basic, yet powerful calming practices that puts the heart, circulation and lungs into a state of coherence so that the body can work at it’s peak condition. Indeed such breathing ‘hacks’ into the autonomic nervous system. Breathing slowly, for example, relaxes us into a greater parasympathetic state and reduces sympathetic activity; in some cases going a way to removing the effects of ‘toxic stress.

There is a lot of research into the role inflammation plays in ill-health, particularly in ageing, cardiovascular disease, diabetes II, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s, and some cancers. It is the vagus nerve that plays a major role in controlling inflammation; what is so exciting is that we stimulate our vagus nerves when we practice breathing techniques. Breathing can reduce inflammation.

The ‘Resonant’ breath work is basically inhaling softly for 5.5 seconds, expanding the belly as it fills the bottom of the lungs. Then without pausing exhale softly for 5.5 seconds, bringing in the belly as the lungs empty. Repeat ten times or more.

It was fascinating to learn in Nestor’s book that the “Om” hymn of Jainism, the rosary of Catholicism, the shamanic hymn used in Kundalini yoga, and prayers from Japan to Hawaii and China all use the the same amount of breath ie between 5.5 and six seconds.

Giving it a go

Over the last months particularly, I have become very aware at times when I am breathing through the mouth. I am able to correct this and return to nose breathing. I am also doing the Resonant (Coherent) Breathing daily.

I also plan to learn more and am hoping to return to a more regular practice of yoga in coming weeks. Sophie Trew recommends Stuart Sandeman’s book that I have already ordered: “Breathe In, Breathe Out; Restore Your Health, Reset Your Mind and Find Happiness Through Breathwork.”