Your Health In Mind with Michael Storm and Dr. Dean Lloyd, November 4, 2026 Hour 1
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“The Breath”
“The Breath”
Why is understanding the breath important?
Breathing disorders
A breathing disorder—such as a breathing pattern disorder (BPD) or dysfunctional breathing—happens when your regular breathing mechanics become disrupted, causing you to over-breathe or use the wrong muscles even when your lungs are physically healthy.
What is a Breathing Pattern Disorder?
• Definition: A chronic or recurrent change in how you breathe, where air intake exceeds your body’s metabolic needs (over-breathing). • Mechanics: Instead of using the diaphragm first with a natural chest rise, people often use upper chest, shoulder, or neck muscles (thoracic dominant breathing) or breathe rapidly through the mouth. • Prevalence: It affects roughly 8% to 10% of the general population and is more common in women, people with anxiety, and up to 20%–66% of people with asthma.
Common Types of Dysfunctional Breathing
• Hyperventilation Syndrome: Breathing too fast or too deeply, dropping carbon dioxide levels in the blood.
• Thoracic Dominant Breathing: Shallow breathing driven by the upper chest and shoulders rather than the abdomen. • Periodic Deep Sighing: Frequently taking large, deep gasps or sighing to feel like you are getting enough air (“air hunger”). •
Thoraco-Abdominal Asynchrony: The chest and abdomen moving in opposite directions during a breath.
• Paradoxical Breathing: The stomach sucking inward during inhalation instead of expanding. Common Symptoms
• Shortness of breath or the feeling that you cannot take a full breath • Chest tightness, pain, or a racing heart sensation
• Tingling or numbness in the fingers, toes, or around the mouth (caused by low CO₂) • Lightheadedness, dizziness, or fatigue
• Frequent yawning or sighing
1. Shallow breathers
2. Compromised breath
3. Air hunger
4. Dyspnea
5. Asthma
Relaxed breathing: You can’t relax until you relax the breath.
Slow meditative Breathing
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Da Qi (大气 – “Great Qi” or “Big Air”) refers to the atmospheric air inhaled by the lungs, which serves as a foundational component for the body’s respiratory and life-force energy.
The concept explains how the lungs process external air to generate the internal vital energy required to sustain life. How Da Qi Creates Respiratory Energy The formation of functional bodily energy is a collaborative process centered around the Lungs:
1. Inhalation of Da Qi: The Lungs draw in Da Qi (atmospheric air) from the environment.
2. Extraction of Qing Qi: The Lungs refine this air, extracting Qing Qi (Clear/Pure Qi), which correlates closely to the physiological concept of oxygen.
3. Formation of Zong Qi (Gathering Qi): The Lungs combine this Qing Qi with Gu Qi (Food Qi, extracted by the Spleen from nutrients). This synthesis creates Zong Qi (Gathering or Pectoral Qi), which is the true “respiratory energy”
Zong Qi pools in the chest and directly governs the strength of respiration, the heartbeat, blood circulation, and the volume of the speaking voice
• Qigong & Mindful Breathing: Exercises like Liu Zi Jue (The Six Healing Sounds) utilize slow movements and vocalized exhalations to balance and maximize air exchange.
• Acupuncture: Practitioners stimulate specific points along the Lung Meridian to relax hyperactivated respiratory muscles and improve overall lung capacity.
• Tonic Herbs: Herbal formulas such as Yu Ping Feng San (“Jade Screen”), which prominently features Astragalus Radix, are traditionally utilized to reinforce the Lungs and bolster immune defenses.
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Why a “Silver Bullet” Doesn’t Exist in Respiratory Care Respiratory issues are diverse, and treating them requires matching the specific underlying mechanism:
• Bronchospasm (Constricted Airways): Conditions like asthma flare-ups require quick-relief bronchodilators (like Albuterol) to rapidly relax the muscles around the airways.
• Chronic Inflammation: Long-term conditions like severe asthma or COPD require inhaled corticosteroids to reduce swelling over time. These do not provide immediate relief during an attack.
• Mucus Hypersecretion: Conditions like cystic fibrosis or chronic bronchitis require mucolytics (like hypertonic saline) to thin out thick mucus so it can be coughed up.
• Bacterial Infections: Diseases like bacterial pneumonia require targeted antibiotics, which have no effect on viral respiratory infections or asthma.
The Pitfalls of Seeking a Quick Fix • Over-reliance on Rescue Inhalers: Relying solely on quick-relief inhalers treats the symptoms but ignores the underlying inflammation, leading to worsening lung damage over time. •
Misuse of Supplements: Relying on unproven herbal remedies or “lung cleanses” can delay critical, evidence-based medical treatments.
• Ignoring Environmental Triggers: No medication can fully succeed if the patient remains continuously exposed to primary triggers like tobacco smoke, severe allergens, or occupational dust. A successful breathing treatment plan relies on the right combination of daily controller medications, rescue therapies, delivery devices (like spacers or nebulizers), and lifestyle adjustments tailored by a healthcare professional. To help provide more relevant information, are you looking into treatments for a specific condition (like asthma, COPD, or a recent cough), or are you curious about a particular type of therapy (like nebulizers or breathing exercises)?
Talk soon…Hummmmmmmmmin, ! Dean ! 🌎
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