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Breathing for Survival

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You gotta breath to survive. But there’s a right way and then there’s a wrong way to breath, especially if you’re under stress. I practice Power Yoga on a regular basis and I find the deep focused breathing to be just as challenging, if not more so, than the physical side. The most effective breath is the one that is deep from your stomach and diaphragm and through your nose—not shallow through your upper chest and mouth. This exercise helps illustrate the proper technique for breathing under stress courtesy of ex-Special Forces Operator and the Founder of Elite Training Programs, Wes Kennedy:

Sometimes called ‘tactical’ or ‘combat’ breathing, it’s more widely known as ‘diaphragmatic breathing’ it was popularized in the military by Ranger Lieutenant General David Grossman in his book “On Combat: The Psychology And Physiology Of Deadly Conflict In War And Peace.”

In essence, the key to diaphragmatic breathing is to breathe from your ‘belly’. To learn this technique try the exercise below:

  1. Lie flat on your back with your feet up on a chair/wall
  2. Place a small book (or object) on your belly and another on your chest
  3. Inhale slowly and imagine filling your belly with air like a balloon, the goal is to lift the book on your belly, not your chest.
  4. Exhale slowly in a controlled manner and repeat

Over time, aim to increase to 10 minute cycles of this breathing pattern. As this increases, notice what happens to your mood, stress and heart rate. Once you get familiar with this method of breathing, you can use this technique while doing almost anything – from rucking and running, to improving your accuracy on the range.

In the final part of this series, we’ll look at building and developing the anaerobic energy systems in line with the demands of the tactical athlete.

Some more tips on tactical breathing from Sig Sauer Academy:

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.
E.J. Smith is the Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH, where he completed course-work in Practical and Defensive Handgun, Conceal Carry Pistol, Shotguns, Precision Scope Rifle and Kidnapping Prevention. E.J. plays a Yamaha Recording Custom drum set with Zilldjian cymbals. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zilldjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@youngresearch.com. Sign up here to receive all the best content from Richardcyoung.com each week.