Episode #442: Why You Should Practice Breathwork, with Dr. Cristian Pavel

 We breathe all day, every day. But how often do we think about the way we breathe? It turns out, we are overbreathing. And to explain how that affects the body and mind, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Cristian Pavel, a dentist, life coach, and yoga instructor at YogaSix. As a yogi dentist, he will help you incorporate breathing into your dental practice so you can relax, reduce stress, and relieve anxiety. To master better breathing for a better practice and a better life, listen to Episode 442 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

• We are all breathing too much and too fast.
• Breathe less when you're stressed — not more.
• High-quality breathing equals a high-quality life.
• Deep breaths are tools you can use at any moment.  
• Breathwork can help ease anxiety for your patients.

Quotes:

• “Yoga, essentially, is the practice of finding ourselves, finding stillness, allowing the mind to do its thing without needing to control every element, because that is where a huge source of suffering starts from.” (5:07—5:23)
• “Most people are on the overstimulated side. We’re constantly go, go, go, go, go. And it’s a deeply conditioned pattern in our culture. Technology is beautiful. And as incredible as it is, the utility of it has a double-edged sword effect because now that we are more efficient, we have to do more things. And we have this compulsion to do even more things.” (9:43—10:09)
• “What I find myself doing — and a lot of other people — when there is finally time to rest, we’re unconsciously still scrolling aimlessly through social media feeds, or whatever cellphone ritual it is, keeping the mind constantly preoccupied and alert. And when this is unchecked, when we’re not aware of how we’re feeling about this, the body gets overstimulated. The fight-or-flight mechanism gets triggered over and over again, repeatedly, and it’s just not a sustainable function. So, we have this chronic stress that gets perpetuated and compounded and naturally progresses into chronic disease and chronic inflammation.” (10:09—10:51)
• “Invite the notion that it’s okay to not be okay. I think we’ve all reached this false sense and false reality, especially in dentistry, because you're conditioned to have to be the top. You always have to be the best. And if you're not, you just don't feel good about yourself. And even though that technically ends once you graduate, it still continues, that conditioned reflex continues, like, ‘Oh, the guy down the street just opened up four more ops,’ or whatever the dialogue or the narrative. Or, ‘Oh, I have less patients this month. It must be saying something about me.’ And what I want to say first and foremost is, it’s okay to not be okay.” (14:21—15:04)
• “What I say in almost all my yoga classes, the quality of your life is predicated by the quality of your breathing. How we breathe is how we live. And the goal of my yoga classes is to really let people feel that. And most of the time, that's accomplished, as long as they allow themselves to.” (18:23—18:39)
• “Almost everyone I pay attention to is not paying any attention to their breath. This is the most fundamental process of our body, and it controls everything. Carbon dioxide is the ultimate hormone. It controls every biologic function in our body. It has its hand in something. So, it blows my mind how little attention is placed on the most important thing. In this health-and- wellness world now, every single calorie, every little thing is scrutinized. But our body can survive two weeks without food. How long can it survive without breathing?” (18:40—19:19)
• “One of the things that a lot of people still find interesting and shocking is that we’re all overbreathing. The average adult, according to James Nestor’s book [Breath] and a lot of research that was done, takes about 12 breaths per minute. The average elite athlete takes about five-and-a-half breaths per minute. So, we’re all breathing way more than we should. And most of the time, it looks like short and shallow, quick breathing.” (19:34—20:01)
• “Sometimes, it’s hard to recognize in the moment, but when you're feeling really stressed and overwhelmed, stop breathing. It’s very counterintuitive. Very different than, ‘Just breathe. Relax. Breathe.’ No. Stop breathing.” (20:42—20:56)
• “So much inflammation comes from this overbreathing. It’s a highly inflammatory, ineffective process — especially if it’s coming from the mouth, mouth breathing and not nose breathing, because part of the nose’s job is to slow down the breathing.” (23:20—23:34)
• “I think the reason that breathwork isn't the end-all be-all and everywhere is because it doesn't come in a pill form. And what I mean by that is it takes work, and it takes practice.” (24:14—24:25)
• “I can only speak to my experience. And what I've noticed since avidly practicing yoga is I am more naturally calm. And especially in triggering moments, there's almost a natural pause now. And only in retrospect, I realize now that it’s helped me process my environment in a much healthier way.” (32:53—33:19)

Snippets:

• 0:00 Introduction.
• 1:54 Dr. Pavel’s background.
• 3:54 Yoga in a nutshell.
• 7:21 Why breathing is important for dentists.
• 12:36 It’s okay to not be okay.
• 17:24 The power of breathing.
• 20:56 Slow down your breathing.
• 25:16 Talking to patients about their breathing.
• 27:58 Improve your breath health over time.
• 32:03 Can you add years to your practice life with yoga?
• 35:09 More about Dr. Pavel and how to get in touch.
• 36:19 Deep breath exercise.

Reach Out to Dr. Pavel:

Dr. Pavel’s website: https://dentalyogis.com/

Dr. Pavel’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=6829298

Dr. Pavel’s social media: @cristianpaveldds

Resources:

Breath by James Nestor: https://www.mrjamesnestor.com/

Dr. Cristian Pavel Bio:

Dr. Cristian Pavel attained his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He received his Bachelor of Sciences degree from Indiana University.

Dr. Pavel is an active member of the Chicago Dentist Society, and he enjoys traveling, snowboarding, boxing, soccer, spending time with his family, and yoga. He is also a yoga instructor at YogaSix downtown!

From nutrition to intuition, our team is well-endowed in the most successful ways of obtaining optimal oral health and overall health. We would be delighted to share with you the benefits of caring for your teeth and gums, healthful eating, mindfulness, etc. — all the tools to help you in living a balanced, happy life.