Miquel Samarra, specialist in integrative medicine: "The worst and most polluting noise is the one derived from the amount of 'garbage thoughts' we emit throughout the day"

Gema García Marcos

Updated Wednesday, January 17, 2024-09:12

We lack air and we have plenty of noise.

We are so busy, so engrossed in our 'movements' and caught up in our rush that we forget to even breathe as we should and we simply limit ourselves to complying with the 'procedure' out of a matter of

pure survival

.

And we are so 'scrambled', with so much inside to resolve, that we flee from our inner silence for fear that what it reveals to us will be too painful.

In this chaotic scenario, maintaining that balance between the physical, the mental and the spiritual that integrative medicine aspires to, a field in which Miquel Samarra - a graduate in Medicine, nutritionist and manager of the Matterhorn Medical Center in Barcelona - is a reference since doing more of three decades, it becomes a true heroism.

Is it true that we are born with complete and 'perfect' breathing, but that we lose it along the way? Yes.

With exceptions (congenital or genetic diseases), we are born healthy.

Complete breathing is diaphragmatic, that is, the diaphragm, which is the most important respiratory muscle, descends on inspiration, so that the lungs can fill as much as possible with air. How is it possible that we 'forget' something as basic as is it breathing well?

It seems 'lame'...Yes, it is paradoxical that a humanity so advanced in some aspects is at the same time so ignorant regarding the functioning of this wonderful vehicle that life gave us, and that we call the human body.

So it is our ignorance that is behind this 'forgetfulness'. Could it be said that we breathe only in 'survival mode'? That's right.

We breathe as we live life, that is, in "survival mode", quickly and superficially.

Surely, we are not aware that we are doing it wrong.

How can we detect it? By observing how our mental, emotional and physical health deteriorates.

Multiple diseases appear, which we rush to treat symptomatically, instead of investigating the causes behind them. What happens to us if we breathe badly? Our metabolic, physiological and psychological functions are affected, which translates into multiple diseases.

And what would be the benefits of complete breathing? Maintain health or restore it, if we have already become ill.

Conscious and complete breathing positively and powerfully influences the vegetative or autonomic nervous system, which directly affects the functioning of the endocrine and immune system. What would correct breathing be like?

And, conversely, what would the 'incorrect' one be like? Correct breathing is conscious, deep, slow, uniform and rhythmic breathing.

Incorrect breathing is, therefore, one that is unconscious, superficial, rapid and arrhythmic. How should we breathe?

Is it advisable to always inhale through the nose? First of all, we should be able to fill our lungs with air to the maximum.

This implies that the diaphragm descends and the abdomen distends.

Chronic stress increases the muscle tone of the diaphragm, which does not descend and limits lung filling.

We feel it as 'lack of air'.

Unless, of course, there is an underlying pathology that justifies this dyspnea, this 'shortness of breath' is a clinical symptom of chronic stress.

Many times, this symptom is accompanied by the sensation of a 'knot or weight' in the pit of the stomach.

We should inhale and exhale through the nose.

Above all, during inhalation, because the air, as it circulates through the nasal passages, is filtered, warmed and humidified.

In fact, nasal breathing is physiological breathing. And exhalation, through the mouth? Exhalation or expiration is a passive movement that is also carried out, physiologically, through the nose,

unless we are practicing specific exercises that require expelling air through the mouth. Should we retain the air for a few seconds? Only if we are practicing Pranayama exercises.

Pranayama is the ancient science of breathing bequeathed to us by the Ayurvedic sages and doctors of India. How can we use our breathing to calm ourselves or simply feel better? In fact, conscious, deep, slow, uniform and rhythmic breathing , it is the best way to feel better and more serene.

Any meditative practice has breathing as its starting point. Can you recommend some basic exercises to breathe better? The most important thing is to dedicate time to the practice of conscious breathing, without rush or expectations, with perseverance, consistency and patience.

Above all patience.

Ideally, between 6 and 8 in the morning, we dedicate 15-20 minutes to observing our breathing.

This way we will detect, first of all, how we are breathing: deeply or superficially, quickly or slowly, uniformly or irregularly.

From here, we correct and experiment.

Experience is the basis of mastery. Another of your 'obsessions' is recovering spaces for silence.

We are a very noisy society.

We talk loudly, we listen to music with our headphones at full volume, cars, etc.

How can we live like this? We can live in many ways, but we have chosen the one that leads us to "suffer" life instead of enjoying it.

The noise we emit blocks any possibility of getting out of the septic tank in which we live. The radio, the TV... It seems that we always need to have some background noise... It is to mask the noise that we cause, not only physical, but mental.

How does all this noise affect our health? That noise pollution, along with petrochemical and electromagnetic pollution, affects people's health is a proven and proven known fact.

The worst noise, and the most polluting, by far, is that derived from the amount of 'garbage thoughts' we emit throughout the day.

We are not aware of the impact that this has on the planet. Don't you think that we have turned silence into a treasure in danger of extinction from which we flee and which we long for in equal parts? This apparent contradiction is determined because we do not see the origin of the noise , and we are convinced that it is something external.

It is not like this.

External noise is irrelevant if we access internal silence.

To do this, what we know as the mind must quiet down.

This is a process that takes time.

Breathing and meditation are very helpful for this work. Do you think we are afraid of silence?

And, if so, why? We are afraid of our inner noise, from which there is no way to escape.

We can isolate ourselves from external noise, but not from internal noise.

It is difficult to describe the inner silence in words.

It is a blessing that we all deserve to experience and that I am sure would change the course of humanity, because we would access the inner Being and from there we would make the best decisions for the good of all. What can we find in silence? We find ourselves , to our genuine nature, what we really are, which is not what we believe we are or what we have been told we are.

We have a very narrow view of ourselves and the universe that contains us.

It is time to broaden this vision and expand our consciousness. And what can we learn from that silence that gives way to our inner voice? Inner silence is, effectively, what allows us to listen to that 'inner voice', which is the same What to say the Soul or the Consciousness.

In fact, that 'inner voice' has always been there trying to guide and instruct us, but internal noise, more than external noise, has prevented it. Could you recommend some guidelines for reconnecting with that silence even if we live in a big city? It is irrelevant where you live, whether your personality, your instrument or vehicle, aligns with the Soul, the 'inner voice'.

The practice of conscious breathing, together with meditation, are very useful instruments to rediscover the desired inner silence.

On the other hand, we must take care of everything that is related to our physical health (food, rest, physical exercise), because otherwise, the body's needs demand our attention and do not allow us to meditate properly.