Rachel's Systema Writings >> Book Reviews >> Let Every Breath Let Every Breath by Vladimir Vasiliev with Scott Meredith, Ph.D. based on the teachings of Mikhail Ryabko I bought this book at our school after class on Saturday. I finished reading it on Tuesday right before our next class. I knew the book would be helpful to my training, but I honestly did not even believe reading the book would make such a difference! But preconceptions do not matter; this book will help you even if you don't expect it to. One particular way it helped me is with the "no breathing" confidence exercises we do in Systema class. After doing 20 pushups with different inhale/exhale patterns, I was always "out of breath," a phrase to ponder, because how can I "run out" of something which is so plentiful and available? So I'd always struggle to do another 10 without breathing. And because I was "out of breath," not breathing while exerting myself further caused me to panic, even though I knew that panicking was only using up oxygen faster. My instructor and fellow students offered much advice: don't freak out, think of something else, look around the room, try not to dwell on lack of air. But it always ended up the same, I'd do two or three without breath, panic, and lay there panting while the rest of the class finished the set. It was only after reading Let Every Breath that I realized why this was happening and was able to correct my breathing so that I was not so winded. Of course, I still need lots of practice, particular with the leg lifts which are the hardest "no-breath" exercises for me. Sometimes I forget what was so crystal-clear immediately after finishing the book. But if I remember the principles described in Let Every Breath, I can get to 5 and occassionally or 7 or 10 without breath, which is a pretty dramatic improvement from just 2 or 3. As suggested, it's very helpful to reach what I think is my maximum and try for just one more; in this way, my confidence improves gradually. I'm describing the "no-breath" exercises because they are the biggest challenge for me. Two things in particular helped me approach these in a different way. First, for the inhale/exhale sets, I shifted my focus from movement to breathing. Instead of matching my breathing to movement, I tried it the other way around. And that is how I became aware of movement that extended beyond my breathing. The book describes a natural pause between inhale and exhale. But with the exertion of movement, my pause was a bit longer than natural. Even though I began my inhale or exhale before the movement, as described, I was still halting it between inhale and exhale so that my movement could "catch up" with my breath. Again, these were very tiny pauses, barely noticeable, but they do add up! And that is why I was so often "out of breath" at the end of the sets. By shifting my focus to breathing, movement connects to breathing naturally, rather than artificially, and I'm less likely to force myself to move when there is no breath to support it. If you are wondering why is so important to me, it's because I do consider it potentially life-saving knowledge. Recently I was watching a documentary program about accidents at sea and how people survive them. It's an extremely difficult survival situation because of hypothermia, which causes people to make irrational decisions and even worse, to lose the will to live. At the end of the program, they interviewed a survival expert who trained people to prepare for disasters at sea. He was asked, "What can an average person do to increase their chances of survival when lost at sea?" And he said, "Know your own capabilities. Can you swim? How long can you hold your breath? These things will give you the confidence to know that you can make it through extreme circumstances." Before reading Let Every Breath, if I had found myself in a situation where I could not breathe, I know for a fact that I would have panicked, felt despair, maybe even enough to give up! But now, I know that I can hold my breathe at least for a little while without panicking, it will certainly increase my chances of surviving such a situation. Another paragraph from the book which helped me quite a bit was the idea of breathing "through" the entire body during difficult conditioning exercises. I knew that it is helpful to visualize "breathing in" through the muscles that are under exertion, but the breath penetrates the entire body. Not just symbolically, it's a biological fact that every cell needs oxygen. If the muscles are stiff, tight, sore, tense, or otherwise restricted, it's harder to process the oxygen-rich blood and also to eliminate metabolic wastes. This is a difficult cycle; the tight muscles that would benefit most from increased blood flow actually get the least of it. Lack of oxygen and accumulation of wastes perpetuate and spread the problem to surrounding areas, and this can cause muscular pain as severe as joint and bone pain, and a lack of mobility so dramatic, many people resort to surgery. But I have to confess, I wasn't entirely convinced that visualizing breathing through the entire body would actually bring increased oxygen to restricted areas. But it does seem to help, I'm not sure how or why, but I definitely feel less restriction to those areas when I envision breathing "through" the entire body. In fact, sometimes I'm not aware of the restriction until I visualize the breathing permeating my entire body. One thing I'd like to work on further is the concept of independence of breath, because I think that I have too closely tied pain management or exertion with exhaling. Focussing on the exhale is a little bit easier and I think most beginners are taught to start with that. But now that I've been training for a few years, I think it would be beneficial to look more closely at my breathing and its correlation to certain activities in training like accepting strikes, yielding to joint locks, falls and rolls, and even just exertion. Actually, there are many more ideas to ponder in Let Every Breath, and I've found it to be an inspiration. In my day-to-day life, I can gauge the effectiveness of my breathing by my commute to work each weekday morning. When I get out of the subway, I'm about as far underground as anyone can be in Manhattan, and there are two platforms above me. So I have to climb two flights of stairs and ascend a very steep ramp to get out to the street. If I'm stuck in a big crowd, this can be a slow process. And it actually makes me a bit sad to see people who look young and fit heaving themselves up the stairs as if it's taking every last bit of energy to do so. Usually I take the stairs quickly, but if I'm sleepy or carrying heavy bags, it's always harder than if I'm well-rested and empty-handed. If I'm out of breath when I reach the street, then I know I have forgotten some of those basic principles! This book is a treasure. You don't have to be a martial artist or an athlete to benefit from reading it. If you breathe, it will help you! The principles of Russian breathing are so clearly described, with illustrations, exercises, and ideas to consider at every moment of the day. Just for starters: how often do you hold your breath? Holding the breath doesn't necessarily mean you are puffed up and blue in the face. As the author explains, pay close attention to your breathing as you perform simple tasks: lift a heavy package, thread a needle, catch a ball. Is your breathing truly continous? It's such a simple idea, and one that we take for granted: of course we don't stop our breathing, or else we'd die. Even though I have been training in Russian Martial Art, after reading Let Every Breath, I realized that I stop my breathing at certain times, especially when I'm suprised: when the train lurches suddenly, when I accidentally drop something I'm carrying, or stumble, or knock something off my desk. These small pauses, barely noticeable until I thought to check for them, might seem inconsequential, but breath is life, and when it's halted by fear or surprise or tension, it is contrary to our very survival, and it disconnects us from the natural harmony of the force of life. It's subtle, but so important, if you think of how long most people can go without breathing, 10 or 20 seconds, perhaps a bit more, then it becomes apparent why even the smallest change in breathing will affect the whole body, and overall quality of life. "Every day that you live without proper breathing is another little step of submitting to stress and deterioration of your health." - Vladimir Vasliev And that's why Let Every Breath is such an important book. It is not a book to change your lifestyle, get you to eat specific foods, follow any sort of schedule, or do anything by rote. The real gem of the book is simply the way it changes our perception of our own breathing, that which connects us to the greater universe around us. We look at a fish out of water, flopping around, and we know it is doomed. But somehow, we consider ourselves higher than those fish, as if they are imprisoned by their inability to survive without water. We even have an expression for those who are ill at ease: "like a fish out of water." But we are no different! Fish need water, we need air, no creature can survive without the life-giving force of the universe, and the best way to appreciate any gift is to accept it with humble gratitude, and use it wisely and well. "You breathe in when you're born and out when you die; in between is your life." - Mikhail Rybako Many thanks to Scott and Vladimir for creating this book, and to Mikhail, without whom it would not be possible. It is truly a gift to the Systema community and to the world beyond.