The Power of Breath
Do you ever catch yourself holding your breath? Most of us go about our days doing this without even realizing it. Over time we’ve become a society of chest-breathers. We have developed shallow breathing patterns that put all the pressure on our neck and shoulder muscles to bring air into the lungs. We can thank our desk jobs, computer screens and a constant flow of stress for this. This slouching position that we hold all day only adds to neck, back and hip pain and cuts off our oxygen supply. So, here we are at the end of every work day, fatigued and in pain all because we don’t know how to breathe!
The good news is, we have a big breathing muscle that is not being given enough attention. The diaphragm should contract and pull downward when you breathe in to help the body pull air into the lungs more efficiently. As you exhale, the diaphragm relaxes to push air out. This means, the belly should expand when you breathe in and contract as you breathe out.
So…how do we re-teach ourselves how to do something we’ve done our entire lives?
1. This may sound obvious but, make it a habit to focus on your breath. Focusing on each inhale and exhale will help you regain control of the diaphragm and relax the shoulders and neck. With practice, you can learn to keep your shoulders still, and use the diaphragm and rib muscles to draw air in. Get in a comfortable position on your back down on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor and place your hands on your lower rib cage (just under your chest) and breathe slowly in through your nose. Pay attention to if the shoulders rise more than the chest or vise versa. Exhale through the mouth until you can feel the ribs relax back down and the abdominals contracting.
2. Focus on posture. Strong posture helps keep the body in alignment and consequently, breathe better. Slouched posture collapses the chest making it extremely difficult for the rib cage and diaphragm to do their job. Avoid crossing your legs when sitting in a chair, this compromises the spine and the breathing muscles. Sit tall on your seat bones, with feet flat on the floor. Keep the shoulders back and down away from the ears.
3. Last but not least, exercise! This is the best and most efficient way to increase oxygen demand. If you’re tied to a desk for most of your day, cardiovascular exercise will force you to use your diaphragm and rib cage muscles to circulate oxygen. When participating in exercise, make sure your posture and form is aligned and comfortable to practice postural alignment. The abdominal muscles work not only to hold you in good posture, but to assist in efficient exhalation as well.
The good thing about breathing is it’s free and always available!! Take a few minutes each day to pause and focus on breathing deeply to help improve your physical and mental well-being.