Breathe Easy: When you're doing something 20,000 times a day, you want to do it right.
Your breathing has a powerful influence over your physiological and psychological well-being. The link to our physiology is obvious; in it's absence the only thing you’ll be doing is figuring out where the next breath is coming from and little else will focus the mind quite so keenly. But there's a clear link to our psychological well-being also, and specifically our stress levels.
As with our quality of movement - for whatever reason, whether through injury, posture or habit, even with fundamental flaws in our patterns, the body will find a way around things - a compensation. For breathing it is no different, and our posture and daily habits can also be feeding subtle breathing pattern disorders.
As with the stress response, your pattern of breathing will be either parasympathetic or sympathetic. Of course, by design you want to be able to breathe both ways, but when in a relaxed state you want to default to a parasympathetic pattern meaning your diaphragm contracts and relaxes without your thinking about it. Conversely, sympathetic or panic breathing, occurs under stress. This method of breathing is not done solely by the diaphragm but via other lesser alternatives - another compensation.
Think of a child sleeping, you can easily see the stomach moving in and out - a demonstration of ideal diaphragmatic breathing. Now, think of a child crying - under stress the relaxed pattern is forgotten and instead we see the muscles of the upper rib cage, and neck working to elevate the shoulders and ribs to draw in more air.
If the diaphragm isn't used as intended, then, as with any other area of the body - other muscles must pick up the slack. In this instance, the muscles in the neck and shoulders are permanently switched on. With the movement of breath occurring approximately 20,000 times a day, this, of course, results in tension and pain - neck stiffness, shoulder pain, forward head posture, headaches and abdominal weakness. Other indicators include an anterior( forward) pelvic tilt and rib flare. This can further indicate a common disorder whereby people do not fully exhale leaving themselves in an almost permanent state of inhalation. This again put us back in that no-mans land of a subtle, yet constant state of fight-or-flight. The same low-level, chronic stress response.
Inescapably, this will lead to the same range of adverse effects:
Tiredness
Increased anxiety
Dizziness
Exhaustion
Tingling
Cramps
Confusion
Panic attacks
Phobic behaviour
Weakness
Poor core stability/motor control
Rapid pulse
Sweating
Cold extremities
Increased muscle tension
Trigger points
Muscle spasm
Increased swallowing rate
Bloating/indigestion
Food allergies
Shoulder/head/neck pain
Increased pain perception
Strong allergic reactions
However, given that we remain conscious from moment to moment, along with the fact that we have been doing it for some time, we tend to think we are across the whole breathing thing. Unfortunately this means these symptoms are unlikely to be traced to their source.
The good news is that the diaphragm, like any muscle, can be trained. Using corrective exercises to re-patterning your primary muscle of inspiration and to awaken and strengthen the respiratory muscles so that you breathe most optimally. And as with all movement patterning, you follow the same process:
1. First, we need to be sure there is no anatomical obstacle influencing your breathing. This may be the case if you have any if the following:
Seasonal allergies
Often congested
Episodes of bronchitis
Wheezing when you breathe
Going straight to mouth breathing with any exertion
A consistently dry mouth
2. Establish mobility. Restrictions and tightness in any area of relevance can mean that the body will simply pick another option. Tightness in the neck, throat, chest or back will all inhibit natural breathing.
3. Given no structural or mobility restrictions then look to the following techniques to help these patterns. As with all movement correctives, these serve to remind the brain of a better alternative, as well as activating and strengthening muscles that may have become dormant.
Breathing Drills
1. Crocodile Breathing - Lie face down with your forehead resting on your hands. The floor/ground will act as a sensory tool to help you ensure you are doing this right. Get comfortable and try to relax. You may start by feeling most of your breath in the chest with minimal movement around the midsection so begin by directing your breath into your belly. Over time look to fill the belly, sides, low back and lungs - in that order. Try and fill the torso from bottom to top, 360 degrees.
2. 3-Month Breathing - Named after the position an infant would lie in as above - lie on your back and bend your knees with your feet off the floor. Your hips and knees will be flexed with your feet off the ground. Think about keeping the spine long, ribs down and chin tucked. The challenge will be holding this position while breathing correctly. As with the crocodile-breathing, think about breathing wide. Aim to fill the obliques and low back with each breath. It’s alright for it to be challenging, but you should be able to maintain a smooth and natural breath while holding the position. If too challenging place your feet on a wall or the edge of a chair.
3. Child’s Pose Breathing- If you’re familiar with yoga at all, you'll already know this one. Sit back on your heels, with your chest tucked onto your knees and your hands extended overhead. This position allows you to close off the ribs with your knees and helps force air into the low back, stretching the paraspinal's with each breath. This is an excellent option for those stuck in an extended posture - pelvis tilted forward, arched lower back and flaring ribs.
Key points to remember:
The entire abdomen (360 degrees) expands first, then the chest.
Relax the neck - place the tip of the tongue on the roof of the mouth to disengage these muscles
Breathe in through the nose, and out through the mouth
Activate the abdominals by exhaling twice as long as you inhale. The rib cage should lower when exhaling and any rib flare should disappear.
Exhale fully - use a balloon if necessary to provide feedback. This will also act as a resistance further helping to strengthen respiratory muscles.
Try all of these exercises and see which of them spotlights your areas of restriction throughout the chest and ribcage, the low back, the abdominals, pelvic floor and neck.
Then perform it for 3 minutes immediately before bed. Every night. If you have trouble sleeping you can further develop this exercise into breathing yourself to sleep. As well as retraining your natural breathing pattern, this will improve your quality of sleep, lower heart rate, reduce blood pressure and stress levels. It will essentially reset your entire nervous system. In just 3 minutes.
The importance of breath control, although the primary focus in the most ancient forms of exercise - Yoga, Qi Gong, and the martial arts, is strangely absent from the modern day. Although an unconscious process, uniquely, it can also be managed consciously. Try and control some of your other autonomous functions at will - see if you can sweat on cue.
This control we have is one of the only ways in which we can have any direct influence behind the scenes. If our breathing is relaxed, so will we be, and vice versa. No matter how good or bad you may interpret any situation to be, the body will always take its cues from how you are breathing.
Your breathing fuels everything you do and your performance in every fitness endeavour, your recovery, and your quality of life will all be improved by ensuring the mechanics of breathing are as efficient as possible. Whatever you happen to be doing whilst breathing, you'll do it better.
References:
http://www.mikereinold.com/2013/04/breathing-pattern-disorders.html
http://researchbank.rmit.edu.au/eserv/rmit:11996/Courtney.pdf