Breathing is an essential part of life. Without it we would die. So, no matter what, our bodies will always find a way to breathe. Is it possible that we can continue to breath, but in a mechanically compromising
way? This is known as the breathing paradox, and may be the reason why you have trouble with stress, lack of stability, or early fatigue.
Every movement in the body has an optimal method and a mechanically compromising method. Much like the classic "lift with your hips not with your back" advice, where lifting with your back is mechanically compromising. Breathing is no different. Breathing is the most important movement you make, every few seconds, all day,... every day. But are you doing it right? Is your method mechanically compromising?
Without getting too much into the anatomy and physiology of it, breathing occurs by a process known as negative pressure. When the airway is open and the lungs have room to expand air rushes into the lungs so that we can breathe. So let's think about the ways the lung cavity can expand to create negative pressure, which is the optimal method, and which is mechanically compromising.
There are two main ways to achieve negative pressure in the lungs.
The diaphragm contracts pushing the belly outward
The rib cage moves up and out raising the chest
The best advice here would be "breathe with your diaphragm, not your rib cage." Let me explain.
The good, the bad, and the ugly. The good part about the diaphragm contracting is that is also creates positive pressure in the abdomen. This is known as increased intra-abdominal pressure. When you have a strong core and an increase in the intra-abdominal pressure from a diaphragmatic breath the stability in the spine, pelvis, and sacrum sky-rockets. This can be critical for those with low back pain, herniated or bulging discs, and SI joint pain among others. Furthermore, you can actually achieve significant gains in strength and performance when you incorporate diaphragmatic breathing into your core stability and training programs.
The bad part about rib cage breathing is that you are forced to use accessory muscles of inspiration. Muscles that attach to the ribs actually contract to lift the rib cage up and out like a bucket handle. However, these muscles were not necessarily designed for this purpose. When things are being used for purposes they weren't supposed to be used for, bad things happen. Right mom?
This method of breathing is a reserve. It's only supposed to be used as a back up to the diaphragm and complement normal breaths as needed. However, when we stop using our diaphragms and rely solely on the accessory muscles of inspiration you'll find that you fatigue faster, compromise the stability of your spine, sacrifice strength, and effect your response to stress.
Now, we've touched on fatiguing, stability, and strength a bit but I want to focus on how your body deals with stress. We often say that we "store" our stress in our neck and shoulders. However, we don't actually "store" stress. What is actually happening is that you have been using the muscles in your neck and shoulders, and even your upper thorax to an extent, to breath. And this isn't just a few times. It's every few seconds, all day,... everyday.
It's no wonder why you feel fatigued. It's no wonder why you feel like you have no energy. It's no wonder that you feel stressed when you're not even stressed... which makes you stressed! OK sorry, that sentenced stressed me out too. But seriously, STOP breathing with your chest. You're perpetuating a stress cycle.
The best way to overcome this is to do some simple muscular re-education techniques:
Feel your breath
Lie on your back with one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly
Focus on the movement when your breathe
The hand on your chest should NOT move
The hand on your belly should rise when you inhale, and fall when you exhale
Challenge yourself
Once you get good at feeling the motion take your hands away
Can you still do it? Remember, don't let your chest move, only your belly
If that's no problem add some weight
I like to recommend a small bag of rice, nothing to heavy
Crocodile breathing
Lie on belly now with your arms to the side
Take a nice deep breath in through your belly and feel the pressure increase
Don't let your chest move!
You should feel a 360 degree ballooning effect in your abdomen
Breathe in different positions
It's nice that you can breathe on the floor properly, but it's time to stand up
Take it slow, try belly breathing on all fours, and remember, no chest movement
Try it on one knee, then try the other
Try it sitting on a chair
Finally, stand up and practice belly breathing
Once you've re-trained your body to properly breathe again walk around and challenge yourself. If you find that your ribs start moving, go back to the last position and do a few more reps to get the feel for it again. If you really want to challenge yourself, try exercising while belly breathing. This can be both difficult and dangerous so be careful. It is important to keep the core tight while you do this. If you're struggling with this, see your local qualified manual therapist, chiropractor, or personal trainer and make sure they are familiar with paradoxical breathing and diaphragmatic neuromuscular re-education training. Anyone breathing with their chest should not be lifting heavy weights.
Follow these simple re-education tools and you'll be on track for feeling less fatigues and have a better response to stress. Contact Dr. Zappy with questions, comments, or concerns. We love your feedback and greatly value your opinions. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next installment. (We also take requests)
way? This is known as the breathing paradox, and may be the reason why you have trouble with stress, lack of stability, or early fatigue.
Every movement in the body has an optimal method and a mechanically compromising method. Much like the classic "lift with your hips not with your back" advice, where lifting with your back is mechanically compromising. Breathing is no different. Breathing is the most important movement you make, every few seconds, all day,... every day. But are you doing it right? Is your method mechanically compromising?
Without getting too much into the anatomy and physiology of it, breathing occurs by a process known as negative pressure. When the airway is open and the lungs have room to expand air rushes into the lungs so that we can breathe. So let's think about the ways the lung cavity can expand to create negative pressure, which is the optimal method, and which is mechanically compromising.
There are two main ways to achieve negative pressure in the lungs.
The diaphragm contracts pushing the belly outward
The rib cage moves up and out raising the chest
The best advice here would be "breathe with your diaphragm, not your rib cage." Let me explain.
The good, the bad, and the ugly. The good part about the diaphragm contracting is that is also creates positive pressure in the abdomen. This is known as increased intra-abdominal pressure. When you have a strong core and an increase in the intra-abdominal pressure from a diaphragmatic breath the stability in the spine, pelvis, and sacrum sky-rockets. This can be critical for those with low back pain, herniated or bulging discs, and SI joint pain among others. Furthermore, you can actually achieve significant gains in strength and performance when you incorporate diaphragmatic breathing into your core stability and training programs.
The bad part about rib cage breathing is that you are forced to use accessory muscles of inspiration. Muscles that attach to the ribs actually contract to lift the rib cage up and out like a bucket handle. However, these muscles were not necessarily designed for this purpose. When things are being used for purposes they weren't supposed to be used for, bad things happen. Right mom?
This method of breathing is a reserve. It's only supposed to be used as a back up to the diaphragm and complement normal breaths as needed. However, when we stop using our diaphragms and rely solely on the accessory muscles of inspiration you'll find that you fatigue faster, compromise the stability of your spine, sacrifice strength, and effect your response to stress.
Now, we've touched on fatiguing, stability, and strength a bit but I want to focus on how your body deals with stress. We often say that we "store" our stress in our neck and shoulders. However, we don't actually "store" stress. What is actually happening is that you have been using the muscles in your neck and shoulders, and even your upper thorax to an extent, to breath. And this isn't just a few times. It's every few seconds, all day,... everyday.
It's no wonder why you feel fatigued. It's no wonder why you feel like you have no energy. It's no wonder that you feel stressed when you're not even stressed... which makes you stressed! OK sorry, that sentenced stressed me out too. But seriously, STOP breathing with your chest. You're perpetuating a stress cycle.
The best way to overcome this is to do some simple muscular re-education techniques:
Feel your breath
Lie on your back with one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly
Focus on the movement when your breathe
The hand on your chest should NOT move
The hand on your belly should rise when you inhale, and fall when you exhale
Challenge yourself
Once you get good at feeling the motion take your hands away
Can you still do it? Remember, don't let your chest move, only your belly
If that's no problem add some weight
I like to recommend a small bag of rice, nothing to heavy
Crocodile breathing
Lie on belly now with your arms to the side
Take a nice deep breath in through your belly and feel the pressure increase
Don't let your chest move!
You should feel a 360 degree ballooning effect in your abdomen
Breathe in different positions
It's nice that you can breathe on the floor properly, but it's time to stand up
Take it slow, try belly breathing on all fours, and remember, no chest movement
Try it on one knee, then try the other
Try it sitting on a chair
Finally, stand up and practice belly breathing
Once you've re-trained your body to properly breathe again walk around and challenge yourself. If you find that your ribs start moving, go back to the last position and do a few more reps to get the feel for it again. If you really want to challenge yourself, try exercising while belly breathing. This can be both difficult and dangerous so be careful. It is important to keep the core tight while you do this. If you're struggling with this, see your local qualified manual therapist, chiropractor, or personal trainer and make sure they are familiar with paradoxical breathing and diaphragmatic neuromuscular re-education training. Anyone breathing with their chest should not be lifting heavy weights.
Follow these simple re-education tools and you'll be on track for feeling less fatigues and have a better response to stress. Contact Dr. Zappy with questions, comments, or concerns. We love your feedback and greatly value your opinions. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next installment. (We also take requests)
Learning to belly breath can be difficult. Visit your local movement specialist for tips. If you live in Chester County visit our offices at 160 Park Road, Downingtown, PA 19335 in the heart of Eagle, PA. Feel free to call our offices anytime at 
484.341.8598.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_Zappy 484.341.8598.
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