Breath and your body

Over the last few years I have been more drawn to focus on my breath. Breathing is something that we do automatically, numerous times per day., and we hardly think about how it works and perhaps the impact it could have on our overall well being. When we inhale our lungs fill with air, our rib cage should expand and our diaphragm moves in a more down and outward motion. This movement through the diaphragm creates feed back for our pelvic floor and surrounding structures, it even helps massage the tissues surrounding our internal organs. These movements are what help lubricate our cells, deliver oxygen and nutrients, and expel waste through our body.

As you sit here reading, take a moment to notice your breath. Is it fast or slow, does it feel shallow or full, and is your belly or rib cage moving while you take that inhale. For most of us the belly might move, or we might feel our upper chest move, and our breath is often stifled, not full, deep and relaxed. Now place your hands on the sides of your rib cage, and take that same monotonous breath. Did your rib cage move or was it more stagnant? Still keeping your hands on the sides of your ribs, make a more intentional breath, one that expands your rib cage laterally and pushes your hands away from one another. How did that feel? Uncomfortable and foreign? Perhaps maybe good and opening. Take a few more of those intentional breaths, thinking about the expansion of the ribs in all directions and the push/ pull of the diaphragm doing its job. These larger more expansive breaths are how our diaphragm and ribs are made to move. It creates the space through our tissues for oxygen and nutrients to be delivered and helps massage the trunk of our body: the organs, muscles, and bones.

This breath technique helps open the rib cage which in tandem can help decrease back pain. Because our rib cage is designed to move in this lateral way, we are returning to how our body is supposed to function and giving our tissues the opportunity to bring in more oxygen and nutrients and dispose of the by products. When we spend a lot of our time doing the same movements or in the same position, our muscles and joints get comfortable but stuck. This can create imbalance or some stagnancy within our body. I see in a lot of patients that the thoracic spine (middle area of the spine) doesn’t move well. One of the unique things about the thoracic spine is that it has the contact points for our ribs, so with the above way of breathing we are utilizing how the ribs and spinal segments are supposed to interact with one another, which helps bring more movement and support to our spine. Over time, integrating this technique will help your body remember how to use the rib cage and create breath. This integration can keep your spine more lubricated and help decrease any pain associated with that.

Let me know how this felt in your body!

With care,

Amanda