Breath and Health

Breath is critical for our overall health, and usually the first thing that goes when we are under stress.

In the modern age, very few of us breathe properly. There are many sources for poor breathing– slouching, stress, anxiety, and depression are some causes. As babies we naturally breathe with our stomachs. As life goeson, some of us become chest breathers–inflating more in the chest than in the abdomen. This restricts the total amount of air and oxygen we get into our bodies. When cells receive oxygen, they use it to create the chemical adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is energy. It is the energy used to drive all processes in the body. Therefore breath = life.

Respiration is more complex than it seems on the surface. When we draw air into our bodies, an orchestra of muscle movement is responsible for the rise and fall of the rib cage to accomodate the expansion. There are specific muscles in the neck, upper back, between each rib, and in the lower back that are all directly responsible for elevating and depressing the rib cage during breath–inhalation and exhalation. If the fascia that runs over and between the rib cage is restricted on the whole, then rib expansion will be restricted too. Therefore, just having a “tight” back in general can alter breathing. Bodywork and stretching are great tools for improving respiration. If following a massage or yoga session, you notice your breathing has improved, that’s totally why! Restriction in the abdomen can prevent proper breathing as well because the tissues in that area need to expand. Unfortunately many of us are locked up in our abdomens because it is an emotional storage center. This is more than a figurative concept. There is an additional branch of the nervous system in the abdomen called the “enteric nervous system” where serotonin, dopamine and other neurotransmitter receptors are located. That’s where the term follow your gut comes from. Emotional trauma, experience and the need for control all manifest in that area. The more tightly it is clenched, the more we are holding onto, figuratively and literally. In releasing some of the tension in that area and the muscles of respiration, you can alter and deepen your respiratory pattern.

All the therapists at Balans are equipped to help you achieve this goal if this is something you suffer with or are interested in improving. For self-care, some techniques you can practice at home are focused deep breathing, abdominal awareness and stretching (cobra and camel pose), chest opening (pec stretches, laying on a stack of pillows with your arms and chest open), cardio, giving attention to emotional issues and feelings (allowing), and herbal teas for breathing (Traditional Medicinals
Breathe Easy).

To a better, more oxygen enriched life
~Razelle, Orthopedic MT