Believe it or not, you breathe in and out more than 20,000 times a day, and yet, most of the time you do it incorrectly. I can hear you asking, “How is it possible to breathe wrong? Air goes in; air goes out. How can something so simple be any more complicated?” Well, due to poor posture or lack of body awareness, you end up using the wrong muscles to breathe.
The end result is shallow, ineffective breathing that robs you of all the full benefits of your breath. Poor posture — with a rounded back, dropped shoulders, and a forward head —reduces the ability of the diaphragm to contract and the ribs to expand to their full potential. The lung itself has no muscles, so it’s totally dependent on the muscles around it to create the respiratory process of inhaling and exhaling.
This can happen two ways: by using the muscles that lift and lower the ribcage or by using the muscles of the diaphragm. Unfortunately, most people use the shoulder and chest muscles to facilitate the respiratory process of inhaling and exhaling. Although these muscles are large and powerful, breathing isn’t really what they were designed for. Instead, the primary location of the movement of respiration should be the diaphragm, which only has one function: breathing.
Here are some healthy breathing tips
The end result is shallow, ineffective breathing that robs you of all the full benefits of your breath. Poor posture — with a rounded back, dropped shoulders, and a forward head —reduces the ability of the diaphragm to contract and the ribs to expand to their full potential. The lung itself has no muscles, so it’s totally dependent on the muscles around it to create the respiratory process of inhaling and exhaling.
This can happen two ways: by using the muscles that lift and lower the ribcage or by using the muscles of the diaphragm. Unfortunately, most people use the shoulder and chest muscles to facilitate the respiratory process of inhaling and exhaling. Although these muscles are large and powerful, breathing isn’t really what they were designed for. Instead, the primary location of the movement of respiration should be the diaphragm, which only has one function: breathing.
Here are some healthy breathing tips
- Inhale through your nose, filling your chest with air and letting your belly expand. This technique allows your nose to filter and warm the air before your body uses it. _ Make sure that your shoulders stay relaxed and don’t raise up around your ears when you’re breathing.
- Exhale through your mouth, consciously using your deep abdominal muscles and diaphragm to push the air out (belly will deflate). Just remember, to get all these wonderful benefits, you need to breathe the way your body was designed — from your core.
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