Breathe

DO YOU KNOW HOW TO BREATHE?

Well, of course, you do! But, are you breathing to support better function of your muscles and the mechanics of your body? or do you have “Bad Breath Habits?!

Let's see!

WHEN WE INHALE, the primary breathing muscle, our diaphragm (situated within the base of our ribs), pulls down and helps air draw into our lungs. When our lungs are full of air, our torso should expand, a little like a balloon expands, three-dimensionally. The muscles at the sides and bottom of the torso are lengthening, not contracting and holding tension. You may even feel a sense of relaxing in the belly and torso.

WHEN WE EXHALE, the muscles of our torso activate to "push" the air out of our lunges - starting with the muscles of our pelvic floor right at the bottom of our pelvis and the deepest layer of abdominal muscles (transverse abdominis). The outer abdominal muscles (internal and external obliques) can help us exhale more forcefully but are not the primary muscles used to breathe.

To practice this coordination, we can use diaphragmatic breathing demonstrated in this video. It is a breathing technique that should calm the body and help release tension. You shouldn't feel like you're "holding your abdominals in" or working particularly hard with this breath.

Diaphragmatic breathing is a great technique to help with stress and anxiety in our everyday lives. It is encouraged during labour to help the birthing person release tension and move their baby down into the pelvis. And it's a great way to calm ourselves down when we are feeling overwhelmed by our tiny human(s) in parenthood.

Try some breathing with me!

Do you know how to breathe?

Want to learn more? Contact me!