Breathing is unique to all life forms. From the sea sponge to humans to plants, we all breathe. Even though we all breathe we might not be breathing the way we were designed to breath. You might be thinking how can one breathe wrong?
Due to lifestyle choices and other factors such as sitting all day and high stress we tend to use a lot of our accessory breathing muscles; the scalene group, sternocleidomastoid, pectoral group, serratus posterior/anterior, and even the latissimus dorsi plays a role in breathing. However, using these muscles too much to breathe can cause hypertonicity of those muscles and can leave them in a shortened state. We only want to use these muscles to breath while doing activities that require more oxygen, such as, when exercising.
So, if we aren’t supposed to use those muscles what do we use? The answer is the diaphragm. The diaphragm attaches along the lower 6 ribs, xiphoid process and to the upper 3 lumbar vertebrae. Beside the roles of inhalation and exhalation, the diaphragm plays a large role in aiding in the stabilization the low back via the Integrated Spinal Stabilizing System(ISSS). The diaphragm and core help in the stabilization of the trunk when reaching, pulling, and other functional activities. Test this yourself, feel your belly/core with one hand and with the other pick up a 5-pound weight with an outstretched arm. Did you feel your core become stiff and tight?
Now let’s discuss the correct way. Begin with crocodile breathing by laying on your stomach and with each inhalation feel the belly push into the floor. Then roll over on your back with your hips and knees bent into a 90/90 position and feet resting on a ball/chair etc. Make sure the rib cage is down and not flared out and there is pressure into the floor through the back by keeping the ribcage down. From this position rest one hand on the belly and the other hand on the chest and just breathe. Pay attention to which hand is moving. Is it the top or bottom hand? It should be the bottom hand that moves and the top hand shouldn’t move until the hand on the belly is done rising. Then move your hands to the side of your belly and focus breathing into your hands. The end goal with this is to be able to breathe deeply into the pelvis and have a 360-degree expansion of the trunk. This will be difficult at first, but will become second nature with practice. Watch the video for the breathing progression.
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Movement Ready 