"We may learn to stay present with our physical sensations, but if the diaphragm is hypertonic (or too tight, just like your shoulders) or the stomach can’t move properly in the abdominal cavity, we will have to work really hard to achieve calm presence when we could instead work to unblock stagnation and release tissues..."
Most of us have heard something about diaphragmatic breathing somewhere along the lines in our life. Rarely is this ever so important breath broken down in detail as to how it should work, or why it is so freaking important. The above quotation has summed up what I have felt for years about the importance of breathing. I wanted to take some time to break it down today, to have the logical explanation of why we take deep breaths to calm ourselves down.
Inhale.
But do not breath into your belly first. Your stomachs main function is not to breath, it is to digest. Your lungs are meant for breathing, so use them. Fill them from top to bottom when you breath. When we inhale our intercoastal muscles (the muscles between the ribs) and the diaphragm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoracic_diaphragm) contract to expand out so that the lungs can fill properly. Once the rib cage has created space for the lungs to fill our diaphragm pushes down into our belly and pushes the belly button away from the spine.
The inhale brings energy into our body, delivering oxygen to our heart, blood, and muscles which also stimulates the nerves.
Exhale.
Breath out of your belly FIRST. Engage or flex your abdominal muscles as if pulling the belly button towards the spine to push the diaphragm back up into the rib cage putting pressure on the lungs to empty and breath out. In a natural exhale the muscles between the ribs and the diaphragm will release their contraction and the lungs will empty. By engaging the muscles of the core we are putting emphasis on the control of our breath.
The exhale releases energy from the body, calming our nervous system, and releasing carbon monoxide from the body. Think about how you sigh in situations where there is frustration or tension has been released, this is the bodies way of letting it all go.
To reconnect to the very beginning of this post, if you breath incorrectly you are putting unneccsary tension into the diaphragm and the body. By building these tensions physically you will find mental discomfort as well, with outcomes such as headaches, anxiety, moodiness, insomnia, and a disconnection to how you are really feeling. For these syptoms to be relieved we must first teach ourselves to breath correctly so that our muscles are releasing tension, which in turn will release tension from our nerves.
As our breath steadies out our bodies are able to balance the "rest and digest" (parasympathetic, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasympathetic_nervous_system ) with the "fight or flight" (sympathetic, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sympathetic_nervous_system ). We become better able to make decisions, , learn to control our tempers, and over all relax!
Ok, so that is a more logical approach as to why we learn to breath correctly. I have also attached an 8 minute audio walking you through the breath. If you can, take the time and listen to it. It's 8 minutes of lying on your back, which I am sure no one will argue is something that we need more of. In addition, check out the below link about trauma, it is enlightening
It will change your day, you will walk away feeling a bit calmer and with a better understanding of how the breath effects you.
Enjoy!
Great post Andriane, listening to the video now.
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