One of the original blog entries for this site was on the
topic of how abdominal breathing helps to reduce stress and anxiety. You can read that blog entry here Abdominal Breathing: Your Secret Weapon Against Symptoms of Anxiety
Because that blog was so
popular, it’s clear that many people are interested in information about using
abdominal breathing to help them reduce stress and anxiety, and it’s a good
thing, because it works very well.
Many times people will try abdominal breathing and feel it’s
either too hard, or they will judge themselves and believe they are doing it
wrong. Usually, the reason it feels difficult
or wrong is because stressful breathing has become habitual at that point and most likely has replaced natural and normal breathing patterns. You could say that the unnatural breathing has
become the new normal, or at least what feels normal.
Un-learning the bad form of breathing will feel unnatural at first, even
difficult, but you can become better at it with practice.
It helps to understand that the diaphragm is a muscle that
sits below the rib cage and when you flex your tummy, the tight muscles push
the diaphragm upward and into the bottom of your lungs, thus crowding the lower
part of the lungs. This pressure under your lungs
leaves less room for air to enter, so
you get less air and tend to breathe more into the upper chest, which is more like
hyperventilating than really breathing in a relaxed way.
If you relax your tummy instead, and even let it pooch out a little when you breathe in,
this lowers the diaphragm and allows the lower part of the lungs to relax downward
and fill with more fresh air. This brings
more oxygen into the body with every inhalation, and takes more toxic carbon
dioxide out with each exhalation. For a while, you may have to consciously work at extending
your tummy each time you breathe in, and consciously push your tummy inward
each time you exhale, just until this starts to become more natural and the new
normal.
Take it slow and be patient with
yourself. Most of all, stop believing
those false social norms that say you should suck or hold your gut in or try to flatten
your stomach by holding your breath or flexing your stomach all the time. Those false beliefs only make you more tense
and perpetuate even more unhealthy breathing.
Thanks to Robert Couse-Baker for the great photo - The Winds of Spring
