Big bad belly breathing

On average, a person at rest breathes 9 times per minute. At least that’s my rate, and I’m no yogi, so I’m guessing I’m about average? This means we breathe in and out around 540 times per hour, that’s, 12,960 breaths a day, 4,730,400 a year. 

From birth to death, it’s automatic, an unconscious reflex controlled by the reptilian brain. As old as evolution itself. So how the hell can we be getting it so wrong that it's doing us harm?​

A person who lives to 90 will take over to 425 million breaths in their lifetime.
And If you are doing something that can cause you harm 425 million times you can be pretty sure that it’s going to do you a LOT of harm.

So how should we breathe?
First of all, forget all the complicated stuff about what the diaphragm is supposed to do. There may be some advantages in imagining that you can control this tonic muscle but definitely not until you have the basics right. Forget also lung anatomy, pleural sacs and gas exchange physics. None of this is required for natural, simple breathing to take place.

Very simply, you breath-in and your lungs fill with air. The lungs are in the rib cage so the chest has to expand. Actually, the whole rib cage has to move. How does it move? The intercostal muscles pull the ribs out and up. Think bucket handles.


For those functional anatomy geeks out there, think:

• pump handles for the upper ribs, 
• bucket handles for ribs 3 to 10
• pincers for ribs 11 and 12 

But let's forget the floating ribs because unlike the other 10 pairs they don’t actually join in the middle, that's why they move like pincers. 

Keeping it simple, you can think bucket handles for all ribs. A series of 10 bucket handles stacked one on top of the other. 

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From a side view of the body, we see that the ribs move in an arc. Up and out, and as they move up and out, they also separate from each other. The gap between each rib becoming a little wider at the top of the inhale.

​Next, think also Venetian blinds. Because as the ribs move up and out and away from each other, they also rotate on their own axis like the slats in a Venetian blind.
So when we inhale the ribs should lift, separate and rotate..

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Next, think also Venetian blinds. Because as the ribs move up and out and away from each other, they also rotate on their own axis like the slats in a Venetian blind.

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So when we inhale the ribs should lift, separate and rotate. This is a lovely workout for the fascial covering of the entire rib cage. A gentle stretch for the fascia between and behind the ribs too. All this movement prevents fascial fibres from becoming too sticky, too layered, too restrictive. ​

Even better though, where the ribs attach to the spine, in two places. The gentle moving apart and rotating action causes the vertebral bodies to separate. Decompressing the discs between. Helping them to imbibe fluid and to stay juicy and plump.

Plump, juicy discs are gooood!

The habit that harms

So what goes wrong?
What is the bad habit that creeps in here?

Answer: We stop moving the ribs when we breathe. 
Physical trauma, sitting for long periods, slouching and emotional holding can be the beginning of this habit.
In my practice as a Rolfer, I would estimate that 60% to 70% of the people I see are belly breathing.  

But ……and its a big bad BUT
Another reason why people are developing this terrible habit of belly breathing is that they are being taught to do it!
Hands up if your mindfulness coach, yoga, tai chi, meditation or Pilates teacher has told you to do this? Hands up if you are one of those teachers!

Before you shoot me down...
...let me sidetrack a bit and explain what I think is going on. 

Good Belly Breathing 
Breathing to the belly, diaphragmatic breathing, abdominal breathing, deep breathing, Buddhist breathing, Yogic breathing, post-birth breathing, Pranayama…….

.... it’s all good. If you want to pacify the fight/flight system and achieve a calm meditative state of mind, it definitely works. It has even been validated by science (a few thousand years behind the curve but hey the men in white coats caught up eventually!). 

Alternatively, if you want to give yourself an energy boost? Try reverse-breathing, Taoist breathing or pre-birth breathing. 
Suck your belly in as you inhale and on the exhale you attempt to create an abdominal vacuum by allowing your belly to expand. At the same time, the thoracic diaphragm moves upward, and the pelvic diaphragm moves downward.

Complicated huh? - yup!
Belly breathing is not a natural movement. It’s an overlaid pattern, one that should be learned with great care and more importantly, used only for a specific special effect.

Yeh, but what harm can it do?
well, if you adopt belly breathing as your habitual breathing style then here are a few things that you can look forward to: 

• Stooped posture, pronounced kyphosis, dowagers hump, pot belly
• Limited movement in the neck, shoulders, ribs, spine, and pelvis.
• Headaches, tinnitus, sleep apnea,
• Lack of energy, Tiredness, exhaustion.
• Poor digestion, leading to more severe and permanent digestive problems
• Poor circulation
• Fertility problems
• Back pain, Herniated discs, Osteoarthritis, Sciatica
• Depression, anxiousness, brain fog, poor concentration​

The point I want to emphasise just once more here is that if the ribs aren’t moved, they will become bound together. When this happens spinal movement becomes severely restricted. Lose spinal flexibility and be old way before your time. 
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So you guys teaching belly breathing, I love you all. We definitely need a more chilled out world. But....please make it crystal clear to your students, that belly breathing while great for centring and calming, is not meant to replace every-day rib breathing. 
 
Rant over!

Kicking that Habit

So let me walk you through a simple exercise that will help you get your breathing software debugged and back online.

Part 1. Are you an inadvertent Belly Breather?

Let’s first find out if you are a belly breather or a rib breather. You can do this exercise sitting or standing, but today we will start with you lying on your back. Choose a firm surface, have your knees bent, feet flat and a little support for your head, a rolled towel or something.  

When you are comfortable place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest. 
Now take a deep breath-in and notice which hand moves the most? If it’s your chest, that’s good you are using your ribs, but you might want to keep reading. As you may still have some little habits that aren’t working for you. If it was the hand on your belly then you are in the right place, stay with me. ​

Part 2. For all you inadvertent Belly Breathers

If you are a belly breather then, when you are ready, as you take the next deep breath, gently hold the belly down and aim that breath-into your rib cage. Imagine the lungs filling, and those bucket handles moving up and out and the hand on your chest rising up.​

How was that? Difficult? Try it a couple of times. If the habit is strong, it may take some practice to get your body used to this new movement. Be patient, and it will come. 

If you managed it first time well done, how did it feel? Did it feel full and satisfying? Or maybe a little bit was missing. A space right at the top of your lungs that you couldn’t quite reach? 

For those who already breathe into the ribs and also for you belly breathers here’s the next part of the exercise. ​

Part 3. For shoulder hunchers and back rounders

Place both hands on the upper chest, fingers facing in towards the sternum. When you are ready, take another deep breath. Again directing the air into the rib cage and notice, do the fingers move apart or towards each other?

If they move towards each other, then you are using your ribs. You are also hunching your shoulders or rounding your upper back? Or both? And this isn’t so good.

Rounding the back on the in-breath can be a habit even for those who already rib breath. If you think about this for a minute. Rounding the back will push the ribs closer together at the front. This is the opposite of the bucket handle movement that we are looking for. In addition, your posture will start to become hunched and stiff. 
To really feel this, try rounding the back on purpose as you inhale.​

Doing it wrong
​on purpose

Take a couple of deep breaths in and purposely round the shoulders and upper back.  The chest closes at the front, and the fingers are pushed towards each other. 

Not a great feeling is it? And you may be doing a version of that every time you take a breath? This puts a lot of strain into your body. It also leads to sore muscles and unnecessary depletion of your energy reserves.​

Part 4. The antidote

So here’s the antidote for this type of breathing? It's actually an excellent relaxing and opening exercise for anyone who is feeling a little bit stressed or tight in the chest and back.

Still lying on your back, concentrate on the spinal segments in the upper back, say T1 to T6 or 7.(see the diagram) ​ 

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Now imagine that each vertebra is attached to balloons filled with helium. Lighter than air. As you take the next in-breath this section of your spine is pulled upwards towards the front of your chest.​

You don’t have to 'Do' this by actively arching the back. Just the let the air filling your lungs, and your imagination do it for you. It's not so much a movement as the idea of a movement. 

As you do this, feel the fingers move apart and the chest rising and opening 

How was that? Was the breath a little fuller, easier? ​


What to expect when you get it right

If you have habitually been a belly breather, it can take a while for the ribs to start responding. For you to feel a really full and satisfying breath. The intercostal muscles may need a little time to remember how to do this. The ribs may be cocooned in fascia from years of no movement. 

But don’t worry your body is very forgiving and almost infinitely adaptable. If you gently persevere with this exercise. Say a few minutes each day, within a week or two you should start to notice some changes. 

You may notice that you have more energy, that you have less of a tendency to slouch at your desk. Or you may notice that your back, neck or shoulder pain may have magically disappeared. Other people, your work colleagues, friends or family may even see that your posture has changed. 

Try it and let me know how you get on. 

That’s it for the first Movement Habits That Harm You and How to Kick them. ​I hope it's been informative and useful. If you have questions or would like to leave me some feedback I’d love to hear from you.

Watch this space for more in the series.
Coming up:
Are you moving with your brakes on? 
Walk sexy or suffer
Engrams, why we are not robots
How to really mess up your back 
They fuck you up,  your shoes 
2 inches taller 
Don’t be a tight ass 
Who stole my core?​