The Power of Diaphragmatic Breathing
“Breath is a powerful force; without it, there is no life.”
The quality of your breathing directly impacts the quality of your life. Breathing plays a vital role in how you think and feel, rest and recover, and even in your posture and movement. Breathing is an automatic function of the body that is controlled by the respiratory center of the brain, meaning you don’t have to think about it in order for it to happen, similar to digestion and circulation.
The primary role of breathing is to absorb oxygen and to expel carbon dioxide through the movement of the lungs. The primary muscles that control the movement of the lungs are the diaphragm (a sheet of muscle underneath the lungs), the intercostals (the muscles between the ribs), transverse abdominis (deeper ab muscles) and obliques.
Most people aren't even aware of the diaphragm muscle even though it plays the biggest role in diaphragmatic breathing It also plays an extremely important role in our emotional and physical health. The diaphragm connects directly to the lower back and affects the health of the spine. It also affects the digestive system, heart rate, posture, your ability to detox lactic acid and control your stress (because of its direct connection with the nerve system).
Since it is directly connected to the autonomic nerve system, how you breathe and the quality of your breath can have a huge impact on your emotional wellbeing, heart rate, blood pressure and posture. We humans are born to breathe using the diaphragm muscles to balance our nerve system and nourish the digestive system, metabolism, heart, which help us stay in optimal health.
When I work with my chronic pain clients, their breathing is happening mostly from their shoulders, neck and upper body. The longer and more intense the pain issue, the more I see more shallow breathing patterns. Poor posture manifests from these poor breathing pattern as well, with some examples being seen as a forward head, rounded shoulders, short or hyperextended neck, tight pecs, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of people with shallow breathing patterns don't even notice because they've been like that for such a long time. I have to continually remind and bring awareness to my clients about their breathing patterns so that they can help their central nervous system recognize the problem and make a diligent effort to correct it.
The more you breathe through your chest and neck, the more you move into a sympathetic nerve system (fight / flight), which causes you to feel agitated, anxious and depressed. Short breath and improper breathing not only affects how you think and feel, but also your posture and overall chronic pain, since the primary breathing muscles are the core muscles that support your body and its posture.
Diaphragmatic breathing also helps athletics to improve their performances and experience less fatigue during and after their sport, which gives them a huge advantage over others.