Sore Neck, Headaches, Fatigue? … It Could Be How You Breathe

Stop for a second and take notice… Did you breathe in through your mouth or through your nose?

Your body is designed to breathe in through your nose because the lining of your nose is covered with cilia that help to warm and filter out bacteria and viruses from the air you breathe, thereby reducing the number of bugs you’re exposed to. Shallow breathing and poor flexibility stimulate the fight or flight centre of the brain encouraging the stress response. Conversely a deep breath is important for relaxed brain and nervous system. If we’re not breathing deeply (belly breathing) it’s impossible to be relaxed. Meditation is all based around relaxing and focusing on the breath to reset the body and much of its benefit is thought to be due to concentrating on a deep breath. Digestion is also significantly affected by diaphragm tension.

So what are the five most important things you can do right now to improve your breathing?

1) Stand up straight with your shoulders back. Work with a chiropractor or similar practitioner to improve the alignment, posture and strength of your neck and upper back so you don’t hunch forward.

2) Focus on breathing in through your nose, which also helps you to expand your chest outwards. It is especially effective if you breathe in through your nose when exercising.

3) Slow your breaths. Focus on long breaths out. This is one of the reasons meditation and yoga are so beneficial.

4) Lay on a posture pole or foam roller vertically up the spine. This is a position which will help posture as well as mobilise the ribs. If your someone who is very round or it hurts to lay on the pole consult someone first to check its appropriate for you.
 

5) Get more flexibility in your ribs. Sometimes your ribs have become stiff or stuck where they connect to the spine and where they connect to the sternum (breastbone) because of poor posture or postural misalignments. That’s where some brilliant chiropractic adjustments or the like can quite dramatically improve the flexibility of your rib cage in a matter of seconds.

All our practitioners are experts in breathing. If you think you mightn’t be breathing properly please ask to be accessed.