Stress and breathing

The topic of relaxation and dealing with stress has come up frequently with many of my friends and clients as of late. There is a tie to it all that can be be realized just by getting our breathing back to its intended state. I have listed below some interesting info about stress, breathing, and how you can implement a quick and easier way to tap into the healing power of BREATH today.
BREATH:
Few people would argue that breathing is one of the most important aspects of human life! However, it is likely that many of your clients do not breathe properly. The two most common problems are a rapid respiratory rate and overuse of the chest during the inhalation cycle. In the later of these two there is inadequate downward travel of the diaphragm, inadequate expansion of the abdominal wall and inadequate expansion of the rib cage resulting in an alteration of blood-gas mixtures which favors the action of calcium and can result in muscle cramping.

Poor respiratory performance is usually related to several factors, such as:

· Poor posture
· Emotional stress
· Fear
· Bad diet
· Poor examples of how to breathe from parents

Because many people are exposed to at least one of the above factors, the inability to breathe properly is a common clinical finding. I have personally found many people who have breathing dysfunctions in the presence of pain and dysfunction in the head, neck, jaw, shoulder and arm regions. There may be an additional visceral dysfunction related to poor breathing habits as well. The diaphragm is a major player in the circulation of lymph and blood through your internal organs, in addition to its role in keeping the organs mobile. When the respiratory apparatus is dysfunctional, the chance of developing visceral ptosis is elevated as is the chances of becoming constipated. This is just one way incorrect breathing will diminish the body’s ability to eliminate toxins.
-Paul Chek

STRESS:
Chest breathing can be the result of stress. In order to better understand stress, we must first understand stress’s connection to the sympathetic nervous system.

The sympathetic side of the autonomic nervous system has a lot to do with our “fight or flight” response. When you encounter a stressful situation you evoke a sympathetic response. Imagine that you are at a gas station paying at the counter and in comes a man with a ski mask waving around a gun demanding money. You would surely experience a sympathetic response. You would probably have an overwhelming urge to do one of two things. One, sprint out the door, run home and change your shorts. Or two, kick some serious butt!

This is an example of a very stressful situation evoking a sympathetic response. Very few of us encounter stresses of this magnitude on a regular basis, but we do experience more subtle stresses frequently, which still warrant a sympathetic response. Examples include worrying about bills, driving in traffic, feeling pressed for time or encountering a difficult business or personal relationship. These types of stresses can stay with us day in and day out, and even carry over to our sleep.

One of the first things that happens in a stressful situation is our respiration increases, and generally we breathe more from the chest. Returning to our extreme example from above, ask yourself if you would experience a faster respiration rate. You most certainly would. Going back to the smaller everyday stresses, when you are under a constant “fight or flight” response you do not experience any time between stressful situations to recover from them. This is all too common today. People over-stress themselves and do not do enough to relieve the stresses that they experience. So they live in a constant state of increased respiration relative to what is optimal for good health.

There is sufficient evidence out there to conclude that the human body is not meant to be under a constant “fight or flight” response. What really seems to be likely is that our sympathetic nervous system is meant to function for survival reasons and then be less active when the body is not being threatened. Primitive man most likely lived an extremely healthy life compared to what people do today. They most likely ate the best food around, got the right amount and type of exercise through their everyday living, and had little stress in their lives. They would have had the occasional stress back then, but not to the frequency that people experience today. A stressful situation in the primitive days would be the caveman going behind a bush, doing his business and coming out and to see the occasional tiger looking him in the eye. Anyone would get a sympathetic response from this, but once the acute situation was over the primitive man would go back to living a peaceful life. The human body is equipped to effectively handle this because the body has a chance to recover from the stress. What it does not seem to be equipped to handle is the chronic type of stress that so many people in the modern world now experience.

Society has evolved a great deal faster than the human body. The result is that the system – that is the human body – wears down from having to function in an environment that it has not yet evolved to effectively manage. I’m not suggesting that we pack up and move to the Amazon rain forest (or what is left of it), but we do need to realize that we and our clients live in a stressful world. We can combat stresses that do us harm. Addressing breathing is a powerful weapon we can easily use.
-Jonathon Sears

How to breathe more deeply and effectively:

• Lay on the floor with your eyes closed, arms out to your sides, palms facing the ceiling, knees bent, and feet flat.
• Keep your mouth closed and begin taking slow breaths through your nose.
• Try to think about pulling the breath in by allowing your stomach to rise first. As you fill your lungs, during the last 1/3 of the breath, you will see/feel the rib cage expand.
• Hold the breath at full inspiration for 1-2 seconds.
• Exhale slowly either through your nose or through a small opening of the mouth as though you were blowing through a straw. This will help the keep the diaphragm highly engaged.
• You should feel the stomach fall or “sink” in unison with the rib cage.
• Repeat for 10-12 breath’s or as long as you have time for. The longer you breathe like this the more beneficial the effect.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'd be glad to breathe along with you!