On average, a person at rest breathes nine 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, 12,960 breaths a day, and 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 can we be getting it so wrong that it’s harming us?
A person who lives to 90 will take over 425 million breaths. And if you are doing something that can cause you harm 425 million times, you can be pretty sure it will do you a LOT of harm.
So how should we breathe?
First, 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 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 breathe in, and your lungs fill with air. The lungs are in the rib cage, so the chest has to expand. 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 ten pairs, they don’t join in the middle, so they move like pincers.
Keeping it simple, you can think of bucket handles for all ribs. A series of 10 bucket handles stacked one on top of the other.
From a side view of the body, 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 becomes slightly wider at the inhale’s top.
Next, think also Venetian blinds. Because as the ribs move up and out and away from each other, they also rotate on their axis like the slats in a Venetian blind. 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, layered, or restrictive.
Even better, though, is 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 them. Helping them to imbibe fluid and to stay juicy and plump.
Plump, juicy discs are good!
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 estimate that 60% to 70% of the people I see are belly breathing.
But… and it’s a big, bad BUT
Another reason why people are developing this terrible habit of belly breathing is because 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 happening.
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. It works if you want to pacify the fight/flight system and achieve a calm meditative state of mind. 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 that should be learned with great care and, more importantly, used only for a specific special effect.
Yeah, 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, dowager’s 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
I want to emphasize here 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.
So you guys are teaching belly breathing; I love you all. We 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 everyday 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 whether you are a belly or 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 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, you are in the right place. Stay with me.
Part 2: For All You Inadvertent Belly Breathers
If you are a belly breather, 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, those bucket handles moving up and out, and the hand on your chest rising.
How was that? Difficult? Try it a couple of times. If the habit is strong, getting your body used to this new movement may take some practice. Be patient, and it will come.
If you managed it the 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 toward 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, 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 breathe. 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 we seek. In addition, your posture will start to become hunched and stiff.
To feel this, try rounding the back on purpose as you inhale.
Doing it wrong
on purpose
Take a couple of deep breaths 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. And you may be doing a version of that every time you breathe. This puts a lot of strain on 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 an excellent relaxing and opening exercise for anyone 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).
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 towards the front of your chest.
You don’t have to “do” this by actively arching the back. Just 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 rise 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 respond. For you to feel a 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 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 notice some changes.
You may notice that you have more energy and that you have less of a tendency to slouch at your desk. Or you may notice that your back, neck, or shoulder pain magically disappeared. Other 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 want to leave me feedback, I’d love to hear from you.