How do you Breathe?
Not something I imagine you get asked that often when consulting a Health Professional. You may have your pulse taken and blood pressure recorded, for example, but rarely is attention paid to the number and size of breaths you take, or whether you breathe through your nose or your mouth.
Good, efficient, adaptable breathing patterns are vital to our health, from the way we move, think, feel, sleep, digest, cope with stress, recover from injury, achieve sporting prowess or just enjoy a good walk, a hearty laugh or a chat.
Good, efficient, adaptable breathing patterns are vital to our health, from the way we move, think, feel, sleep, digest, cope with stress, recover from injury, achieve sporting prowess or just enjoy a good walk, a hearty laugh or a chat.
Cave Sweet Cave
Not "Home Sweet Home" for us anymore but our creature comforts and 21st Century lifestyle has a lot to answer for. Apart from being a little less hairy and having a wonderful choice in clothes, our bodies have in no way changed and often have trouble adapting to the relentless demands of our society today.
Our reaction to stress used to be short term - our bodies going into survival or 'fight flight' mode when required. Our breathing and heart rate would speed up, muscles tense in readiness and non-essential systems such as immune, digestion and reproduction put on hold until danger passed. We would then rest, recover and our breathing would return to normal. We would no doubt have some good exercise in the form of dance (natural movement, not chasing the 6-pack in the gym), a simple nutritious meal and long night's sleep from dusk and dawn. Our children would be constantly on the move without the lure of the screen!
Too often in our crazy Western society these short term adaptations to emergency situations become our daily habits in the high stress office environment, the school classroom, the sports field, or simply at home.
We lose that ability to achieve the calm and get locked into breathing habits that are stressful to our bodies causing uncomfortable (sometimes frightening) symptoms, often breathing through our mouths, breathing too much and using our neck and upper chest muscles.
The answer? Always back to the basics, learning how to breathe again. Allowing our body to get primed for action but teaching it how to recover to baseline calm for recovery, rest and repair.
Our reaction to stress used to be short term - our bodies going into survival or 'fight flight' mode when required. Our breathing and heart rate would speed up, muscles tense in readiness and non-essential systems such as immune, digestion and reproduction put on hold until danger passed. We would then rest, recover and our breathing would return to normal. We would no doubt have some good exercise in the form of dance (natural movement, not chasing the 6-pack in the gym), a simple nutritious meal and long night's sleep from dusk and dawn. Our children would be constantly on the move without the lure of the screen!
Too often in our crazy Western society these short term adaptations to emergency situations become our daily habits in the high stress office environment, the school classroom, the sports field, or simply at home.
We lose that ability to achieve the calm and get locked into breathing habits that are stressful to our bodies causing uncomfortable (sometimes frightening) symptoms, often breathing through our mouths, breathing too much and using our neck and upper chest muscles.
The answer? Always back to the basics, learning how to breathe again. Allowing our body to get primed for action but teaching it how to recover to baseline calm for recovery, rest and repair.
