BELINDA CLARK
Osteopath ~ striving to educate and empower holistic wellbeing.
"The breath is the connection between the conscious and the unconscious"
WHY BREATH TRAINING?
We take around 25,000 breaths per day.
Many of us don’t breathe as efficiently as we should, making our bodies repeatedly work harder than it needs to. Leading to fatigue, compensation patterns, tight muscles and postural adaptations, and ultimately pain.
FUNCTION OF THE BREATH:
Breathing has many functions; the primary function being the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, and regulation of pH within the body. The action of breathing and contracting the diaphragm acts as a pump which changes pressure in the abdomen and affects the blood flow and movement of the organs.
The way we breathe also affects other systems and functions of the body, these are known as the secondary functions of respiration. The efficiency in which we exchange gas and our ability to alter the pH, affect our ability to self regulate our nervous system and either excite or calm as appropriate. The rate and depth of breathing affects our voice, rhythms and oscillations of the fluid in our body, and promotes healing. Spinal stability, good posture and coordinated motor control also relies on a functional diaphragm.
WHAT IS DYSFUNCTIONAL BREATHING?
Dysfunctional breathing is breathing that does not appropriately fulfil the primary or secondary functions of respiration. Dysfunctional breathing does not efficiently support the demands of the body in relation to its changing environment.
It can affect multiple systems of the body and produce a wide range of symptoms (respiratory and non respiratory) and have many clinical presentations.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF DYSFUNCTIONAL BREATHING:
Respiratory:
Breathlessness,
Irregular breathing pattern
Increased sighing or yawning
Inability to take a satisfying breath
Mouth breathing.
Non-respiratory (other bodily functions affected by dysfunctional breathing):
Chronic neck, jaw, shoulder, back and pelvic pain: Dysfunctional breathing patterns affect the way in which we use the muscles of respiration and can therefore affect our posture, core stability, jaw and neck pain, and even pelvic pain. Therefore dysfunctional breathing and its related poor muscle activation/tension patterns can often be the underlying or maintaining factor in chronic pain that may have had poor results with manual therapy.
Our nervous system, mood and digestion can be affected, and
Anxiety and stress responses can be both caused by and cause dysfunctional breathing.
IMPORTANCE OF DIAPHRAGM BREATHING:
The thoracic diaphragm is the primary muscle of respiration. When we inhale, the diaphragm contracts and descends, with this the rib cage expands in all directions; creating space in the thoracic cavity which, due to pressure dynamics, encourages relatively passive inhalation.
Breathing this way requires minimal effort from the smaller accessory muscles around the neck and chest to help expand the ribs. Diaphragm breathing requires good motion of the thoracic spine and rib cage, appropriate pelvic floor control, and adaptive mobility through the abdominal cavity.
When we are in pain, compromised posture (eg. slouching), or stressed we often take short shallow breaths instead. This loads up the smaller accessory muscles of respiration to work harder to pull open the bony rib cage in order to create space for the lungs to expand. This is tiring! Leading to further compromised neck and jaw posture as they try to maintain an open airways. This compounds the effort required to breathe, creating a vicious cycle.
GUIDED BREATH RE-TRAINING:
So in order to improve the symptoms of dysfunctional breathing and reduce pain associated with postural adaptations, we need to get your spine and rib cage moving more optimally again by repeatedly practicing diaphragm contraction and relaxation.
Belinda will assess your capacity for movement and natural habits of breath, decide which type of breath practice is appropriate for you and then working through a combination of hands-on manual therapy and movement exercises, Belinda aims to help improve the 360’ motion of your rib cage; enabling the easeful contraction of the diaphragm and movement of the rib cage which will reduce the load on the accessory muscles of respiration, reducing the need for the compensation postures and poor muscle activation patterns.
Does any of this resonate with you?
Do you think you might need a breath assessment?
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.
Belinda offers 1:1 breath training sessions in Woonona.
And runs workshops, events and classes from time to time, keep up to date with events by following Belinda on instagram.
