{"id":9681,"date":"2012-04-05T22:57:11","date_gmt":"2012-04-06T06:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=9681"},"modified":"2013-09-17T13:27:23","modified_gmt":"2013-09-17T21:27:23","slug":"how-to-breathe-literally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-breathe-literally\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Breathe – Literally"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Most people have never stopped to think, \u201cAm I breathing well?\u201d because it seems like a patently ridiculous question. Sure, you\u2019re breathing – but breathing well<\/em> will unlock some valuable reserves your that body had long ago, probably as far back as your childhood. Your ability to relax, for example, where did that go? Read on and learn how to make one minor change for a life of good health and happiness.<\/p>\n

Our modern lifestyle involves a lot of sitting, which is a relatively new invention for the human frame. Historically humans spent much of their time squatting, standing or lying. Sitting, particularly the way most of us do it, collapses the stomach and hunches the back. Check in with your body now. How are you sitting?<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>A knock-on effect from sitting so much is that the crumpled abdomen cannot perform its role in respiration. Most of have re-trained ourselves to breathe from the upper chest, using our shoulders, neck and the muscles between our ribs to lift and open when we inhale and collapse as we exhale.<\/p>\n

So what? It does the job doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Sure, but it does the job poorly. Like trying to drive a car on a long journey in first gear, the body will still run, but it will burn out, clog up or get bogged down; with stress, with digestive problems, muddled thoughts, poor sleep and a reduced ability to enjoy life.<\/p>\n

The chest, neck and shoulder muscles are called accessory muscles of respiration. These muscles have evolved for only occasional use in short-term, high-intensity activities, usually fight-or-flight moments when you need to a lot of oxygen. They don\u2019t \u2018breathe\u2019 fresh blood while they work and will cramp \u2013 causing aches in the neck or shoulders (starting to sound familiar?).<\/p>\n

So, are you a chest-breather? Unless you\u2019re a swimmer, trained singer, or have practiced breathing (such as in Pranayama Yoga), you probably are. Here\u2019s how to tell:<\/p>\n

Stand in front of a mirror wearing a tight shirt or just topless (*wolf whistles*). Breathe normally and watch what happens with your body. Next, take a deep breath and watch what happens. A chest breather will:<\/p>\n