Via Ciclante

The Art of Breathing

Is good posture and breathing related?

Do you ever think about the muscles that work to allow space in the chest and torso for the lungs to be able to fill with air, and the muscles that push air out of the lungs, and also work to hold the body upright in its many positions are also the muscles used for good posture? The breathing/posture muscles are:

• Diaphram
• Abdominals (transverse abdominius, internal and external obliques and rectus abdominus
• Intercostals - sets of muscles that crisscross and are located in between the ribs

Breathing is defined as "the exchange of gases between the cells of the oraganisms and the external environment :"by physiotherapists, Kendal and Kendal in their book, "Muscles - Testing and Function."

Despite how complex and extensive the physiology of breathing is; people with a non-medical background can understand through breathing exercises for general relaxation, pain management, general health, and promotion and increase of energy how gases from the environment are processed down to the cellular level of the body.

Listed below are the two simple concepts that make up the act of breathing.

• Ventilation, or brining oxygen in to the lungs
• Circulation, or transporting the oxygen all over the body, to where it is needed

Ventilation is supported by a two-fold mechanical process.

• Inhalation - the lungs inflate with air, brining oxygen into the body
• Exhalation - lungs let go of air, releasing carbon dioxide out into the environment

Our lungs work automatically during inhalation and exhalation, expanding as breath is needed by the body, recoiling to expel the unwanted air when it is not.

The diaphram, abdominal and intercostals work by expanding and contracting the lungs in the chest cavity and trunk. They function under conscious and semi-conscious control to have a major impact on the quality of the way you breathe.

Circulation is the result of oxygen being transported all over the body and collecting carbon dioxide to remove it from the body, via the lungs. Without the action of the muscles pumping circulation would not be possible.

While exercising breathing properly helps in a few significant ways. It makes cardiovascular training more effective, helps with power and stabilty during strength and endurance training and it promotes relaxation during mind/body and flexiblilty training.

Cardio Training
With activities such as running, cycling or swimming it's important to remember that breathing and cadence of the cardio activity may not always be in sync. Take for example when you are cycling uphill, you may be pedaling slower, but your breathing rate may be high.
Avoid shallow breathing as much as possible during cardio as this is a indicator that you are working too hard or have not established a good breathing pattern for the activity you ar doing. Try taking long slow deeper breaths during cardio training and establishing an inhale pattern that feels comfortable for you. Some runners may for example inhale once during three foot strikes in a row (right, left, right) and then exhale once during the next two foot strikes (left, right).

Strength/Endurance Training
When performing strength resistance training, such as weight lifting, it is usually recommended to exhale on the exertion (most difficult part of the exercise) and inhale on the recovery (easiest part of the exercise). An example is when performing a sit-up, you should exhale as you lift your shoulders off the ground and inhale as you lower your shoulders back to the ground.
In teaching of Pilates instructors encourage their students to "inhale on the preparation for the movement" and exhale on the actual execution of the move.
Learning this breathing pattern usually makes it easier to perform strength/endurance moves.

Relaxation
The focus of the breathing for mind/body, stress reduction or flexibilty training, such as yoga, tai chi and qigong is for a deeper, diaphragmatic breathing that will not only slow your breathing rate but decrease oxygen demand and use less effort and energy to breathe.
The movement of the breather is show by the expansion of the abdomen rather than the chest and is done with slow intakes of air allowing the body to absorb all of the inhaled oxygen.
Instructors of yoga and tai chi will provide direction for their students while performing these types of movements.