Joni Fischer- Jones is a physical therapist at Laurelhurst Physical Therapy Clinic in Portland, Oregon. She uses breathwork and breathing techniques extensively in her work and personal life. We sat down with her and asked her to share her knowledge and experience:

How were you originally drawn to the physical therapy profession?
I had originally planned on being nurse, but I didn't want to work nights, long shifts or weekends. I had also considered being a doctor, but didn't want to take on the schooling, so I looked through the Allied Medical professions and saw Physical Therapy, and thought, "This looks interesting." I applied to the physical therapy clinic and spent a week there and knew immediately that it was for me. I loved it! That was 30 years ago and I never looked back.

While training to become a physical therapist, was breathwork part of the curriculum?
They did talk about it, but only from an oxygen (O2) perspective. I don't know what they are teaching now, but if you are involved with yoga, Pilates, or tai chi, breathing is everything. I've learned that eye movement, breathing, and core stabilization are all integrated, so if you learn to integrate breathing with proper movement and posture, it helps to increase your awareness.

For physical therapy, says Joni Fischer-Jones, deep diaphragmatic breathing is the most important. Using a Thera-band (elastic training band used for resistance) wrapped around the lower ribcage gives a little proprioceptive resistive feedback, so as you inhale you are going to feel that Thera-band and be more aware of your body movement and position .You can also use your hands instead of the Thera-band, but it is not quite as effective.

"I don't teach patients to make the belly rise," says Fischer-Jones, "but like to have them think about it as a three-dimensional opening up of the rib cage cavity and making sure that they inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Inhaling through the nose filters allergens, and conditions and moisturizes the air and exhaling through the mouth uses 50% less energy.

"They other thing I would have you think about is where you hold your ribcage in space with regards to your posture. Many people hold their ribcage up as they straighten their posture, if they want to get good posture. They lift their ribcage up and they can't get good breath because now the ribcage is up really high. So pay attention to where you are holding your ribcage. Imagine that your ribcage is stacked on top of your pelvis, which is shaped like a bowl. Ideally, you don't want either of them tipping."

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• Can you hear me at the back? Practical tips for projecting your voice (TrainingZone.co.uk)

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