Freeing the Breath

Last week we covered the ways that tight abdominals can play havoc on the breath.  The abdominal muscles cooperate with other muscles to move the rib cage during the breath cycle.  If the absare restricted by being overly tight, the neck, upper chest and intercostals work overtime and also being tight.  Relaxing all these muscles will help restore normal breathing patterns which, among other things, can have a very comforting effect on the nervous system.  

First, it's helpful to figure out what muscles are working while we breathe. Investigate by lying on your back and observing where the breath is going.  With normal breathing, the belly should lift on the inhale and drop on the exhale.  If you purse your lips and force an exhale you can feel the abdominals kick in. This is normal   If there is not movement in the belly during an inhalation, it means that the neck/chest or upper back muscles are doing all the work. This is not good.  

Further explore the movement of the muscles of respiration by putting your hands around the lower and middle ribs with your fingers toward the breastbone.  The ribs should expand in and out with the hands coming closer together on an exhalation.  All good.  Now, put your hands on the collarbones to feel the upper rib movement.  During normal breathing, this area should be pretty still.  If there's lots of movement, it could indicate that these muscles are compensating for tight abdominal muscles, which should be relaxed enough to allow for the normal movement of the ribcage.  

There are some ways to relax the overly tight muscles and thus open the breath space and allow a more relaxed movement of the diaphragm.  Here are a couple of ways:

1.  Put a long rolled up blanket under your back parallel to the spine.  You can either sit on one end and lay back over the roll with your head on the blanket or sit with the tailbone off the blanket.  If the chin sticks up, put something, like a blanket, under the head. If the knees are bent it will feel better on the lower back.  Open the arms to the sides and soften the abdomen. Or, for a higher support, put two yoga blocks end-to-end with a bit of a gap.  One block goes under the back and the other under the head.  Make sure the head stays parallel to the floor.  

Alternative Arm Position -  The arms can be bent at the elbow in a position some call "cactus" or "goalpost". This is going to add an upper chest (pectoral) stretch, which should feel yummy for those that spend time in a slumped position.  You'll feel an opening in the mid and upper ribs.

2.  Place a rolled up blanket perpendicular to the spine right behind the heart and just below the armpits.  This gives a beautiful opening in the upper chest.  You can explore the different arm positions and the stretch of various muscles.  Try the arms either in a "T" orientation or overhead by the ears (or thereabouts).  The closer the arms are to the ears, the more intense the stretch and lift of the ribcage. With the arms overhead, If the shoulders are tight, the arms or hands may not reach the floor and a bolster or blanket(s) can be added for support.